INTRODUCTION TO STRESS MANAGMENT

Stress Management has become a most important and valuable technique to boost the
employee morale and the company’s productivity in all companies. All the organizations
have understood that the employees play a key role and they should be out of stress to give a
high performance atmosphere. There are varieties of techniques to manage stress in
organization.

High stress jobs refer to work, which involves hectic schedule and complex job
responsibilities that result into imbalance between personal and work life. Overwork may affect
physical health of individual resulting into ineffective work and dissatisfaction among
employees leading to imbalance in family or personal life also.

Stress – a silent killer. The nature of work is changing at rapid speed, may be now more than
ever before, job stress threaten the health of workers and hence the health of the organization
and nation. Career is a word that includes so many things in it like, competition, deadlines,
follow ups, targets, schedules, meetings, and so many others which keep us busy on
professional end. As we try to concentrate more on accomplishment of professional
commitments, stress levels are at their highest point. Work related stress arises where job or
the organization demands the work which is beyond the capacity and capability of an
employee. The main cause of work related stress is poor organization culture. Today, stress
management has evolved as an individual stream of study. To

Manage stress at work place is responsibility of both and employer and an individual. The
employer should try to provide the stress free organization culture which is encouraging,
motivating and recreational for the employee.

What is Employee Stress ?

Employees stress is a growing concern for organizations today. Stress can be defined
as a lively circumstance in which people face constraints, opportunities, or loss of
something they desire and for which the consequence is both unpredictable as well as
crucial. Stress is the response of people to the unreasonable/excessive pressure or
demands placed on them. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting
from adverse or demanding circumstances. Stress happens when one feels that he can’t cope
with pressure and this pressure comes in many shapes and forms and triggers physiological
response. And it creates perceived threats to one’s survival. Some most common causes of
stress are survival stress, internal stress, environmental stress, and fatigue and overwork.
 Stress is not always negative. It may also bring out the best in individuals at times. It
may induce an individual to discover innovative and smarter way of doing things. This
positive dimension of stress is called as enstress. But usually, the term stress has a
negative implication and this negative aspect of stress is termed as distress. For
instance - When a subordinate is harassed or warned by his superior, unhappiness of
unsuitable job, etc. We can say that “Stress causes some people to break, and other to
break records.

Symptoms of Stress

Some of the symptoms of stress at workplace are as follows-

 Absenteeism, escaping from work responsibilities, arriving late, leaving early, etc.
 Deterioration in work performance, more of error prone work, memory loss, etc.
 Cribbing, over-reacting, arguing, getting irritated, anxiety, etc.
 Deteriorating health, more of accidents, etc.
 Improper eating habits (over-eating or under-eating), excessive smoking and
drinking, sleeplessness, etc.

It is thus very essential to have effective stress management strategies in an

organization so that the detrimental repercussions of stress on the employees as well
as their performance can be reduced and controlled.

Different Types of Stress

Eustress: This is a positive form of stress, which prepares your mind and
body for the imminent challenges that it has perceived. Eustress is a natural
physical reaction by your body which increases blood flow to your muscles,
resulting in a higher heart rate. Athletes before a competition or perhaps a
manager before a major presentation would do well with eustress, allowing
them to derive the inspiration and strength that is needed.

Distress: We are familiar with this word, and know that it is a negative form of
stress. This occurs when the mind and body is unable to cope with changes,
and usually occurs when there are deviations from the norm. They can be
categorized into acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is intense, but
does not last for long. On the other hand, chronic stress persists over a long
period of time. Trigger events for distress can be a change in job scope or
routine that the person is unable to handle or cope with.

Hyper stress: This is another form of negative stress that occurs when the
individual is unable to cope with the workload. Examples include highly
stressful jobs, which require longer working hours than the individual can
handle. If you suspect that you are suffering from hyper stress, you are likely
to have sudden emotional breakdowns over insignificant issues, the proverbial
straws that broke the camel’s back. It is important for you to recognize that
your body needs a break, or you may end up with severe and chronic physical
and psychological reactions.

Hypo Stress: Lastly, hypo stress occurs when a person has nothing to do
with his time and feels constantly bored and unmotivated. This is due to an
insufficient amount of stress; hence some stress is inevitable and helpful to
us. Companies should avoid having workers who experience hypo stress as
this will cause productivity and mindfulness to fall. If the job scope is boring
and repetitive, it would be a good idea to implement some form of job rotation
so that there is always something new to learn.

Sources/Causes of Stress
A. Extra Organisational Stressors

Job stress is not limited to things that happen inside the organisation,
during the working hours. Extra organisational factors also contribute to job
stress. These stressors include the following factors :
 1. Political Factors. Political factors are likely to cause stress in countries
which suffer from political uncertainties as in Iran, for example. 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. A very important example is the great depression of 1930s.
During this period, suicide rates touched the sky. 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.

B. Organisational Stressors

In organisations, there is no shortage of factors which can cause stress.

Almost every aspect of work can be a stressor for someone. Although there
are many factors in the work environment that have some influence on the
extent of stress that people experience at the job, the following factors have
been shown to be particularly strong in inducing stress :
1. Job Related Factors. Job related factors or task demands are related to
the job performed by an individual. These factors include the following :

If a job is too routine, dull and boring or happens to be too demanding in

terms of frequent transfers or constant travelling, which limits the time he can
spend with his family, the individual is likely to experience stress.

Some jobs also be hazardous or morally conflicting to the individual who

interfaces with it, for example, working in a explosives manufacturing factory
for the individual who is a staunch believer in and advocate of peace. For lack
of other job opportunities, he may be forced to work in this environment and
this may be a constant source of severe stress and anguish to the person.
Some duties and responsibilities have inbuilt stress such as those of the fire
fighter or the police squad which defuses bombs.

Jobs where temperatures, noise or other working conditions are dangerous

or undesirable can increase anxiety. Similarly, working in an over crowded
room or invisible location where interruptions are constant, can also lead to
stress.

The more interdependence between a person’s tasks and the tasks of

others, the more potential stress there is. Autonomy, on the other hand tends
to lessen stress.

Security is another task demand that can cause stress. Someone in a

relatively secure job is not likely to worry unduly about losing that position. On
the other hand, if job security is threatened stress can increase dramatically.

Another task demand stressor is workload. Overload occurs when a person

has more work to do than he can handle. The overload can be either
quantitative (the individual has too many tasks to perform or too little time in
which to perform them) or qualitative (the person believes that he lacks the
ability to do the job). On the other hand, the opposite of overload is also
undesirable. It can result in boredom and apathy just as overload can cause
tension and anxiety. Thus, a moderate degree of work related stress is optimal
because it leads to high level of energy and motivation.

2. Role Related Factors. Role related factors relate to pressures placed

on a person as a function of the particular role he or she plays in the
organisation. Individuals can experience the following role related stresses
:

Role Conflict. Role conflict occurs when two or more persons have different
and sometimes opposing expectations of a given individual. Thus, there are
two or more sets of pressures on the individual so that it is not possible to
satisfy all of them. Role conflict takes place when contradictory demands are
placed upon an employee simultaneously. For example, an advertising
manager may be asked to produce a creative ad campaign while on the other
hand, time constraint is put upon him, both roles being in conflict with each
other. Another type of role conflict is the inter-role conflict where an individual
plays more than one role simultaneously in his life and the demands of these
roles conflict with each other. For example, a police officer is invited to his
friend’s wedding party where the guests use drugs which are against the law.
Here he faces a role conflict.

Role Ambiguity. Stresses from job ambiguity arise when an employee does
not know what is expected of him or her or how to go about doing the job. For
example, if an employee who joins an organisation is left to himself to figure
out what he is supposed to be doing and nobody tells him what the
expectations of him or his role are, the newcomer will face a high level of role
ambiguity. Even an old employee can be given a responsibility without being
given much information. For example, a production manager might tell a
foreman that 500 units of steel rods are to be manufactured in next five days
and leaves town immediately without specifying what kind of additional help
will be provided, or what the purpose, cost, weight or design details are. The
foreman is left with a lot of role ambiguity and does not know how he should
go about doing the job.

Role Overload. Role overload refers to the situation when an individual is

expected to do too many things within a limited time as part of the daily
routine. For example, if Mrs. X is expected to perform the duties of a
supervisor, receptionist, public relations officer and an accountant, she is likely
to experience a lot of stress from the several roles she has to play during the
day. She may be able to manage the various roles for a short period of time,
but if expected to continue in this fashion on a long term basis, she is likely to
fall sick or quit.

3. Inter Personal and Group Related Factors. Interpersonal demands are

pressures created by other employees. Group related stressors include
factors like conflicts, poor communication, unpleasant relationship and fear
of being ostracized from the group as a valued member.
Working with superior, peers or subordinates with whom one does not get
along can be a constant source of stress. Some people can deal with
conflicts and misunderstandings in an open way and resolve issues as they
arise. Many, however, find it difficult to do this and build internal stresses
for themselves. Moreover, lack of social support from colleagues and poor
interpersonal relationships can cause considerable stress, especially
among employees with a high social need. Sometimes, the individuals try
to avoid these stresses by remaining absent as frequently as possible and
even start looking for new jobs.
4. Organisational Structural Factors. Organisational structure defines the
level of differentiation, the degree of rules and regulations and where
decisions are made. Excessive rules and lack of participation in decisions
that affect an employee are examples of structural variables that might be
potential stressors.
5. Organisational Leadership Factors. These factors represent the
managerial style of the organisation’s senior managers. Some managers
create a culture characterized by tension, fear and anxiety. They establish
unrealistic pressures to perform in the short run, impose excessively tight
controls and routinely fire employees who fail to turn up.
6. Organisation’s Life Cycle. Organisations go through a cycle. They are
established, they grow, become mature and eventually decline. An
organisation’s life cycle creates different problems and pressures for the
employees. The first and the last stage are stressful. The establishment
involves a lot of excitement and uncertainty, while the decline typically
requires cutback, layoffs and a different set of uncertainties. When the
organisation is in the maturity stage, stress tends to be the least because
uncertainties are lowest at this point of time.

C. Group Stressors

Another source of stress in organisations is poor interpersonal relationships

or conflicts. These conflicts can be among the members of the group or
between the superiors and subordinates. Groups have a lot of influence on
the employees’ behavior, performance and job satisfaction. On the other
hand, the group can also be a potential source of stress. Group stressors
can be categorized into the following factors. :
1. Group Cohesiveness. The famous Hawthorne studies had proved that
group cohesiveness is very important to the employees, particularly at the
lower levels of the organisation. Lack of cohesiveness can be very stress
producing, especially for those persons who cannot thrive in isolation.
The other side of the picture is that too much cohesiveness can also lead to
stress. Sayings like “Too much familiarity breeds contempt” is very valid
because prolonged contact with other people can also cause stress. This
stress becomes more intensified when the people we are close to or with
whom we come in contact with are in distress themselves. For example,
people tend to become distressed when their friends, colleagues or pears
are in distress. Due to this reason people belonging to certain specific
professions, which deal with the problems of other people have the highest
level of stress.
According to Albercht, doctors have the highest rate of alcoholism of any
of the professions and that psychiatrists have the highest rate of suicide.
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 organisations are prone to
interpersonal and inter-group conflicts. As we have discussed in the
previous chapter, conflict has both functional and dysfunctional aspects.
Whenever conflict has dysfunctional consequences, it will lead to stress in
all the concerned parties.
4. Organisational Climate. Much of the group or interpersonal
relationships depend upon the organisational climate. An overall
organisational climate may have a relaxed style of working or it may be
tense and crisis oriented. All the employees of such organisation will be
continously tense, if the climate in general is unfriendly, hostile or totally
task oriented.

D. Individual Stressors

The typical individual works for about 8 to 10 hours a day. The problems
and experiences which he has to face in the remaining 14 to 16 non-
working hours can spill over to his work place. Our final category of
stressors thus includes personal or individual stressors. Following are the
main factors which can cause stress to individuals :
1. Job Concerns. One of the major job concern 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. This is particularly true for
middle aged people, because middle age is a period of soul searching and
 self doubt. If these people were not given promotions when due or they feel
that the jobs which were given to them were beneath their qualifications,
they may become very anxious. This anxiety will lead to stress.
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. The relocation can lead to the following
problems:

The fear of working in a new location.

Unpredictability about new work environment.

Anxiety about creating new relationships.

Uprooting of children from their schools and friends.

If the employee has got a working spouse then the stress is greater.

Uncertainty about getting a new job at the new location creates some
degree of stress.
Thus, when a person is geographically relocated, his stress will depend
upon how many changes occur in his social relationships and family life.
More the changes, more will be the stress.
3. Economic Problems. Some people are very poor money managers or
they have wants and desires that always seem to exceed their earning
capacity.
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. Certain professions like teaching are less
stressful than those of company executives, bankers or businessmen.
6. Life Change and 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. A life trauma is any unheaval in an
individual’s life that alter his or her attitudes, emotions or behaviors. Life
change and life trauma look alike but there is difference between the two.
To illustrate, according to the life change view, the death of a spouse adds
to a person’s potential for health problems in the following year. At the
same time, the person will also experience an emotional turmoil, which will
constitute life trauma and life trauma will spill over to the work place.
Organizational strategies for managing stress
1. Encouraging more of organizational communication with the employees so that there is no role
ambiguity/conflict. Effective communication can also change employee views. Managers can use
better signs and symbols which are not misinterpreted by the employees.
2. Encourage employees’ participation in decision-making. This will reduce role stress.
3. Grant the employees greater independence, meaningful and timely feedback, and greater
responsibility.
4. The organizational goals should be realistic, stimulating and particular. The employees must be
given feedback on how well they are heading towards these goals.
5. Encourage decentralization.
6. Have a fair and just distribution of incentives and salary structure.
7. Promote job rotation and job enrichment.
8. Create a just and safe working environment.
9. Have effective hiring and orientation procedure.

Appreciate the employees on accomplishing and over-exceeding their targets. Some of the measures
which organisations can take are;

1. Selection and Placement. Individuals differ in their response to stress situations. We know that
‘Type A’ individuals are more prone to stress. On the other hand, in the organisations there are
certain jobs which are more stressful as compared to other jobs. While doing the selection and
placement of the employees, these factors must be kept in mind. The individuals who are more
prone to stress should not be put on jobs which are stressful. The individuals who are less prone to
stress may adapt better to high stress jobs and perform those jobs more effectively.

2. Goal Setting. Based on extensive amount of research it has been concluded that individuals
perform better when they have specific and challenging goals and they receive feedback on how
well they are progressing towards those goals. Goal setting can reduce stress as well as
provide motivation. It will result in less employee frustration, role ambiguity and stress.

3. Improved Communication. Sometimes due to lack of effective communication from the

superiors, the employees do not know what they have to do and how they have to do it. This result in
role ambiguity. Similarly, when two or more persons have contradicting role demands from an
employee, it leads to role conflict if there is lack of proper communication. Effective
communication with employees reduces the uncertainty by lessening role ambiguity and role conflict.

4. Redesigning Jobs. Organisations should redesign the jobs in such a way as to give employees
more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy and increased feed back. This will help
reduce the stress caused by monotony, routine work, work overload or underload and role
ambiguity. Job redesigning enhances motivation, reduces the stress among the employees and
enhances “Quality of work life“.

5. Participative Decision Making. If the organisations give the employees participation in those
decisions that directly affect them and their job performance, it can increase employee control and
reduce the role stress. The main reason of role stress is that employees feel uncertain about their
goals, expectations and how they will be evaluated. These uncertainties can be reduced by the
management by giving the employees a right to participate in the decision making.

6. Building Teamwork. The management should try to create such work environment in which there
is no provision for interpersonal conflict or inter group conflict. Such conflicts are the causes of
stress, such should be prevented from building or eliminated if they develop. Accordingly such team
work should be developed that groups and the members are mutually supportive and productive.
Members of the group should consider themselves as members of the same family and seek social
support from each other.

7. Personal Wellness Programmes. These personal wellness programmes focus on the

employees total physical and mental condition. Organisations can provide facilities at their premises
for physical fitness such as gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts etc. as well as psychological
counselling. They should hold seminars or workshops to make the employees understand nature
and sources of stress and the possible ways to reduce it. These workshops should help those
individuals who are already under stress. Moreover, a supervisor can impact personal wellness of
his subordinates through positive example, encouragement and by practising the basic concepts and
techniques of human resource management.

10.
PRACTICES USED BY DIFFERENT COMPANIES FOR STRESS
MANAGEMENT
1.GOOGLE
Google India is one of the best companies to work in and the employees are most satisfied, claims many

surveys conducted by different organization year on year. The company provides very warm and sound

Organizational culture to every employee in each of the department. The stress management
techniques at Google

India includes- Flexible working hours and don’t have time cards.

1. Googler 2 Googler: Nooglers (New hires) have induction programme at some of the most
beautiful place in the world, enables employees to share their knowledge with peers.
2. Play Dough: Every manager was given a budget to spend on a fun group activity outside office.
3. Free Legal Advice: Googlers get free legal advice .
4. Travel Without Worries: All googlers and family members get travel insurance and emergency
services even when they are on personal vacation.
5. Celebration of Local Festivals: In all the campus of Google India, company celebrates all major
local festivals.
6. Cafeteria: Google provides the best food and one can never get bore eating at Google cafeteria.
The chief chef will come to dining table and will ask about the taste and suggestions for the
food.
7. Sports Activities: Google office features foosball, ping pong and pool tables, an outdoor basket
ball court and indoor cricket pitch.
8. Gym: Google provides excellent gymnasium facility and a massage center

2. TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES

At TCS work life balance is an important aspect of employees. TCS regularly organizes employee

Engagement programmes. TCS has introduced stress management as part of HR policy of the company.

 Sports: TCS offices are equipped with facilities like Table tennis, basket ball, badminton and
tennis with professional coaches to train and help employees to enhance their ability.
  Gym: TCS office is Mumbai has a fully equipped gym with latest machine and trained fitness
experts.
 Yoga : TCS regularly organizes Yoga camps for the employees.
 Maitree: The other initiatives include fun events, picnics, wellness program, and trekking camps
and also
 promotes community development projects as part of work life balance programme.

3. Infosys:
Infosys has always been most preferred Indian company as it provides very good facilities to its
employees which just not include monetary package but a homely and motivating work culture.

 HALE: To curb the stress level amongst employees, Infosys launched a Health Assessment &
Lifestyle enrichment plan This has been a focused response to rising concerns of employee
health and the impact of work stress on our employees and their families. HALE improves
organizational productivity through healthy employees and has done work in the area of
employee health (physical and mental), creating a healthy work environment, amongst other
things.
 Nurture your Passion: Infosys has a range of clubs for activities such as music, movies, sports,
theatre, and photography. You can also create new clubs with like-minded Infoscions and add it
to our club roll.
 Get Social: Meet, collaborate, and share your interests with Infoscions around the world on our
intranet portal Sparsh and our social networking platform Infy Bubble. Also be part of
entertaining events on campus — from concerts and family days to festivals and award
ceremonies.
 A Friendly Ear: At Infosys, you’ll find mentors to guide you in your career. You will only get
better every day with managers who provide you constructive feedback and track your progress.
 Infosys allows it employees to use twitter, face book or other social networking sites.
 It provides facilities like gym, saloon, swimming pool, table tennis etc

4.Microsoft
It’s all about health at Microsoft. Not only does the company offer education and
resources for smoking cessation, weight management, and fitness training, Microsoft
will also fund your gym memberships or fitness-related equipment and activity
purchases while also providing free Zumba classes, onsite walking and running tracks,
along with basketball, volleyball, and baseball courts. Additionally, Microsoft holds
“Know Your Numbers” health screening events that provide employees and their
spouses with screenings for heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure,
along with mammograms and flu shots. The Microsoft campus also offers health-care
services, including onsite clinics, optometrists, and pharmacists. The Microsoft CARES
employee assistance program also offers free personal and family counseling, stress
management, and referrals for child and elder care. The cafés come stocked with
healthy dining options, including a new “Real Easy Wellness” labeling system to help
employees easily identify healthy food options. Even better, though, Microsoft offers
onsite grocery and dry cleaning delivery, too. Not to mention, Microsoft has a
mentorship program, employee source groups, networks, and social groups to build a
sense of community and camaraderie among co-workers