Managing Stress: Emotion and Power at Work - Essay Example

Look for data on stress levels in other countries. How do these data compare with the Canadian data presented above? Are the sources of the stress same in different countries. What might you conclude about how stress affects people in different cultures? Stress at work is a global phenomenon and there is hardly nation that does not battle the challenge of stress at work. Fourth European Working Conditions Survey in 2005 revealed that Greece (55% of the employees experienced stress) had the highest level of stress in the European Union (European Risk Observatory Report, 2009). After Greece, countries that had the highest level of stress include Slovenia and Sweden (37%). The countries that saw the lowest level of stress in the European Union include United Kingdom (12%), Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands (16%). In the article prescribed, Canada had recorded that 41% of the employees are stressed out. Therefore, Canada ranks higher among countries that have high stress level when compared to the European countries. In Canada, the top causes of stress include economic and technological uncertainties, organizational factors, task and role demands and personal factors. In European nations, the common reasons for stress include work with tight deadlines, very less control over the nature of work, job insecurity and violence and harassment at work. (European Risk Observatory Report, 2009 and Work-related stress, 2007). When we analyze this further, we can see that the key reasons for stress appear to be the same. Economic uncertainty translates to job insecurity. However, it appears that Canadians do not face situations related to violence or harassment at work as that is the only factor as to how causes of stress differs between Canada and the European countries. In Canada, the top three jobs with high stress level include that of a high school teacher, Miner and Police officer. Britain, the jobs that have the highest level of stress include that of a police officer, teacher and social work (Cooper and Cartwright, 2004). In a survey conducted by careercast.com in 2010, the jobs that are most stressful at a global level are those of Fire fighters, Senior Corporate Executive and Taxi Driver. In Canada, the jobs that offer the least stress include Forester, bookbinder and telephone line operator. Whereas globally, the least stressful jobs include Musical Instrument Repairer, Medical Records Technician and Actuary (10 least stressful jobs, 2010). Therefore, in terms of least stressful jobs, there is a difference between trends in Canada and the world. The methods in which stress manifests in different people depends on the scenario and the culture that they belong to. For example, it is noticed that in United States, foreign workers experience more work related stress that U.S workers. This could be due to numerous reasons – like unsecured residency status, job insecurity and perceived discrimination (Soylu, 2007). Countries like Indian and China where the Information Technology industry is largely dependent upon the United States and China often experience a higher stress related to work during the scenarios of economic downturn and IT meltdown. Hence, it would be fair to conclude that job related stress can also be attributed to the cultural as well as the social scenario of a particular nation and that is why we see a difference in the patterns of stress as well as reasons of stress among various nations. References Cooper CL and Cartwright S, 2004, Stress reduction: the role of individually targeted interventions, in Handbook of Work Stress, (eds) Barling J, Kelloway EK and Frone MR, Sage. Soylu, Ali (2007), Do foreign workers experience more job-related stress than U.S. workers? Retrieved from http://www.midwestacademy.org/proceedings/2007/papers/mam07p26.pdf. Retrieved on Nov 25, 2010. European Risk Observatory Report, (2009), Retrieved from http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/TE-81-08-478-EN-C_OSH_in_figures_stress_at_work. Retrieved on Nov 25, 2010. Work Related Stress, (2007) European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/reports/TN0502TR01/TN0502TR01.pdf. Retrieved on Nov 25, 2010. 10 least stressful jobs, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.careercast.com/jobs/content/ten-least-stressful-jobs-2010-jobs-rated. Retrieved on Nov 25, 2010. Find out what three Canadian Organizations in three different industries have done to help employees manage stress. Are there common themes in these programs? Did you find any unusual programs? To what extend are these programs tailored to the needs of the employees in those industries? With increase in stress levels at work, many companies across different industries have adopted numerous programs that will help employees manage stuff. Here, we look at three different companies that have introduced these programs to help their employees. Dofasco is Canada’s second largest steel maker. After going through a tough phase of debt in early 1990’s (Mayberry, 2001), Dofasco decided to focus of employee engagement via health and safety, openness and teamwork. They realized that the employees are the backbone of the company. The key programs include shift work and lifestyle program where the company provides information to employees on ways to improve sleep and make good nutrition choices, weight watchers program, smoking cessation tips, mind and body relaxation sessions, fitness facilities, and aerobic sessions. After adopting this motto, the earnings per share have gone from a loss of $2.96 in 1992 to a profit of $3.16 in 1999 (Solski, 2000). The next company that has been able to create a very healthy working environment is Pamzac. Pamzac is one of the leading providers of precision Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machining services. The companies ideals of battling work related stress is outlined under the wellness initiatives and making a people friendly work environment. In 1999, the company lost a key customer and the employees had to face a 15% pay cut that resulted in considerable stress. Then they planned to improve wellness initiatives that included fitness workouts with trainers in a gymnasium to which they will have unlimited access, weekend hiking trips, yoga classes and a support system that will provide counselling when they face any personal crisis. Through these initiatives, the revenues increased by 56% during the next two years. Similarly, employee absenteeism is also non-existence at Pazmac and the company has been successful in retaining most of its employees by reducing attrition. (Lochhead, 2002) One of the key propositions of Amex Canada Inc. is that they aim to be the top 25 employers and hence pay a lot of attention to employee well-being. Most of the initiatives in this regard fall under the work-life balance category like part time work, work from home, job sharing and paid sabbaticals, nutrition at office and employee assistance program (Amex Canada, 2001). After this program was implemented, 75% of the employees said that they are able to maintain a better work life balance and reduce any stress. The common aspect among these three stress management programs is that the companies have realized that the employees are their key to success and have started investing more in aspects of employee welfare and stress reduction. The wellness program of Pamzac is unique because they also provide support to their personal lives by providing counselling. Therefore, the employees get both professional and personal support. All of these companies have planned their wellness programs in such a way that it caters to each industry. For example, in the case of Dofasco, it was seen that the workers spend time doing heavy duty work, so they need the required sleep. Hence, they introduced the sessions that tell them how to improve sleep. Similarly, at Amex, people were worried about the pressure of responsibility and they implemented the concept of job sharing. Overall, companies across various industries and ensuring that the employees do not face a lot of stress. References Amex Canada Inc. (2001). Report on Healthy Workplace Programs. Retrieved from http://www.clbc.ca/files/CaseStudies/CNAC2002_e.pdf. Retrieved on Nov 26, 2010 Solski, B. (2000). The Business Agenda for Corporate Stewardship. Speech to the Annual General Meeting of the Mining Association of Canada. Dofasco Inc, Quebec City, p. 8. Mayberry, J. (2001). Growth Through Innovation: The Selective Pursuit of Opportunity for the James Gillies Lecture, Schulich School of Business, Dofasco Inc, Toronto, p. 11. Jennifer, R., (2010). Beyond, Every day The follow up of a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award Winner. Retrieved on November 25, 2010 from http://www.phwc.ca/YVR_Update.html. Lochhead, Clarence (2002), Healthy Workplace Programs at Pazmac Enterprises Ltd. Langley, British Colombia. Retrieved from http://www.clbc.ca/files/CaseStudies/pazmac.pdf. Retrieved on Nov 29, 2010. Think of all the technological changes that have happened in the work place in recent years including email, blackberry’s and intranet. What are the positive benefits of this change? What are the down sides? As an employee facing the demand to “stay connected” to your workplace, how would you try to maintain a balance in your life? In the last couple of decades, technology has progressed so much that an individual can know what is happening in the workplace even on a vacation to a far away land. Cloud computing, easy email access over the phone and round the clock connectivity has bought about a sea of change in the way we work as a part of the organization. It would be only fair to say that technology defines the work culture in the current era. This technological revolution has made the work much easier when compared to the pre-technology era. The efforts in automation have reduced considerable manual work. With the advent of advanced technology like cloud computing and Blackberry, key issues can be resolved from any place and there is no need for an individual to rush to the location of the workplace. Many companies also provide the option of working from home and this contributes greatly to maintaining a work life balance. Video conferences and teleconferences have also cut down the frequent commute to different places. Therefore, technology has contributed to increased productivity as well as easy access to work related information. It can also help a number of people to maintain a work related balance in their life. However, there is another side too. This easy access of information has made people addicted to work. It is a very common tendency to keep checking the email just because people have access to it. For example, even if it is a holiday, people do login to check emails and as soon as they see there is some issue, they begin tackling it, even in cases when it is not urgent. It has also come to noticed that many employees spend much less time interacting with others, as everything gets limited to emails or voice messages. This lack of human interaction can leave employees stressed as well as isolated. Therefore, the support system that an employee gained by interacting with other employees ceases to exist. Technological advancement can also cause stress because technology is something that gets outdated at a lightning speed. Hence, many people are under the constant stress to keep himself or herself updated with the latest technological advancement so that they are not considered outdated by their employers. As an employee who faces the need to remain connected to the work, one should not forget that the personal life also deserves an equal importance. Very often, people think that there is nothing wrong in checking the emails for just ten minutes on a holiday. However, it leads to indirect stress as any pending issues creep into the subconscious and increases the stress level. Individuals should strive to strike a balance between the work and personal life. For example, when you are taking a time off, delegate someone else to be the backup for you or restrict yourself to checking your email just once in a day. Similarly, if the work is not urgent, do not hesitate to postpone it until the next working day. These small things can reduce the stress you face at work and lead a better personal life. How much responsibilities should individuals take for managing their own stress? To what extend should organizations become involved in the personal lives of their employees when trying to help them manage stress? What are the pros and cons for whether employees or organizations take responsibility for managing stress? When it comes to work related stress management, both the individuals as well as the organization are both accountable. To lead a stress free work life, both individuals as well as the company should collectively make efforts. An employee can work and develop individual strategies that work well for them where as the company can take broader level steps to help a group of employees. It is important for an individual to take some level of responsibility to manage the level of stress rather than blaming the organization for bombarding them with work (Newton, 1995). The individual should understand that there may be a lot of work but with some easy techniques, the stress can be managed. Effective time management is one such technique. For example, scheduling the activities of the day at the beginning of the day and allocating fixed time for each activity can help you save a lot of time and work efficiently, thereby, reducing the stress. If an employee implements simple tips like these, then they can cut down work related stress considerably. On the other side, the organization also should take up some responsibility in alleviating the stress of the employees by making the work place as stress less as possible. An employee would be able to perform to his or her optimum level only when the environment is devoid of stress. Keeping this in mind, many companies have introduced wellness programs and other benefits. These wellness programs aim at improving the social, intellectual, emotional and physical well-being and cover rejuvenating activities such like yoga or aerobics. Apart from the wellness programs, the organization must keep some key things in mind to ensure a stress free work environment. During the recruitment and the job allocation process, they should ensure that the employee gets the most appropriate job that suits their personality. For example, some individuals perform under pressure where as some falter. It is important to identify these types of personalities and allocate the best possible job to them. If an employee is battling some personal problems, the company may arrange for some counselling. However, the company should ensure that they do not involve themselves deeply in personal matters as this may affect the individual. Therefore, creating an employee friendly environment, providing wellness assistance and rewarding can be key ways in which organizations help the employees to reduce stress. When individuals manage stress on their own, it is possible that they lose the focus of the job they are involved. That is why, it is essential to find ways of reducing the stress in a way that aligns well with the company. Similarly, the company also should ensure that the programs designed are suitable for the employees. For example, in a company where the majority of employees are women who have a family to look after, planning a weeklong offsite would not go down well. Overall, it is important that the ways to reduce stress should be a two-way process where both employees and individuals should contribute. Reference  Newton, T. (1995). Managing stress: Emotion and power at work. 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