UNIT 13 MANAGING STRESS

Structure
Introduction
Objectives
Concept of Stress
13.3.1 Stressors and their Identification
Recognising Stress
13.4.1 Stress: What to Look for?
Coping with Stress
13.5.1 Gender Difterences
13.5.2 Personality Differences
Techniques of Stress Management
Let Us Sum Up
References and Suggested Readings

13.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this unit is to introduce you to the concepts of stress and stress
mapagement to help yourself, your staff and your students to cope effectively
with the numerous demands that school and society make on them. In this
dynamic, ever-changing social and psychological world, with the changed nature
of the family and break down of the support systems, the head teacher can play
a central role in helping teachers and students deal with the pressures, tensions
and frustrations of life.

13.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
understand the concept of stress;
recognize organisational stress in your school;
identify common causes of organizational stress; and
identify the techniques and strategies for coping with stress.

13.3 CONCEPT OF STRESS

Stress is a popular expression used by people in day to day life. Pressures of day
to day living sometimes necessitate coping or dealing with them and stretch the
body beyond its natural capacity. They are called stressors. Stress is a natural,
ongoing dynamic and interactive process that takes place as people adjust to
their environment. Stress at moderate level is not only inevitable but may be
useful for physical and mental well being.
DtIfining Stress
Stress can be defined as "any event, situation, circumstance,demand,pressure
or tension that disturbs or threatens to disturb the individual 's-$nctioning,
leading to physical, mental and emotional strain". "Stress is the adverse
reuction people have to excessive pressures or other types of dernundplaced
upon them. It arises when they worry they can't cope". - HSE
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 Although the general orientation to stress is to consider unfavorable outcomes, Managing Stress
yet you must have observed that stress experiences may also facilitate the
development of effective and varied coping behaviour, increased personal
resources, and lead to a sense of competence in development. Therefore it is
essential to understand the importance for optimum stress levels. It is very much
like the stress on a sitar string Not enough produces a dull, harsh sound. Too
much makes a shrill, annoying noise, or causes the string to snap. However, just
the right degree can create magnificent tones. Similarly, the level of stress under
which the individuals operate is important if they are not under enough stress,
they may find that their performance suffers because they are bored and
unmotivated. However, if they are under too much stress, once again they may
d find that their performance is adversely affected. It is excessive stress that leads
to maladjustive behaviour among them. Therefore, it is important that individuals
recognize that they are responsible for their own stress, they should learn to
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monitor their stress levels, and adjust them according to the need of the hour.
They need to realize that by managing stress effectively they can significantly
improve the quality of their own lives. Stress for them will be pleasurable when
it is seen as a challenge that calls for their new-found energy and their skill.

Performance
L

Optimum Stress

Low
Stress Anxiousness
Boredom

Stress Level
Fig. 13.1: Relationship between stress and performance.

Figure13.1 shows the relationship between stress and the quality of performance.
You can see that if the level of stress is low, individuals may find that their
performance is low because they are bored, lack concentration and motivation.
Likewise if the stress is too high, their performance can suffer from all the
symptoms of short-term stress reactions. The zone of best performance is when
there is moderate level of stress. If the individual is at this level, helshe will be
sufficiently aroused to perform well without being over-stressed and unhappy.
! The relationship between pressure and performance can be identified with
experiences at either end being described as:
I
I Rustout (where the individual receives too little stimulation/tension)
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Developing Human Burnout (where the individual receives too much stimulation/tension)
Resources
Study and analyse the cases below:
Case 1
Shibani a teacher at St. Mary's school, has a teaching load of 35 hours per week.
She has 4 students for remedial teaching in Mathematics. Each student needs at
least an hour in a week. She is well versed in issues concerning education so she
is called as a guest speaker by a number of schools to address their students or
staff. She is also a member of the school magazine committee. She has two
small school going kids, her husband has lost his job recently so they can't
afford a maid. Shibani has to get up early in the morning, complete all her
household chores, send her children to school, get ready and leave for school.
Lately, she has been feeling exhausted and has lost her appetite. She gets
headaches, is unable to sleep and cries a lot. She gets alarmed and frustrated
easily and has become imtable and cold towards her students and colleagues in
school.
Reflect and analyse
What is happening to Shibani?
What are the sources of her problems?
What should she do, in your opinion?
Case 2
Marie has recently been appointed as French teacher in your school. She was
joyous and elated with her appointment. However her joy was short lived, for as
soon as she started taking classes, she found that she was unable to answer
student's queries, no one paid attention to what she was teaching. She would
spend hours preparing for her class but the students would pay no heed to her
and did as they pleased. Her colleagues too were not friendly, they would talk ill
about her and give her a cold shoulder every time she approached them for help.
Her ideas were criticized and devalued. She hates coming to school and wants to
resign. Marie gets fatigued without doing much work, feels nauseous, dizzy and
often complains of chest pain and headaches. She forgets things easily, and is
unable to solve simple problems, gets agitated and initable.
Reflect and analyse
What is happening to Marie?
What are the sources of her problems?
What should she do?
Case 3
Gurudev a bright student of class X recently lost his father. He is unable to
concentrate in class, or complete his assignments. He does shoddy work, seems
agitated, does not interact with his friends and gets angry easily. You are concerned
about his behaviour and want to help him.

Reflect and analyse

How will you approach him?
What do you think are the stressors in his life?
What are the ways of coping that you can suggest to him?
13.3.1 Stressors and their Identification Managing Stress

Stressors are events or situations to which people must adjust. Stressors may be
physical or psychological in nature. A stressor can challenge the person to work
more effectively, or it could lead to a host of harmful eiTects like psychosomatic
diseases, negative emotional reactions and inaladaptive behaviour as was seen
in the above case examples. Stressors may be classified as mild (few seconds to
a few hours), moderate (hours to days) or severe (weeks, months or even years).
Their degree of intensity is also reflected in the nature of impact which the
stressor has on the person's well-being. The sources of stress are many. They
arise from multiple areas both with the individual and from the environment.

13.4 RECOGNISING STRESS

Not every teacher suffers stress. In LTK, for instance, the National Union of
Teachers (NUT), in a survey in 1999 found that 36% of teachers felt the effects
of stress all or most of the time. Although teaching is not intrinsically stressful
but as Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the
University of Manchestor's Institute of Science and Technology says,

'Teaching is a political football, it changes all the time. The combination of

continual change -with frequent new unsociable hours and poor pay, make up a
stressful recipe'.

Top five issues raised by teachers seeking help

Stress, anxiety and depression 27%
Conflict with managers or colleagues 14%
Pressures of workload and excessive changes 9%
Loss of confidence and pe$ormunce anxiety 9%
Relationship, marital and family problems 5%
(Teacher Support Line: First report Managing Stress in Schools, 2000)

13.4.1 Stress: What to Look for?

As an individual, you almost certainly know what stress feels like. Like
individuals, organizations get stressed too. As a school leader, it is important to
recognize organizational stress in your school so that you can devise strategies
to overcome it for yourself and your staff. Let us recall the above cases of Shibani,
Marie and Gurudev. What signs do they all exhibit?
a sense of frustration and anger
irritability, poor concentration and loss of appetite
exhaustion, fatigue, headaches or other pains
depleting sense of enthusiasm and dedication
increasing personal vulnerability
loss of sense of humour and
an increase in sick leave.
Developing Human
Resources 13.5 COPING WITH STRESS
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) have recognized two classes of coping with stress.
Problem-focused coping involves planned actions to bring about a change in
the stressful conditions by acting on the environment or on oneself. Some of the
strategies used in this type of coping are active coping (where the individual
actively attempts to remove a stressful situation), planning, confrontational
coping, and suppression of competing activities.

Emotion-focused coping involves attempting to reduce the emotional distress

associated with a stressful situation without actively trying to change the situation
itself. This could include acceptance of reality, positive reinterpretation, searching
for alternative awards, tension reduction, wishful thinking, and denial. Based on
these approaches, there are several techniques of stress management. Before we
discuss the techniques, let us see why different people deal with stress in different
ways.
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Activity
Bearing in mind your current role and responsibilities, try to identi! a
list of factors which you .feel contribute to the pressures you face in your
role
..........................................................................................................................
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..........................................................................................................................
Compile a list of elements which you find help to reduce the pressures or
'stresses' o f your role.
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...........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................

13.5.1 Gender Differences

,4 comparison between boys and girls reveals that boys react differently to stress
from girls. The differences in the reaction to stress in boys and girls can be
brought to light best by using the case cited below.

Case
Arvind and Yasmeen are best friends. They are in the same class. Both are good
at studies and they like to do things together. When the mid-term results were
announced, both of them got to know that they had failed in Physics. As soon as
they got to know this, Yasmeen became miserable, started crying, started biting
her nails and could not eat for nearly a week. Thereafter, she would worry
constantly and had unpleasant thoughts. Arvind on the other hand, was able to
distract himself by turning his attention towards playing the guitar and reduced
his negative feelings. But he became defiant. naughty and restless during his
I Managing Stress
Can you cite the difference in the way Arvind and Yasmeen reacted to the same

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situation?
Research has indicated that under stress boys were found to become more
disobedient, aggressive and restless while girls became tearful, miserable and
resorted to biting their nails, and experienced loss or increased sense of appetite.
Also, as compared with boys, girls reported more hassles of negative effects and
physical symptoms and fewer positive emotions.

I 13.5.2 Personality Differences

Doubtless you have heard of the various "types" of people - Type A, Type B or
those who stand somewhere in between. your personality type has a direct bearing
on how you deal with any stress that comes into your life. There are two kinds of
personality types: Type A and Type B.
! P
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I' Type A
1) Are highly competitive 1)
me £3
Are lesq competitive
2) Try to create competitions where 2) Like to cooperate with people
none exists 3) Take life easy and are relaxed
3) Are always rushing into this, that 4) Like to work at leisurely and
and everything unhurried pace
4) Are always ready for action 5 ) Like to take time before getting involved
5 ) Have a tendency to watch the clock in anything
and make sure that things are not 6) Do things unhurriedly and at their
taking too much time convenience
6) Resent changing their opinions, 7) Are flexible, willing to change their
techniques and schedules for others opinions, techniques and schedules for
7) Create competition and thrive on it others
8) Are achievement oriented 8) Are complaint, adaptable and adjusting
9) Are highly motivated to succeed 9) Are relaxed
10) Enjvy challenges 10) Are not overly interested in instant
11) Like to know how well they are doing feedback
12) Tend to be resentful, chronically 11) Tend to be trustful, dependent, peaceful
angry, and mistrustful and composed
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I Each type has certain distinct characteristics but based on their characteristics
we cannot say that Type A are bad and face high level of stress and Type B are
good and face lower levels of stress. The answer depends on how stress is
C perceived. If Type A persons create competitiveness and then thrive on it, enjoys
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the "rush and "drive" that come along with it - they are experiencing eustress
and using it to their advantage. By contrast, if Type B persons try to reduce
k competitiveness and cannot - they will experience high levels of stress and fail
in the task.

For example if you observe a group of students just before they are about to
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perform something like a play, you will find that a Type A student might get
agitated, restless, shout at the classmates, fidget, curse, fume, keep on asking
when their group will go on stage etc. Type B student, on the other hand, might
relax and listen to music, practice hisher lines or try to help hisher Type A
friend relax.
Developing Human Model Study
Resources
Study Figure 13.2 carefully and write down the causes and efects of stress,

- -- -- MODEL OF STRESS
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ETtrrmal
Demands and
,- I Internal Demands
and Pressures
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Enrimmental

impaired decision making f I

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Fig. 13.2: Model of Stress.

Figure 13.2. is a model of stress which highlights the CauarS and consequences
of stress. Thus, we can see that there are two types of stressors-exernal hid
internal stressors. External stressors include demands and pressures made by
the family, society, environment, work-place, school or one's financial position.
Internal stressors are demands and pressures due to responsibilities, obligations
and self-criticisms and result in physiological and psychological strain which in
turn can result in stress reactions and illness.
The consequences depicted in Figure 13.2 include:
increased accidents;
absenteeism;
burnout;
poor morale;
costly mistakes;
reduced productivity;
impaired decision making;
high staff turnover;

increased health care costs.

If you observe the figure carefully you will see that the relationship between the
stressors and consequences is not a direct one. The stressor effect relationship is
mediated or influenced by our perceptions or awareness, attitudes, beliefs, values,
past experiences, genetic predisposition, coping skills and life style.
 Managing Stress
13.6 TECHNIQUES OF STRESS MANAGEMENT
The techniques of stress management range from simple self help techniques to
more elaborate ones involving seeking help from others. Let us now try to
understand them.

School leaders may have a particularly difficult role in dealing with overly stressed
staff, particularly where team-based support is limited or non-existent. In this
context the following is important.
Head teachers should help themselves, and others to review their relationship
with their jobs regularly. They may in the process, identify such routines
and practices which appear to trigger stress change what you can work
realistically with wh.at you can't.
Recognize your own limitations and strengths and help others to do the
same. There may yell be areas in which individuals and teams to give you
guidance about the improvements they would welcome, including about
your own behaviour.
Help colleagues to find recharging time and space. Given the nature of
educational change, determining individual stability and comfort zone by
trying to establish clear ideas about one's role and one's personal ambitions
in the organization structure is very important.
Teacher's workload

What the workload review recommends

The action plan should:
Remove excessive tasks from teachers and heads
Improve teachers 'ownership' of their work and their self esteem
Make better use of support stafl
Use IT to ease the load
Help schools redesign the working day to improve eficiency
Improve the way government and its agencies bring in change
(teacher Wordkoad Study, jinal report, Pricewaterhouse Coppers, 2001)

Learn how to best relax yourself

Be aware of your own situation. As a head yo11have a difficult job. It is
easy to become involved in issues surroundingyou and become over stressed.
In this case, you are less likely to provide the essential support to your staff
and students. Meditation and breathing exercises havc been proven to be
very effective in controlling stress. Practice clearing your mind o; rll~turbin~

Remove yourselffrom the stressful situation by giving yourself a break if

only or a few moments daily.
Set realistic goals for yourself and help others to do the same.
Reduce the number of events going on in your life and you may reduce the
circuit overload.
Don't overwhelm yourself by fretting about your entire workload. Handle
each task as it comes, or selectively deal with matters in some priority.
Developing Human Selectively change the way you react but not too much at one time. Focus
Resources
on one troublesome thing and manage your reactions to it/him/her.
Change the way you see things Learn to recognize stress for what it is.
Increase your body's feedback and make stress self-regulating.
Avoid extreme reactions Why hate when a little dislike will do? Why generate
anxiety when you can be nervous?
Do something for others In order to help get your mind off yourself
Get enough sleep Lack of rest just aggravates stress
Work oflstress Get rid of stress with physical actjvity, whether it's jogging,
tennis, gardening
Avoid self-medication Alcohol and drugs can mask stress. They don't help
deal with the problems.
Develop u thick skin The bottom line of stress management is 'I upset
myself' .
Try to use stress If you can't fight what's bothering you and you can't flee
from it, flow with it and try to use it in a productive way.
Try to be positive Give yourself messages as to how well you can cope
rather than how horrible everything is going to be. Stress can actually help
memory, provided it is short term and not too severe. Stress causes more
glucose to be delivered to the brain, which makes more energy available to
neurons. This, in turn, enhances memory formation and retrieval. On the
other hand, if stress is prolonged, it can impede the glucose delivery and
disrupt memory.
Communicate with and trust your staff
Communication is the key to dealing with stress effectively. Trust your staff and
more often than not, they will trust you. This is especially true when it comes to
dealing with personal issues. Not all stressed teachers are stressed because of
the school: teachers are people too and so subject to the same pressures and
issues as everyone else. Divorce, illness, debt, bereavement and all the other
crises of human life impinge on the staff room and you will inevitably be dealing
with the various consequences.

Case
Secondary school teacher Muriel Benson won &47,000compensation for illness
caused by stress, in an out-of-court settlement in 1999. It was the first teacher
stress case to be settled.
Mrs Benson was forced to retire on ill health grounds from her job as head of
year at a secondary school in Wirral, in 1986. the NUT backed her case against
employers Wirral metropolitan borough council.
She joined the school in her first teaching job in 1977. She taught English and
media studies and was appointed head of year in the 1980. 'I loved it,' she said.
'I always put 100% in.'
Mrs Benson ran many after-school activities, served as a teacher-governor and
undertook various pastoral tasks. But her workload gradually increased and
became more complex. She was teaching five year groups and was head of year
for six classes, with sufficient time out of lessons to cope wjth administrative
and pastoral duties.
 She began writing to her employees about her workload in 1988 - a key point in Managing Stress
winning her case - but no help was offered. 'They appeared to listen but there
was no action', she says. 'They just said I was doing a wonderful job'.

Stress-related problems emerged, including anxiety, shingles and hyperactivity.

Finally, one morning with pupils seeking her help because two other heads of
year were away and with no free time, she snapped. At lunchtime she left and
never returned. She suffered sickness and depression. 'To survive I would have
had to compromise on the quality of my teaching', she says. 'I just could not do
that'.

Pursuing a court case was 'tough' but helped channel some of her anger and
brought some justice. 'But it doesn't really take the sadness away', she says.
Her advise to other teachers suffering similar stress is to raise the problem with
managers.- don't suffer in silence - and put everything in writing.

13.7 LET US SUM UP

Stress is natural, ongoing, dynamic and interactive process that takes place as
people adjust to their environment. Stress can be brought about by positive or
negative life events. Distress can cause disease, and eustress or positive stress
can promote well being and increased productivity -Therefore it is important to
recognize and be responsible for one's stress, aqd realize that by managing stress
' effectively you can significantly improve the quality of your own life. Our body
is constantly defending itself against stress. The defense mechanisms heal our
emotions by relieving us of anxiety and stress. They give us immediate relief
but it may not be genuine relief. You, as head teachers, can play a central role in
helping the teachers and students deal with the pressures, tensions and frustrations
of life. You can provide a relationship and a platform which facilitate the teachers
in their pursuit of learning how to deal with stress and conflict, so that they can
cease to be impediments and make them more effective both as teachers and
partners in realizing the vision of the school.

13.8 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

IGNOU (2005): MES-002, Block 2: New Delhi

IGNOU (2003): MES-103, Block 2: New Delhi

Lazarus (1984): Stress, Appruisal and Coping, Springer: New York

website
http://www.diannel114.com