ACADEMIC WRITING

UU-ENG-1002-MW

BY GEOFFREY BANDA

R2206D14554881

ASSESSMENT 3

“THE IMPORTANCE OF STRESS MANAGEMENT IN AN ORGANIZATION”

Introduction

People in this modern world are frequently presented with a variety of scenarios or
circumstances, and these circumstances not only have their own burdens but also outcomes.
People often feel pressure just coping with these events, functions, commitments, or duties,
whether they are personal or work-related, and then there is the added pressure of waiting for the
results of any decisions or actions that were made while under pressure. Stress is referred to as
this form of pressure. However, According to Seaward, B. L. (2017), stress is a state of mental or
physical strain that develops because of various life conditions or events. Stress can lead to
feelings like rage, irritation, panic, worry, or in some cases, determination to overcome a task.
Stress is a common occurrence in both life and the workplace. There is no way to avoid being
concerned about the vast number of cases and tasks, plans and reports, connected issues, and
chaos that can affect personnel. Many executives, HR managers, and other professionals
throughout the world are concerned about this issue as well as regular people who wish to work
and stay away from stressful situations. Due to this, the idea of stress management, which
coexists with the issue of dealing with stress at work, is currently gaining popularity.

Stress can make it difficult to focus, shift, and disperse attention, and it can even cause a general
inhibition or complete disarray of activities, according to Jahanian, Tabatabaei, and Behdad
(2012). Though unconscious action may take the place of skills and habits. Stress can lead to
mistakes in perception and memory as well as insufficient responses to unanticipated stimuli.
Minor stress can sometimes result in a boost in energy, more activity, mental clarity, and
beautiful feelings in some people. A person's productivity is always badly impacted by extended
stress, though. Because of this, stress management is crucial for companies that wish to retain the
high performance of their workforce. Changing the culture of the firm and offering employees
anti-stress assistance through targeted programs are two ways to manage stress at the
organizational level. At this level, it is especially crucial to comprehend how stress negatively
affects people since only then can managers monitor stress levels and create safeguards against
its consequences. One of the key components of efficient stress management in an organization
is fostering a positive workplace culture because it serves as one of the finest overall stress
avoidance strategies. This fact has led to many organizations' executives now making every
effort to foster an environment of mutual respect and trust within their employees. It is common
practice to accomplish this using techniques like a feedback system via corporate
communications. In addition, work is organized using the team and project models. In essence,
employees are the backbone of every company for ensuring the efficient operation of the
enterprise. However, these workers are actually regular individuals who are susceptible to all
kinds of dangers, including physical, emotional, and psychological ones like stress. Due to their
inability to concentrate on their work due to being preoccupied with their own difficulties, they
may provide low yields or perform poorly across the majority or all of their functions.

There are many different causes of stress in an organization, such as: Strained relationships at
work, poor workplace interactions might make employees feel isolated. Conflict with coworkers
can make employees anxious and prevent them from going to work. An exclusive or "cliquey"
atmosphere can also lead to stress. Employee interactions will suffer if they are shut out of social
groups at work. Team members are unable to establish a sense of identity and value as a result.
Lack of assistance, confusion at work may result from supervisors' inadequate guidance,
instruction, and assistance. Having questions about an employee's responsibilities and tasks can
be frustrating. long hours and a lot of effort is also another cause. employees are under increasing
pressure to work harder and longer in many jobs. Businesses anticipate that their employees will
finish a large quantity of work quickly. These high demands and demanding workloads can put a
lot of strain on employees. And lastly, an unfavorable work atmosphere. Bullying and
harassment in the workplace are hot topics for stressed-out employees. In these settings, team
members could feel that their contributions aren't valued. A source of stress for some people is
believing they have little influence over how they are treated at work. The purpose of this essay
is to discuss the significance of stress management in the organization.

First of all, stress management improves a company's competitive advantage. Employee

satisfaction because of stress management in the workplace translates into higher performance
and productivity. As a result, businesses will have an advantage over rivals in terms of power,
output, performance, profitability, survival, and recognition, among other factors.

Stress management brings about motivation in an organization. One of the most crucial factors in
ensuring employee satisfaction is motivation. Employees will see that their employers care about
their well-being and that they matter when stress is managed within the workplace. They will be
inspired to do better as a result. When employee performance improves, so do organizations'
results.

This concept of stress management aids in evaluating employees' performance. Each worker has
a unique stress threshold. The stress factor and work performance are intimately related.
Considering how well team members cooperate with one another also helps. It is also
quantifiable. You can assess them and make a performance evaluation of them with the use of
effective stress management techniques.

Sutherland, V., & Cooper, C. (2000) stressed that stress management in an organization is very
important in the sense that it reduces employee turnover. According to the findings of their
(Sutherland, V., & Cooper, C.), study more than one-third of workers have quit their jobs
because of the stress they experienced at work. The study also revealed that those between the
ages of 25 and 34 were most likely to experience workplace stress and that women are more
likely than males to leave their jobs. Employee churn has an enormous impact on a variety of
aspects of an organization, including brand recognition, output levels, and high hiring expenses.
In many other organizations, it may be difficult to find a healthy work environment for
employees, therefore managing workplace stress lowers turnover rates.

Better decision-making skills in an organization are a result of well stress management. Stress
reduction helps employees feel less strain. Employees can better analyze and prioritize issues
when they are not under time constraints, which enables them to make decisions that bring value.
If not, stress can affect your decision-making, causing you to settle for the first option that comes
to mind as a means of escape. Poor decisions can generally have a major negative impact on the
output and result quality, which lowers productivity.

This concept of stress management improves team morale and communications in many
organizations. Effective communication among employees is facilitated by stress management at
work. In order to accomplish a shared goal, they will therefore take the time to get to know one
another better. As a result, workers are spared disagreements and misunderstandings that can
delay products or outcomes that other departments rely on. It also encourages teamwork that
proceeds without interruption and requires fewer corrections.
Less sick days for employees in an organization are a result of stress management. One of the
main factors contributing to occupational absence is stress. Sick days, whether paid or unpaid,
are a cost to the business. Reduced stress levels and fewer sick days taken by workers due to
immune system deterioration are two benefits of stress management at work. A corporation can
complete work at a constant pace with increased efficiency and productivity if there are fewer
sick days taken.

Stress management increases the overall productivity of an organization. employees who are

stressed out for any reason are likely to be less productive since their attention is diverted from
the task at hand. They might be easily sidetracked or prone to making innocent blunders like
forgetting to do something bad like sign an important paper. Researchers have also shown that
people who are stressed out find it difficult to concentrate on their work. They've also found that
people who are under pressure frequently forget things and take longer to accomplish tasks.
However, employees who are not stressed out can concentrate more intently on their various job
duties. In fact, employees who are less stressed have less mental strain, which lowers their risk of
forgetting things easily and taking longer to finish tasks. As a result, there are less mistakes,
delays, and more efficiency. The control of workplace stress can also increase efficiency and
productivity in departments that are connected for employee input.

Proper stress management boost employees’ mental health. Anxiety and depression problems can
be exacerbated or even caused by high levels of stress. Anxiety and depression can have a
significant impact on an employee's day-to-day life in addition to exacerbating many of the
problems that stress causes. Your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors can all be impacted by
depression and anxiety. Employees may lose interest in activities that once made them happy,
lose their temper, or feel overwhelmed by thoughts of guilt or worthlessness, in addition to
having difficulties focusing and the persistent melancholy that so many people associate with
depression. Fortunately, when a company applies the idea of stress management, this helps their
employees by addressing some of the fundamental causes to lessen their worry and despair. It
makes sense that lowering an employee's stress levels will benefit their overall mental health if
their high levels of stress are one of the factors contributing to their anxiety or despair. However,
companies may want to think about treating it like they would any other illness—seeing a doctor
and, if necessary, taking medication—if managing this stress doesn't relieve anxiety or sadness.
The concept of stress management has a positive impact on relationships throughout the
organizational environment. When someone is stressed, it is easy to feel depressed. Stress often
causes people to rage even if they don't suffer from anxiety or depression because of it. You may
start to get annoyed. Over time, this will start straining your relationships with the people around
you. Learning how to manage stress can help your organization in three ways: Employees learn
how to avoid stress, learn how to manage stress, and avoid being aggressive or irritable too often.
You will also learn how to manage stress so that it doesn't affect you too much. Positively, stress
is controllable. Self-care and self-awareness are crucial wellbeing strategies for accomplishing
this. We must be conscious of how we're feeling. Although our culture encourages us to push
aside our feelings and carry on, it's crucial to develop the practice of periodically checking in
with ourselves to gauge how things are feeling. You can begin putting your self-care methods
into practice as soon as you become aware of them. Exercise, meditation, nutritious nutrition,
dealing with self-sabotage, seeking out a health and wellbeing coach or therapist, forming
connections with people you trust, spending time in nature, writing, or practicing gratitude are
just a few examples of personal self-care practices.

Stress management helps organizations with future planning. Additionally, stress management
aids managers in making better future plans. It makes sense since stress makes it harder for
people to concentrate on their duties, which makes planning challenging because they have to
complete everything at once rather than concentrating on one study at a time. This conundrum
will be resolved by implementing stress management at work, as stressed-out employees will be
able to concentrate better and prepare for larger results.

Last but not least, stress management in an organization is believed to be a contributing factor of
increasing work engagement. Organization’s staff won't be as involved in their work if they are
under stress. The ability to manage stress makes employees more engaged by enabling them to
be more productive and focused. Additionally, they won't carry around the weight of stress,
which can cause other issues like burnout or depression. Employee motivation can be low,
especially if they are stressed out about something that could reduce their productivity, therefore
engaging staff is essential. Employees that are not driven may not perform well, producing
inaccurate outcomes, and others may perceive your business to have a weak corporate culture.
Lastly, stress management in every organization improves customer satisfaction. The most
important benefit of stress management for businesses is that it raises client satisfaction.
Customers would return to your business if they had a positive experience there because you
gave them good service. When customers are pleased, they frequently tell their friends about the
wonderful experience, which will bring in additional customers. Learning stress management is
worth the effort because it increases sales and profitability for your business.

Conclusion

The essay has emphasized the benefits of stress management in a workplace. Although it is
underappreciated or rarely discussed, workplace stress is one of the major factors contributing to
higher employee churn, absence, and decreased productivity. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses
aren't aware of how pervasive and harmful stress is to productivity. Across all industries and
professions, workplace stress can take on a variety of shapes, sizes, and forms. A stressful
workplace can aggravate conditions including headache, nausea, sleeplessness, irritability, and
difficulties concentrating. Anxiety, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, and a compromised
immune system can be brought on by ongoing stress. Additionally, it might aggravate medical
issues like depression, obesity, and heart disease. The issue is made worse by the fact that people
who feel severe stress frequently try to cope by overeating, consuming unhealthy foods,
smoking, or abusing drugs and alcohol. It's impossible to completely avoid stress because a
healthy amount of stress boosts creativity and productivity. There is a delicate line, though, and
when staff members cross it, it negatively affects both their personal wellbeing and the state of
the business. Stress management in the workplace is essential if you want to have people that are
content, healthy, and engaged. We may therefore draw the conclusion that stress is a significant
element for employees in any organization. Stress that stays within a certain range aids in
achieving important goals. However, when stress goes beyond a certain point, it starts to have
negative impacts on the body, mind, and behavior. Today, methods for managing stress include
getting enough sleep, engaging in sports, communicating with loved ones, developing relaxation
routines, and giving up addictive substances. All of these must be utilized in order to reduce
stress. Employees' physiological and psychological well-being is significantly impacted by
workplace stress. Additionally, it has an impact on an organization's performance and
productivity. The numerous effects of job stress, such as medical issues, mental issues, emotional
imbalances, lifestyle issues, and behavioral issues, lead to disruptions in the organizational
atmosphere. Interpersonal difficulties, poor productivity, a lack of organizational commitment,
an increase in absenteeism, higher attrition, etc. are all caused by these problems. As such,
organizational managers and supervisors are supposed to be in charge of setting up a framework
for dealing with employee exposure to and coping with the stress of disaster response situations.
As well as developing an organizational culture that encourages stress management and self-care
for all personnel, leaders can build procedures that help mitigate direct and secondary traumatic
stress (stress experienced because of supporting survivors) and compassion fatigue.
References

Jahanian, R., Tabatabaei, S. M., & Behdad, B. (2012). Stress management in the workplace.
International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 1(6), 1.

Limm, H., Gündel, H., Heinmüller, M., Marten-Mittag, B., Nater, U. M., Siegrist, J., & Angerer,
P. (2011). Stress management interventions in the workplace improve stress reactivity: a
randomised controlled trial. Occupational and environmental medicine, 68(2), 126-133.

Seaward, B. L. (2017). Managing stress. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Sutherland, V., & Cooper, C. (2000). Strategic stress management: An organizational approach.
Springer.

Tetrick, L. E., & Winslow, C. J. (2015). Workplace stress management interventions and health
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