UNIT-4

Stress

Stress is defined in terms of how it impacts physical and psychological health; it includes mental,
physical, and emotional strain. Stress occurs when a demand exceeds an individual’s coping
ability and disrupts his or her psychological equilibrium.

“Stress is an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical, psychological and
or behavioural deviations.”

Work Stress

In the context of work, work stress is defined as follows:

Stress occurs in the workplace when an employee perceives a situation to be too strenuous to
handle, and therefore threatening to his or her well-being.

Work stress is a type of stress and is caused by conditions in the workplace that negatively affect
an individual’s performance and/or overall well-being of his body and mind.

Symptoms of stress

Cognitive Emotional Symptom

• Memory problems • Depression or general unhappiness
• Inability to concentrate • Anxiety and agitation
• Poor judgment • Moodiness, irritability, or anger
• Seeing only the negative • Feeling overwhelmed
• Anxious or racing thoughts • Loneliness and isolation
• Constant worrying • Other mental or emotional health problems

Physical Symptom
Behavioural Symptom
• Aches and pains
• Diarrhea or constipation Eating more or less
• Nausea, dizziness • Sleeping too much or too little
• Chest pain, rapid heart rate • Withdrawing from others
• Frequent colds or flu
• Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
• Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)
Sources / Cause of stress

A. INDIVIDUAL STRESSORS:

1. Job Concerns:One of the major job concerns is lack of job security which can lead to
concern, anxiety or frustration to the individual. The prospect of losing a job especially when
you have a family and social obligations is always very stressful. Career progress is another
reason of anxiety.

2. Career Changes:When an employee has to relocate geographically because of a transfer or

promotion, it disrupts the routine of his daily life causing concern and stress.

3. Economic Problems:When individuals overextend their financial resources, or in simple

words, if they spend more than they earn, it will always cause stress and distract the employees
from their Work.

4. Changes in Life Structure:The life structure of a person changes as he grows older. As a

person grows older, his responsibilities to himself as well as others change and increase. The
higher the responsibility, the greater the stress.

5. The Pace of Life:As the responsibilities of a person increase, his capacity to execute them
should also increase. A hectic pace of life when the person is always busy in business or
otherwise can create more stress than a relaxed pace of life.
6. Life Traumas:Life change and life traumas are both stress producing. Life changes may be
slow (like getting older) or sudden (like the death of a spouse). Sudden changes are highly
stressful. Life traumas can be highly stressful.

7. Personality of a Person:The extent of stress is also determined by the personality of a person.

TYPE A personalities may create stress in their work circumstances due to their achievement
orientation, impatience and perfectionism. TYPE B personality; on the other hand, is less stress
prone.

8. Ability to Cope:The ability of the person to cope with stress and the sources a person seeks to
deal with stress are also very important.

B. GROUP STRESSORS:

Group stressors can be categorized into the following factors:

1. Group Cohesiveness:Group cohesiveness is very important to the employees, particularly at

the lower levels of the organization. Lack of cohesiveness can be very stress producing,
especially for those persons who cannot thrive in isolation.

2. Lack of Social Support:Satisfaction, though, a state of mind is primarily influenced by the

positive external factors. These factors include friendliness, respect from other members and self
respect, support, opportunity to interact, achievement, protection against threats and a feeling of
security. In this type of social support is lacking for an individual, it can be very stressful.

3. Conflicts:People who are working in the organizations are prone to interpersonal and
intergroup conflicts. Conflict has both functional and dysfunctional aspects. Whenever conflict
has dysfunctional consequences, it will lead to stress in all the concerned parties.

C. ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS:

1. Task or role demands: These are f0actors related to a person’s role at work, including the
design of a person’s job or working conditions. A stressful task demand might be a detailed,
weekly presentation to the company’s senior team. A stressful role demand might be where a
person is expected to achieve more in a set amount of time than is possible.

2. Organizational structure: This refers to the level of differentiation within an organization,

the degree of rules and regulations, and where decisions are made. If employees are unable to
participate in decisions that affect them, they may experience stress.

3. Organizational leadership: This refers to the organization’s style of leadership, particularly

the managerial style of its senior executives. Leaders can create an environment of tension, fear
and anxiety and can exert unrealistic pressure and control. If employees are afraid they’ll be fired
for not living up to leadership’s standards, this can definitely be a source of stress.
4. Organizational life stage: An organization goes through a cycle of stages (birth, growth,
maturity, decline). For employees, the birth and decline of an organization can be particularly
stressful, as those stages tend to be filled with heavy workloads and a level of uncertainty about
the future.

D. EXTRA ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS:

1. Political Factors: Political factors are likely to cause stress which suffer from political
uncertainties. The obvious reason is that the countries have stable political system where change
is typically implemented in an orderly manner.

2. Economic Factors:Changes in business cycles create economic uncertainties. When the

economy contracts, people get worried about their own security. Minor recessions also cause
stress in the work force as downward swings in the economy are often accomplished by
permanent reductions in the work force, temporary layoff or reduction in pay.

3. Technological Factors:Technological uncertainty is the third type of environmental factor

that can cause stress. In today’s era of technological development new innovations make an
employee’s skills and experience obsolete in a very short span of time. Computers, automation
are other forms of technological innovations, which are threat to many people and cause them
stress.

Stress Management

Meaning- Stress management is the process of acquiring and practicing a variety of cognitive
and behavioral techniques with the goal of managing and coping with stress. Stress is defined as
the perception that demands exceed personal resources, and can result in both physiological (e.g.,
increased blood pressure, migraine headaches) as well as psychological effects (e.g., anxiety,
depression).

Strategies/ Remedies of Stress Management

Individual Approaches

An employee can take personal responsibility for reducing stress levels. Individual strategies that
have proven effective include:

(a)Time management techniques: Fewof the best-known time-management principles are:

(1) Making daily lists of activities to be accomplished

(2) Prioritizing activities by importance and urgency,

(3) Scheduling activities according to theb bb priorities set,

(4) Knowing your daily cycle and handling the

most demanding parts of your job when you are most alert and productive, and

(5) Avoiding electronic distractions like frequently checking e-mail, which can limit attention
and reduce efficiency.

(b) Increased physical exercise: Physicians have recommended noncompetitive physical

exercise, such as aerobics, walking, jogging, swimming, and riding a bicycle, as a way to deal
with excessive stress levels. These activities increase lung capacity, lower the heart rate, and
provide a mental diversion from work pressures, effectively reducing work-related levels of
stress.

(c) Relaxation training: Individuals can also teach themselves to reduce tension through
relaxation techniques such as meditation, hypnosis, and deep breathing. The objective is to reach
a state of deep physical relaxation, in which you focus all your energy on release of muscle
tension. Deep relaxation for 15 or 20 minutes a day releases strain and provides a pronounced
sense of peacefulness, as well as significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and other
physiological factors.

(d) Social support network: Friends, family, or work colleagues can provide an outlet when
stress levels become excessive. Expanding your social support network provides someone to
hear your problems and offer a more objective perspective on a stressful situation than your own.

Organizational Approaches

Several organizational factors that cause stress are controlled by management and thus can be
modified or changed.

Strategies to consider include improved employee selection and job placement, training, realistic
goal-setting, redesign of jobs, increased employee involvement, improved organizational
communication, employee sabbaticals, and corporate wellness programs.

(a) Selection and placement: Management shouldn’t restrict hiring to only experienced
individuals with an internal locus, but such individuals may adapt better to high-stress jobs and
perform those jobs more effectively.

(b) Training: Training can increase an individual’s self-efficacy and thus lessen job strain.

(c) Realistic Goal setting: Individuals perform better when they have specific and challenging
goals and receive feedback on their progress toward these goals. Goals can reduce stress as well
as provide motivation.

(d) Redesigning jobs: To give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more
autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress because these factors give employees
greater control over work activities and lessen dependence on others.The right redesign for
employees with a low need for growth might be less responsibility and increased specialization.
(e) Increasing employee involvement: Employee involvement in decision making increases in
employee empowerment and reduce psychological strain.

(f) Increasing formal organizational communication: Management can also use effective
communications as a means to shape employee perceptions. It reduces uncertainty by lessening
role ambiguity and role conflict. What employees categorize as demands, threats, or
opportunities at work is an interpretation and that interpretation can be affected by the symbols
and actions communicated by management.

(g) Employee sabbaticals: Ranging in length from a few weeks to several months—allow
employees to travel, relax, or pursue personal projects that consume time beyond normal
vacations. Proponents say they can revive and rejuvenate workers who might otherwise be
headed for burnout.

(h) Wellness programs: Such programs typically provide workshops to help people quit
smoking, control alcohol use, lose weight, eat better, and develop a regular exercise program;
they focus on the employee’s total physical and mental condition. Some help employees improve
their psychological health as well.

Effect of Stress

 Effect of stress on individual

1. Eustress
2. Distress

3. Burnout
 Burnout is a chronic work-related stress that can lead to physical and emotional exhaustion, and
can cause job dissatisfaction and loss of personal happiness. It's characterized by three
dimensions:

 Energy depletion: Feelings of exhaustion

 Mental distance: Feelings of cynicism or negativism related to one's job
 Reduced professional efficacy: Attitudinal hardening (loss of empathy)

Stages of Burn out

Stage of Job Contentment – Enthusiasm to work with high energy level & positive attitude
Stage of Fuel Shortage-experiencing mental fatigue, frustration, disillusionment and low morale
Stage of withdrawal & isolation – avoiding contact with co workers, showing anger,
negativism & emotional disturbance
Stage of crisis- very low self esteem, cynicism & negative feelings
Stage of final breakdown- alcoholism, drug addiction, suicidal tendency and risk of heart attack

4. Rust out
Rust out is the silent equivalent of burnout. It's a state where employees feel under-
challenged, under-stimulated, and, ultimately, disengaged from their work.
It is a syndrome wherein a person is chronically underworked and his ski;; are
underutilized in performing the job.

Effects on the organisation may includes

 High absenteeism
 High labour turnover
 Poor time keeping
 Poor performance and productivity
 Low morale
 Poor motivation
 Increased employee complaints
 Increased ill-health, accidents and incidents reports