STRESS

MANAGEMENT
 STRESS

Stress is defined as “a
person’s adaptive response to a
stimulus that places excessive
psychological or physical
demands on that person.”
 COMPONENTS OF
DEFINITION
 Stimulus (Stressor)
 Adaptive Response of a Person
 Excessive Demands Put on the Individual
by the Stressor
 The Demands Could be Physical or
Psychological
 Each Person has his Own Threshold for
stress
 IS STRESS REALLY HARMFUL
IN ALL SITUATIONS?
 Good Stress: It is beneficial, even
desirable, when it is within our manageable
limit.
– Ex: Working very hard on a project or job,
extremely time-compressed, a great deal of
stress, yet happy and motivated.

 Bad Stress: Harmful when it overshoots

our capacity to cope with it.
– Ex: A lot of stress, when there is very little to
do in our professional or personal lives
STRESS AND PRODUCTIVITY/EFFICIENCY

OPTIMUM
P LEVEL
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O LEVEL OF STRESS
CAUSES OF STRESS
* Organizational Stressors. These include
factors in the workplace that can cause
stress.

* Life Stressors. These include factors or

events that take place outside the
organisation.
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS

• Task Demands. Stressors Related with the

Specific Jobs:-
• Fighter Pilots, ATCs, Surgeons, etc.

• Physical Demands. Stressors Related

with the Setting of a Job:-
• Excessive Temperatures, Poorly-designed
Offices, Inadequate Workplace.
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS

 Role Demands. Ambiguity/conflicts in

Roles:-
– Lack of Clarity of a Role or What is Expected
by the Organisation.
– One Role Conflicting with Another.

 Interpersonal Demands. Stressors

Related with Group Pressures, Leadership
Styles, Personalities and their Behaviour.
 LIFE STRESSORS
 LifeChange. Concept of Holmes and Rahe
[Life Change Units (LCUs)]:-
– Any Meaningful Change in Life.
– Each Person can Handle a Certain Threshold of
Stress.
– People with More than 150 LCUs to Experience
Stress the Following Year.
– 150-300 LCUs – 50% Chance of Major illness.
– > 300 LCUs – 70% Chance of Major illness.
 LIFE STRESSORS
 LifeTrauma. Any Single Upheaval in
Life that Disrupts Attitudes, Emotions
or Behaviour:-
– Divorce after an Exceptionally Good
Marriage.
– Death or Kidnapping of a Close Family
Member.
– Rape or Sexual Assault.
 CONSEQUENCES OF
STRESS

 Positive Consequences

 Negative Consequences
 POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES
 Increased
Energy, Drive, Motivation and
Enthusiasm.
 Increased Happiness and Satisfaction.
 Increased
Willingness to Accept More
Responsibilities.
 Positive
Outlook about Life and Happenings
in the World.
 IncreasedCommitment towards Job and
Organisation.
 NEGATIVE
CONSEQUENCES
* Individual Consequences

* Organizational Consequences

* Burnout
 INDIVIDUAL
CONSEQUENCES

* Behavioural Consequences

* Psychological Consequences

* Medical Consequences
 INDIVIDUAL CONSEQUENCES
(Behavioural)

Behavioural Changes Occur due to Stress, Which

Lead to:-
 Increase in Smoking
 Increase in Drug Abuse
 Accident Proneness, Violence, Appetite Disorder
INDIVIDUAL CONSEQUENCES
(Psychological)

These Relate to Mental Health and Wellbeing, thus,

People Experiencing Too Much Stress, face:-
 Depression
 Sleep Disorder
 Family Problems and Relationship Difficulties
INDIVIDUAL CONSEQUENCES
(Medical)

Too Much Stress Leads to Medical

Disorders, like:-
 Cardiovascular Disease
 Headache, Backache, Ulcer, Intestinal
Disorders, Skin Disorders
 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
FOR ORGANISATIONS

* Performance

* Withdrawal

* Attitudes
 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
(Performance)

 Decline in Performance
 Poor Quality Work or Drop in Output
 Faulty Decision Making
 Disruptions in Working Relationships
 Irritable Personality
 Hard to Work With
 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
(Withdrawal)

 Absenteeism and Quitting

 Increased Sick Reports
 Increased Complaints against the
Organisation
 Ignoring Deadlines
 Longer Tea Breaks
 Psychological Withdrawal thru Could-not-
Care-Less Attitude
 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
(Attitudes)

 NegativeAttitudes towards Work and the

Organisations
 Low Job Satisfaction
 Low Morale and Less Organisational
Commitment
 Low Motivation to Perform at High Level
 BURNOUT
 General
Feelings of Exhaustion, when a
Person Experiences Too Much Pressure and
Too Few Sources of Satisfaction.
 Peoplewith High Level of Aspirations and
Strong Motivation to Get Things Done are
the Prime Candidates.
 Organisations
that Limit Initiative Create
Burnout Conditions.
 Fatigue, Frustration, Helplessness
 STRESS
MANAGEMENT

 Individual-coping strategies

 Organizational-coping
strategies
 INDIVIDUAL COPING
STRATEGIES

 Exercise regularly
 Relax, don’t panic
 Delegate tasks & authority
 Don’t be angry; it damages you more
 Say your prayers & meditate
 Manage your time; you’ll feel relaxed
 Keep your aspirations realistic
 Clarify your role in the organization
 Adopt the habit of patience
 Make friends
 Smile; it helps
 ORGANIZATIONAL COPING
STRATEGIES
 Conduct proper job analysis
 Make work schedules in consultation
with the personnel
 Encourage participation
 Promote healthy mix of work and non-
work activities
 Train managers in stress management
techniques
 Keep personnel well-informed of their
‘standing’ in the organization
 Adopt open-door policy
 Follow consistent policies
 Allow informal communication
 Promote family-like atmosphere
 Display interest in personal problems of
your personnel
 Provide professional help at organization’s
expenses
 Train managers to praise the good deeds of
their subordinates
QUESTIONS?