How to Manage and Reduce Stress - Term Paper Example

Today everyone is stressed out. Rising workloads, office politics, the need to balance work and family, commuting and keeping pace with technology are some of the causes of stress. Added to these are the current economic downturn and job insecurity. There are goals to be achieved; colleagues to support and finish more in less (Seglin, 2001). Stress has always been associated with burnouts and fatigue, which affects their mood, the routine, and the interactions with colleagues and in general the productivity. Job stress is one of the top ten work-related health problems (Sharif, 2000) and is a serious problem in many organizations globally (Dewe & O’Driscoll, 2002). However, not all stress is bad. In fact a little bit of stress can be useful in keeping people on their toes. Stress is the force that effects our emotions and motives. It effects people of all ages and can be both good and bad. Each person reacts differently to stress but we all need some stress in order to be active, happy and productive (Sarnoff, 1963). Psychologists emphasize that stress can be invigorating and improve productivity. Stress is the difference between pressure and adaptability of any kind, as per the Law of Stress (ISMA 2001). “The process of living is the process of having stress imposed on you and reacting to it” (Sarnoff, 1963). A stress produces or threatens to produce alteration in the homeostasis. Stress is the generalized responses of the body to various environmental, physical or social situations. It has been defined as the non-specific response of the body to any demand placed upon it (Le Fevre, Matheny & Kolt, 2003). Stress is inevitable and starts from the moment an individual wakes up till the time he goes to bed. Human beings tend to ignore warnings and want to calculate the shearing force and the bending moment. Distress occurs when the demand placed on the body exceed its capacity to expend energy in maintaining homeostasis. This demand stimulus may be pleasant or unpleasant and if the stress is broken up into eustress and distress, then distress represent too little or too much demand whereas eustress is the optimal stress and hence considered good stress. Hence under and over stimulation leads to distress. Distress, or commonly referred to as stress leads to burnout, depression or despondency (Seglin, 2001). It can also lead to dysfunction employee behavior like repeated errors, low employee morale, indifferent attitude and unexplained absenteeism (Douglass, 1996). Eustress, the psychological term for good stress is critical for physical and mental health (Seglin, 2001). Eustress has a positive effect as it keeps the mind revved up and focused. It helps an individual to accomplish the goals. It is believed that a reasonable amount of pressure, anxiety or fear in the environment leads to higher performance among employees than if stress were not present (Le Fevre, Matheny & Kolt, 2003). This could be the reason that managers attempt to maintain stress at optimal levels rather than minimizing stress. Eustress creates challenge and feelings of achievement. It serves as a great motivator for many (Douglass, 1996). Eustress depends not on the amount of stimulus but on how the stressor was interpreted by the individual experiencing it and how he reacts to it (Le Fevre, Kolt, & Matheny, 2006). Hence eustress is a positive perception of the stressors while distress is the negative perception of the stressors. It also implies that what could be eustress for one may be distress for another (Buhler, 1993). This is endorsed by Levy (2004) who contends that some people consider job insecurity as a threat while others take it as an opportunity. That job insecurity leads to stress and counter-productive behavior is nothing uncommon. The difference lies in how an individual perceives the situation and allows it to affect his mid set and the outcome. Levy emphasizes that these are the people that have a broad skill base and look at obstacles as things to go round. They are not resistant to change and can handle mobility. They are willing to learn new skills and are open to challenges. Douglass clarifies that distress occurs due to role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload. When employees find it difficult to meet the expectations of multiple bosses or co-workers, role conflict occurs. Role ambiguity results from unclear expectations and workload assignments lead to role overload. Managing stress has often been used by various researchers and authors. Managing stress is nothing but keeping the stress at the optimal level or creating eustress. It is up to the managers to ensure that an optimal level of stress or eustress is applied to derive the maximum from an employee. An effective delegator can create distress among subordinates if he undermines employees’ authority or merely dumps on poorly prepared subordinates. An effective manager would be able to cultivate eustress among the subordinates and groom them for advancement to prepare for challenges. Employee empowerment programs can reduce the distress and role overload. They are thus cultivated to experience and practice under eustress. If managers are good listeners then too eustress can be created among the employees enabling them to cope with the situation. Rojas and Kleiner (2003) agree that stress need not be negative. Some level of stress is desirable to generate enthusiasm, creativity and productivity. Information overload can lead to stress specially when after a break there are numerous emails to respond to. Information overload can have negative implications as it could prevent an individual from doing work properly. It could cause stress and lead to poor mental health. It can even impact the home environment. At the same time, when under information overload, one learns to wean out the unwanted and focus on the important issues. One learns how to prioritize work. It is again the perception of the individual as stress is an individual response. Craig (2008) contends that pieces of paper on the table cannot make an individual overloaded; it is their reaction or the importance that they attach to it that creates the stress. Such stress teaches one to scan and recognize the important emails and devote attention to what is necessary. Stress teaches one to say NO. One may realize that things could be worked out over phone rather than calling a formal meeting and wasting time over the issue. When one analyses, it may not be necessary for all to attend the meeting at all. In nutshell, it is an individual response on managing stress. One must know how to manage information overload which means stress is helpful as it keeps people on their toes. It is a learning process as well. Excessive stress can lead to negative outcomes but some amount of stress is essential even in managers. Managers who are most effective at their jobs have lower levels of stress than their less-productive counterparts (Brown, 1991). They use stress-busting techniques to ‘manage’ stress or manage their work efficiently. They are able to create eustress which is a kind of constructive tenseness. The body starts reverberating with positive pulses, every nerve fiber sensitized, and every muscle ready for action. Many work better under stress. They deliberately wait until the night before the deadline to complete the project giving the explanation that they work better under pressure. The stress serves as the motivator and even enhances their performance (Buhler, 1993). For others the same situation may cause trauma. They would choke under pressure as they are unable to deal with large amount of stress. Authors cite several models and theories of occupational stress but three models have been commonly found in most organizations – person-environment fit theory, cybernetic theory and control theory (Le Fevre, Matheny & Kolt, 2003). The first theory implies that there is a mismatch between the person and the work environment. This means that his abilities and skills do not match the demands of the job that is expected of him. It could also be a misfit between his individual needs – his individual physical or physiological requirements (as per Herzberg and Maslow’s theory) and the ability of the environment to fulfill his needs in terms of extrinsic or intrinsic rewards. This could result in physiological and/or psychological stress and could manifest in behavioral changes evident in the individual. A second outcome could be that due to the stress, the individual makes an effort to reduce the misfit by trying to cope with it. It becomes an incentive to undergo training and enhance the skills or negotiate to bring about some change in the environment. The cybernetic theory of occupational stress states that individuals seek to maintain some equilibrium state, and when some external force tries to disturb it, they will try to re-establish the equilibrium (Le Fevre, Matheny & Kolt, 2003). When the equilibrium is disturbed, stress is the specific or non-specific response an organism makes to the stimulus events that disturb its equilibrium and tax or exceeds its ability to cope (Sarnoff, 1963). According to William Carlos Williams, ‘the better work men do is always done under stress and at a great personal cost’ (cited by Sarnoff, 1963). Perceived threat is a source of stress but the cybernetic theory allows for the inclusion of the eustress concept. The role of perception as discussed above is important and the cybernetic theory permits individuals to react differently to different situations that are objectively similar. For the one who finds no gap between the current and desired reality, it represents a eustressful situation while the other may be in distress. It is hence up to individuals and the organizations to create eustressful situations. The authors however agree that eustress is required and not a situation where there is no stress at all. Control theory refers to the ability of the individual to make choices between two or more alternatives. Perception here too is an important variable. It requires one to have control over schedule and work load. This means a person must have some degree of autonomy over organizational schedules and work. This would create eustress which is again positive. When there is no stress, there is no challenge and people tend to be in inertia. This is precisely the reason why challenge is necessary. According to NIOSH (1999) challenge energizes psychologically and physically; it motivates an individual to learn new skills and master jobs. Challenge is an important ingredient for healthy and productive work and if the challenge is met, the individual feels happy and relaxed. Thus challenge is important in the work life as it keeps people on toes and perhaps is the arson why people believe that a little bit of stress is good. While three-quarters of employees agree to being stressed at work, more than half believe that not only is stress conducive to quality performance, it even aids in relaxing after the day’s work (China Daily, 2007). Research from the Universities of Kentucky and British Columbia suggests that some amount of stress can actually strengthen the immune system and is good for health. If stress is prolonged it could have negative repercussions. The right amount of stress would mean bouts of stress followed by periods of calm. Thus, all of the literature indicates that some amount of stress is useful while the reasons of stress are well known, the benefits of some amount of stress is equally highlighted. It does have positive effect on the mind and body. At the same time, it must be remembered that individual perception of a situation is vital. The same situation could lead to distress for one while it could be a challenge or an opportunity for another. Those who identify it as an opportunity or a challenge also find means to combat the stress or overcome the obstacle. The consider it as a motivation and attempt to hone up their skills. Others would look at it as a threat, become distressed and plunge into depression. The difference lies in perception but in nutshell a little bit of stress is what makes life interesting and challenging. References Brown, TL 1991, Are You Stressed Out?, Industry Week, vol. 240, no. 18, pp. 21. Retrieved online 27 December 2008, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=554328&sid=7&Fmt=3&clientId=45065&RQT=309&VName=PQD Buhler, P 1993, Managing in the 90s: Stress management, SuperVision, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 17-19. China Daily, 2007, Why stress is good for you, retrieved online 27 December 2008, from http://www.china.org.cn/health/2007-11/07/content_1231064.htm Craig, T 2008, How to... avoid information overload, Personnel Today, retrieved online 27 December 2008, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1504266901&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=45065&RQT=309&VName=PQD Dewe, P & ODriscoll, M 2002, Stress management interventions: what do managers actually do? Personnel Review, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 143 - 165. Douglass, ME 1996, Creating eustress in the workplace: A supervisors role, SuperVision, vol. 57, no. 10. pp. 6-10. ISMA, 2001, ISMAUSA NEWSLETTER, Published by The International Stress Management Association, vol. 3, no. 1. Le Fevre, M Matheny, J & Kolt, GS 2003, Eustress, distress and interpretation in occupational stress, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 726-744. Le Fevre, M Kolt, GS & Matheny, J 2006, Eustress, distress and their interpretation in primary and secondary occupational stress management interventions: which way first?’ Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 547-565 Levy, M 2004, Stressing the positive, Training Journal; Apr 2004; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 4 NIOSH, 1999, STRESS...At Work , National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, retrieved online 27 December 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/Niosh/stresswk.html Rojas, VM & Kleiner, BH 2003, The art and science of effective stress maangement, Management Research News, vol. 23, no. 7/8, pp. 103-106. Sarnoff, S 1963, Man Under Stress, Conference no. 7, University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, November 15–17, 1963, p. 100 Seglin, JL 2001, CIO. Framingham: vol. 14, no. 18; pg. 132 Sharif, BA 2006, Understanding and Managing Job Stress: A Vital Dimension of Workplace Violence Prevention, The International Electronic Journal of Health Education, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 107-116. Read More