Techniques of

Occupational Stress
Management
Module 4
Individual coping strategies

Learning skills to manage fear and anxiety on the job. Several skills
taught in cognitive behavioral therapy may help, including these:
1. Relaxation strategies. Relaxation helps counter the physiological
effects of the fight-or-flight response. For example, progressive
muscle relaxation helps reduce muscle tension associated with
anxiety.
One way to relieve muscle tension is to do progressive muscle
relaxation, also known as Jacobson’s relaxation technique. Progressive
muscle relaxation (PMR) is a form of therapy that involves tightening
and relaxing your muscle groups, one at a time, in a specific pattern.
• The goal is to release tension from your muscles, while helping you
recognize what that tension feels like.
• When practiced regularly, this technique may help you manage the
physical effects of stress. Research has also found that it has
therapeutic benefits for conditions like:
• high blood pressure
• migraines
• sleep issues
• PMR was created by American physician Edmund Jacobson in the
1920s. It was based on the theory that physical relaxation can promote
mental relaxation.
• Jacobson found that you can relax a muscle by tensing and then
releasing it. He also discovered that doing so can relax the mind.
• PMR provides a framework for achieving this state of relaxation. It
requires you to work on one muscle group at a time. This allows you
to notice the tension in that specific area.
• It’s also essential to tense each muscle group before relaxing. This
action emphasizes the sense of relaxation in the area.
How to do progressive muscle relaxation?
• MR is an easy technique to do at home. You don’t need any special
equipment or gear. All you need is focus, attention, and a quiet spot
where you won’t be distracted.

• The key with this technique is to tense each muscle group and hold
for 5 seconds. Then, you exhale as you let your muscles fully relax for
10 to 2
• Move in a sequence that works for you. For example, you can start at
your head if you want to and move down your body0 seconds before
you move on to the next muscle group.
Video of PMR
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihO02wUzgkc
• Problem-solving. Problem-solving is an active coping strategy that involves
teaching people to take specific steps when approaching a roadblock or challenge.
These steps include defining the problem, brainstorming potential solutions,
ranking the solutions, developing an action plan, and testing the chosen solution.
• Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to the present moment
with curiosity, openness, and acceptance. Stress can be exacerbated when we
spend time ruminating about the past, worrying about the future, or engaging in
self-criticism. Mindfulness helps to train the brain to break these harmful habits.
You can cultivate mindfulness skills through formal practice (like guided
meditation) and informal exercises (like mindful walking) or try mindfulness apps
or classes. Mindfulness-based therapies are effective for reducing symptoms of
depression and anxiety.
• Reappraising negative thoughts. Chronic stress and worry can lead
people to develop a mental filter in which they automatically
interpret situations through a negative lens.
• A person might jump to negative conclusions with little or no
evidence (“my boss thinks I’m incompetent”) and doubt their ability
to cope with stressors (“I’ll be devastated if I don’t get the
promotion”). To reappraise negative thoughts, treat them as
hypotheses instead of facts and consider other possibilities. Regularly
practicing this skill can help people reduce negative emotions in
response to stressors.
• Every day, people are bombarded with emotionally stimulating
information. Details in the media, busy streets, and one's family life all
have the potential to influence people's emotional lives, whether these
influences are welcome or not.
• Although emotions serve important functions, such as informing
people of their goal progress and to signal that one's attention is
needed elsewhere (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 1990; Mandler, 1975; Simon,
1967), people often attempt to regulate intense, distressing, or
otherwise disruptive emotional states. The present research examines a
potential way to help people increase their control over their emotions,
via the operation of nonconscious regulatory goals.
• Negative emotions are inevitable. In fact, trying to suppress or ignore negative
emotions actually reduces happiness. Instead of avoiding negative emotions, it's best
to learn skillful ways of working with your negative emotions to reduce them or
transform them into positive emotions.
• In this activity, you will practice using an emotion regulation strategy called 
reappraisal. Reappraisal has been shown to both increase resilience and
reduce negative emotions.

Negative reappraisal involves cognitively reframing an event as less negative.

For example, let’s say that I dropped my sandwich on the ground and I have
nothing else to eat for lunch. I might tell myself that I am better off than people
in the world who don’t have any food. Or I might tell myself that it’s not so bad
because I can get a snack later in the day.
Organizational initiatives for enhancing
employee mental health and well- being
• Some work pressures are unavoidable, continuous unhappiness,
dissatisfaction, and disengagement take a toll on employees’
productivity and efficiency.
• According to WHO depression and anxiety disorders cost the global
economy approximately one trillion in USA which is lost productivity.
• When it comes to employee wellbeing, many employers focus on
employees’ health benefits. But employee wellbeing is much more
than just the absence of physical illness among employees. It refers to
the state of employees’ physical and mental health and focuses on less
tangible factors like their mood and cognition.
4 Initiatives to Optimize Employee Mental Health
1. Mental Health Care Benefits and Support
Organizations should first ensure they have excellent mental
health care coverage, which is something today’s employees
expect. But just having the benefits isn’t enough.
Organizations can share mental health information and
resources in regular weekly or monthly newsletters; integrate
mental health into wellness programs through speakers,
webinars, and reading series; provide training to managers and
ensure they check in with employees regularly — especially if
employees are showing signs of stress or struggle, like excessive
worrying, difficulty concentrating or making decision, missing
deadlines, reduced quality of work, or other changes in behavior.
• Regularly summarize and remind your team about the company’s
health care and disability plans and explain how to use disability leave
for mental health challenges. Organizations can also provide access to
an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers free and
confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-
up services to employees who have personal and/or work-related
problems. Remind employees regularly about what it is and how to
access it, especially during times of crisis.
2. Paid Time Off for Mental Health
• Paid time off (PTO) isn’t just for holidays, trips, and vacations.
Encourage employees to consider using PTO for mental health days as
well, so they can reset, recharge, and refresh.
• Regularly taking time off for self-care and breaks will help employees
better manage stress. Beehive also allows employees to take PTO in one-
hour increments, so they don’t have to commit to a full or half day off.
• This can help alleviate the stress of needing to manage personal
appointments and doctor visits during the workday and save more PTO
hours for fun or recharging.
3. Positive Daily Habits
• Lots of things can drain people’s energy and spike anxiety like not
getting enough sleep, sitting too much, or regularly “doomscrolling”
through the news.
• Positive Daily Practices approach can help employees improve focus,
boost progress, and lift energy through positive daily habits like
setting a daily intention, expressing gratitude, practicing mindfulness,
reflecting, and getting adequate movement, sleep, nutrition, and
hydration.
4. Wellness Program
Well-being is foundational to a strong workplace culture.
Organizations that don’t already have a wellness program in
place or haven’t refreshed or updated their program lately should
evaluate what resources, tools, and support their employees need
to achieve better well-being and then activate a plan to meet
those needs.
Wellness plan is activated through initiatives related to
foundational healthy habits like sleep, meditation, and fitness.
Designing and managing an employee wellness program is an important
.step in improving the health and productivity of employees and
potentially improving the overall cost of employer-provided health care.
Wellness programs can benefit employers by:

• Lowering health care costs.

• Reducing absenteeism.
• Achieving higher employee productivity.
• Reducing workers' compensation and disability-related costs.
• Reducing injuries.
• Improving employee morale and loyalty.
 Steps to design Wellness Programme
STEP 1: CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS
STEP 2: OBTAIN MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
STEP 3: ESTABLISH A WELLNESS COMMITTEE
STEP 4: DEVELOP GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
STEP 5: ESTABLISH A BUDGET
STEP 6: DESIGN WELLNESS PROGRAM COMPONENTS
STEP 7: SELECT WELLNESS PROGRAM INCENTIVES OR REWARDS
STEP 8: COMMUNICATE THE WELLNESS PLAN
STEP 9: EVALUATE THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM

(HTTPS://WWW.SHRM.ORG/RESOURCESANDTOOLS/TOOLS-AND-SAMPLES/HOW-TO-
GUIDES/PAGES/HOWTOESTABLISHANDDESIGNAWELLNESSPROGRAM.ASPX)
Organizational justice and benefit plans
Organizational justice is an important construct because it
affects outcomes at the individual, team and organizational level.
Research has shown that organizational justice is linked to
positive outcomes such as
• trust,
• job performance and satisfaction,
• organizational commitment, and
• organizational citizenship behaviors (Colquitt et al., 2013).
• Organizational justice is also linked to negative outcomes such
. as counterproductive work behaviors, turnover and burnout,
such that employees who perceive fairness in outcomes and
processes tend to engage less in these negative behaviors
(Colquitt et al., 2013).
• It is important for organizations to ensure that they treat their
employees fairly through ensuring that both outcomes and
processes are equitable and just. Organizations can ensure that
organizational practices are transparent and equitable so that
employees remain committed to the goals of the organization.
Critical appraisal of organizational justice
• Based on the empirical evidence for the relationship between
team-efficacy and team performance, this dossier is assigned a
Level 5 rating, (Based on a 1- 5 measurement scale).
• A level 5 is the highest rating score for a dossier based on the
evidence provided on the efficacy of organizational justice.
• To date, the research on organizational justice has
demonstrated the importance of this construct on a myriad of
organizational outcomes. Moreover, the research has been
conducted at the individual, team, and organizational level.