Chapter 2:

Managing Personal Stress

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -1

 Learning Outcomes
• Adopt strategies for eliminating
stressors
• Enhance level of personal
resilience
• Utilize appropriate temporary
coping responses

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -2

 Management of
Stress and Time
• Costs US economy $500 billion
annually
• Stress related problems at work
include:
– Absenteeism
– Turnover
– Job Dissatisfaction
– Accidents
– Physical Health of Employees

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -3

 The Role of Management

Ineffective Employee
Management Stress

Employee Ineffective
Stress Management

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -4

 Lewin’s Force Field

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -5

 Three Stages of
Reactions to Stress
Stage 1) Alarm: increase in anxiety, fear,
sorrow or loss.
Stage 2) Resistance: attempt to control
stress using defense mechanism.
Stage 3) Exhaustion: stop trying to defend
against stress.

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -6

 Stress Defense Mechanisms
1. Aggression
2. Regression
3. Repression
4. Withdrawal
5. Fixation

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -7

 A General Model of Stress

Insert Figure 2.2

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -8

 Managing Stress
A Hierarchy of Approaches
Enactive Strategies: Eliminate
stressors
Proactive Strategies: Develop
resiliency strategies
Reactive Strategies: Learn
temporary coping strategies

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 -9

 Physiological
Consequences of Stress

Insert Figure 2.3

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 10

 Four Sources of Stress
1. Time Stressors
2. Encounter Stressors
3. Situational Stressors
4. Anticipatory Stressors

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 11

 Types of Stressors

• Time Stressors
– Work overload
– Lack of control
• Encounter Stressors
– Role conflicts
– Issue conflicts
– Action conflicts

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 12

 Types of Stressors
• Situational Stressors
– Unfavorable working conditions
– Rapid change
• Anticipatory Stressors
– Unpleasant expectations
– Fear

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 13

 Eliminating Stressors

Insert Table 2.3

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 14

 Effective Time
Management
1. Spending time on important
matters
2. Distinguishing between
important tasks versus urgent
tasks
3. Focus on results rather than
methods
4. Not feeling guilty when saying
“no”

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 15

 Types of Activities that
Determine Time Use
Insert figure 2.4

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 16

 Efficient Time Management

40 Techniques for Time

Management
• 20 apply to all aspects of
life
• 20 apply to management

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 17

 Collaboration

Eliminating encounter stress

through membership in a
stable, closely-knit group or
community.

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 18

 Emotional Bank Accounts

A metaphor which compares

investments in relationships to
deposits and withdrawals in
bank accounts. The more
people interact, the more
deposits are made.

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 19

 Four Dimensions of Social
Intelligence
1. An accurate perception of
other’s emotional and
behavioral responses.
2. The ability to cognitively and
emotionally relate to the
responses of others.
3. Social knowledge
4. Social problem solving

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 20

 Work Redesign
• Effectively eliminating stress and
increasing productivity by changing
aspects of work.
• To eliminate stressors at work:
– combine tasks
– form identifiable work units
– establish customer relationships
– increase decision-making
authority
– open feedback channels
© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 21
 Eliminating Anticipatory Stressors
through Goal Setting

Insert figure 2.5

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 22

 Small Wins Strategy
• Identify something under your
control
• Change it in a way that leads
toward desired goal
• Find another small thing to
change and change it
• Keep track of changes made
• Maintain the small gains made
through change

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 23

 Resiliency
The capacity to withstand or
manage the negative effects
of stress, to bounce back from
adversity, and endure difficult
situations.

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 24

 Balancing Life Activities

Insert figure 2.6

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 25

 Resiliency: Moderating the
Effects of Stress
Physiological Psychological Social
Resiliency Resiliency Resiliency

• Cardiovascular • Balanced • Supportive

conditioning lifestyle social relations
• Proper diet • Hardy • Mentors
personality • Teamwork
• Small-wins
strategy

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 26

 Benefits of
Regular Exercise
1. Maintaining
optimal weight
2. Increasing
psychological
well being
3. Improving the
cardiovascular
system

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 27

 You Are What You Eat!
• Eat a variety of foods
• Maintain optimal weight
• Reduce fat intake
• Eat more whole foods
• Reduce sugar and sodium intake
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine
• Take vitamins and supplements
• Make eating a relaxing time

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 28

 Hardiness
• Take control of your life
• Get involved, become
committed to a cause
• See change as a new
challenge, not as a
threat

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 29

 Type A Personality
• Extreme competitiveness
• Strong desires for
achievement
• Haste
• Impatience
• Restlessness
• Hyperalertness
• Explosiveness of speech

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 30

 Negative Effects of
Type A Personality

• Heart disease
• Stress related illness (i.e. low
emotional involvement)
• Reduced ability to develop
hardiness

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 31

 Antidotes for Type A’s

• Small wins strategy

• Deep-relaxation strategies
– meditation
– yoga
– self-hypnosis
– biofeedback

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 32

 Temporary Stress
Reduction Techniques
• Physiological Techniques
– Muscle relaxation
– Deep breathing
• Psychological Techniques
– Imagery and fantasy
– Rehearsal
– Reframing

© 2007 by Prentice Hall 2 - 33