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Reaction to Stress .............................................................................................................................. 9
Stress Style test ............................................................................................................................... 10
Causes of Stress ............................................................................................................................... 11Job related causes of Stress .................................................................................................. 12
Personal causes of Stress...................................................................................................... 14
Stress and job performance .............................................................................................................. 15
Studies of stress among American workers reveal the following:
The annual cost of stress-related absenteeism, lower productivity, rising health
insurance cost, and other medical expenses is close to $ 300 billion and rising. 30 percent of executives believe their work has adversely affected their health.
40 percent of workers wonder whether they are going to have a job next year.
The number of stress-related workers’ compensation claims tripled in one decade,
jumping from 5 percent to 15 percent of all claims
46 percent of workers assess their jobs as being extremely stressful.
34 percent of workers have thought seriously about quitting their jobs in the past year
as result of stress.
69 percent of workers reported that health problems related to stress made them less
productive
34 percent of American workers expected to burn out on the job soon.
The anatomy of anxiety:
Stress is a physical process. Like many other bodily functions it starts with the outside stimuli in
the form of threat. Like a loud noise, scary sight, creepy feeling. The information takes twodifferent routes through the brain. We can term them as the short cut and the high road.
1. The short cut:When started, the brain automatically engages in an automatic hotline to its fear centre,
the amygdala, once alerted the amygdala sends an all out signal that alerts other brain
structures. The result is the classic fear response.
Sweaty palms
Rapid heart beat
Increased blood pressure
Burst of adrenaline
All this happens before the mind is conscious of having smelled or touched anything. Before
In some saturations and organization can be held legally liable for the emotional and physical
impact of job stress on. Poor working conditions, sustained conflicts with supervisors, traumatic
events, or intentional harassment of employees some-times results in anguish, neuroses, or
even suicide. If liability is established, employees could claim benefits under workers’
compensation laws, as well as sue for financial damages.
A Personal Example:
Ashraf’s first got job with BAT and he was transferred from Dhaka to Sylhet where he had to live
alone for the first time of his life. At first he had trouble communicating with everyone,
understanding the job and coping with living alone. Within few weeks he developed intestinal
problems. But with the help of his teammates and line manager he slowly recovered, and within
2 months he was working properly.
Extreme products of Stress
Stress can be either temporary or long-term, either mild or severe. The effects on an employee
depend mostly on how long its causes continue, how powerful they are, and how strong the
employee’s recovery powers are. If stress is temporary and mild, most people can handle it or
at least recover from its effects rather quickly.
Prolonged stress can lead to mental problems such as
1. Burnout:
There are some major pressures that result in stress that is sustained for long periods.
Problems predictably arise when high-intensity stress continues for an extended
duration. According to the theory developed by Hans Selye, the human body cannot
instantly rebuild its ability to cope with stress once it is depleted. As a result, people
become physically and psychologically weakened from trying to combat it. Thiscondition is called burnout- a situation in which employee is emotionally exhausted,
become detached from their clients and their work, and feels unable to accomplish their
goals. Some jobs, such as those in the helping professions (counselors, health care
professionals, and social workers) and those with continuous high stress (air-traffic
controllers, customer service representatives, wait staff, and stock-brokers), are more
When workers become burned out, they are more likely to complain, to attribute their
errors to others, to magnify their dominant traits, and to be highly irritable. The
alienation they feel drives many of them to think about leaving their jobs, to seek out
opportunities to become trained for new careers, and actually to quit. In addition tohigher turnover, burnout also leads to increased absenteeism and decreased quality and
quantity of job performance.
A tragic product of burnout by workers in Japan is called “karoshi” or sudden death at
work. This is believed to be triggered by overwork, culminating in a fatal heart attack or
stroke. Although “karoshi” was once a source of samurai-like pride, estimates of 10000
deaths per year have prompted preventive actions. Japanese corporations are
increasingly urging employees to take earned vacation days, moderate their diets, and
obtain exercise, and mange their stress levels.
2. Trauma:
Another severe product of stress, called trauma, occurs following a major threat to
one’s security. The event could be a natural disaster, and organizational crisis, dramatic
employee abuse by the employer, or personal job loss.
Employees on ocean-based oil rigs who suffer through a devastating hurricane, overseas
workers who are kidnapped by terrorists and held hostage, and members of electricity
supply company crew who see a coworker accidentally electrocuted are likely to
experience trauma. Three types of trauma that have achieved notoriety in recent years-
workplace trauma,
layoff survivor’s sickness, and
posttraumatic stress disorder arising from workplace violence
unprovoked fights, destruction of property, or use of weapons to harm (or even murder)
others.
One highly visible organization that has been the brunt of numerous acts of workplace violenceis the U.S. Postal service. Studies show at least incidents of employees beaten up by
supervisors, incidents of supervisors attacked by employees, and several dozen people killed in
shootings at various postal stations. Many of these cases followed closely on the heels of unfair
probation or dismissal, or receipt of a layoff notice. The violent acts were often perpetrated by
people with low self-control-impulsive risk takers with volatile tempers.
Workplace violence such as that at the postal Service is unique in that it is often both a product
of stress and the source of enormous stress on others. Any person, who witnesses violence,receives injury from it, or lives under the fear of repeated future violence may suffer from
posttraumatic stress disorder. The shock of sudden and dramatic violent incident often
produces immediate stress-related symptoms. More significantly, the effects of these traumatic
crises may last for years and require lengthy treatment.
Reaction to stress
Strangely enough, each one of us reacts to stress (even the same stresser) somewhat
differently. When some of us are anxious, we are more apt to react with body symptoms. It is a
common sight to find students before examinations feeling jittery, having stomach tension, a
splitting headache, or even diarrhea. Others react to stress mentally. They find themselves
unable to concentrate, or preoccupied by worries, and feel they are losing out on things.
Sometimes there may be mixture of physical or mental tensions, depending on the particular
An important first step in prevention is to examine and understand the causes of stress.
Conditions that tend to cause stress are called stressors. Although even a single stressor may
cause major stress, usually stressors combine to pressure and employee in a variety of ways
until major feelings of stress develop.
Major sources of employee stress are evenly divided between organizational factors and the
non-work environment. These dual causes are noted in the diagram below
Diagram: Model of Causes Types and Consequences of Stress
The diagram shows that individual differences among employees may cause some to interpretthese stressors as positive stress (which stimulates them), while others experience negative
stress (which detracts from their efforts). As a result, either constructive or destructive
consequences may arise for both the organization and the employee. These effects may be
short-term and diminish quickly, or they may last a long time. To control stress, then,
organizations usually begin by exploring its job-related causes.
Almost any job condition can cause stress, depending on an employee’s reaction to it. For
example, one employee will accept a new work procedure and feel little or no stress, while
another experiences overwhelming pressure from the same task. Part of the difference lays in
each employee’s experiences, general outlooks, and expectations, which are all internal factors.
Some job conditions, however, frequently cause stress for employees.
Work overload and time deadlines put employees under pressure and lead to stress. Often
these pressures arise from management, and a poor quality of management can cause stress.
Examples of stress-producing factors related to management are an autocratic supervisor, and
insecure job climate, lack of control over one’s own job, and inadequate authority to match
one’s responsibilities.
Role conflict and ambiguity are also related to stress. In situations of this type, people havedifferent expectations of employee’s activities on a job, so the employee does not know what
to dos and cannot meet all expectations. In addition, since the job often is poorly defined, the
employee has no official model on which to depend.
A further cause of stress lies in differences between company values and ethical practices, as
often reflected in the organization’s culture, and employee ethics and values. Substantial
differences can lead to significant mental stress as an effort is made to balance the
requirements of both sets of values.
Some jobs produce more stress than others. Those which involve rotating shift work, machine-
paced tasks, routine and repetitive work, or hazardous environments are associated with
greater stress. Workers who spend many hours daily in front of computer screens also report
high stress levels.
Evidence also indicates that the sources of stress differ by organizational level. Executive stressmay arise from the pressure for short-term financial results or the fear of a hostile takeover
attempt. Middle managers may experience stress when their job security is threatened by news
of impending corporate downsizings. Supervisory stressors include the pressure to increase
quality and customer service, required attendance at numerous meetings, and responsibility for
the work of others. Workers are more likely to experience the stressors of low status, lack of
perceived control, resource shortages, and the demand for a large volume of error-free work.
A general and widely recognized cause of stress is change of any type, because it requiresadaptation by employees. It tends to be especially stressful when it is major or unusual, such a
temporary layoff or transfer. A related source of stress that affects many employees is worry
over their financial well being. This situation can arise when cost-saving technology is
introduced, contract negotiations begin, or the firm’s financial performance suffers. Clearly,
numerous and powerful forces are at work, contributing to the feeling of stress.
Personal Causes of Stress
Personal concerns are another top cause of stress. We all have an innate desire for control over
our own life. When control is weak or missing in a given area, we experience stress.
To some, a lack of control over their own time is a leading cause of stress. We want to decide
when we do tasks around the home, or at work.
Some are stressed from not enough sleep, no time to relax, and no time to discuss somenagging problems.
We may be involved in legal proceedings that cause stress. We may be wrestling with a bad
habit. We may be going through changes. Personal change of any kind can be a cause of stress.
respond to challenges. Eventually, stress reaches a plateau that corresponds approximately
with a person’s top day to day performance capability. At this point additional stress tends to
produce no more improvement.
Finally, if stress becomes too great, it turns into a destructive force. Performance begins to
decline at some point because excess stress interferes with performance. An employee loses
the ability to cope; she or he becomes unable to make decisions and exhibits erratic behavior. If
stress increase to a breaking point, performance becomes zero; the employee has a
breakdown, becomes too ill to work, is fired, quits, or refuses to come to work to face the
stress.
The significance of individual differences in the stress-performance relationship is high lightedby the results of a survey of employee perceptions of stress. Some 62 percent of the
respondents reported that stress impeded their performance; while 23 percent asserted that it
actually made them do their jobs better. The other 15 percent either didn’t know, or reported
no impact. Apparently, what works well for one person can be dysfunctional for another.
The stress-performance relationship may be compared to strings on a violin. When there is
either too little or too much tension on the strings, they will not produce suitable music.
Further, the violin string may need to be readjusted to accommodate changing conditions, suchas increased humidity. As with violin strings, when tension on an employee is either too high or
low, the employee’s performance will tend to deteriorate. The managerial challenge-like the
violin player’s – is to monitor tension levels and make periodic adjustments.
Athletes try to find the right balance of stress and performance. In tennis, upsets occur every
year at Wimbledon when unseeded player who is “not supposed to win” rises to the occasion
and later admits to having felt only moderate stress. The vanquished opponent, who took the
match too lightly, may not have experienced enough stress to stimulate early performance.
Then, once the match appears to be slipping away, the favored player begins feeling too much
Stress Threshold: Two major factors help determine how stress will affect employee
performance differently across similar jobs. Worker vulnerability to stress is a function of both
internal (organizational) and external (non-work) stressors. One internal factor is an employee’s
Stress Threshold-the level of stressors (frequency and magnitude) that the person can tolerate
before negative feelings of stress occur and adversely affect performance. Some people have a
low threshold, and the stress of even relatively small changes or disruptions in their work
routines causes a reduction in performance. Others have a higher threshold, staying cool, calm,
and productive longer under the same conditions. This response may stem partly from their
experience and confidence in their ability to cope. A higher stress threshold and greater
resiliency help prevent lowered performance unless a stressor is major or prolonged.
Perceived Control: The second internal factor affecting employee stress is the amount of
perceived control they have over their work and working conditions. Employees who have a
substantial degree of independence, autonomy, and freedom to make decisions seem to handle
work pressures better. Since two employees may have the same actual control and flexibility, itis clearly their relative perception of that freedom that counts. Managers can respond to this
need for control through a variety of measures discussed earlier in this book, such as allowing
flexible work schedules, enriching jobs, placing individuals on self-managing teams, or
empowering employees by using participative leadership styles.
Effect of Stress on Behavior types:
Stress vulnerability is often related to type A and B characteristics.
and a few continue full pay while employees are away. Although most firms allow only four to
eight weeks, some, such as Xerox, authorize up to a full year away. Most employees return
emotionally refreshed, feel rewarded and valued by their employers, and often bring back new
perspectives gained from readings and workshops. A side benefit sometimes reported is the
cross-training that takes place among colleagues while one employee is on sabbatical. This sideeffect adds to organizational flexibility and raises employee competency and self-esteem.
Personal Wellness:
In-house programs of preventive maintenance for personal wellness, based on research in
behavioral medicine, are increasingly popular. Corporate wellness centers may include disease
screening, health education, and fitness centers. Health care specialists can recommend
practices to encourage changes in lifestyle, such as breathing regulation, muscle relaxation,
positive imagery, nutrition management, and exercise, enabling employees to use more of their
full potential. Clearly, a preventive approach is preferable for reducing the causes of stress,although coping methods can help employees adapt to stressors that are beyond direct control.
The key is to create a better fit between people and their work environment, and alternative
Many people view counseling as primary an advice-giving activity, but in reality this is only one
of several functions that counseling can perform. To give useful advice requires a counselor tomake judgments about a counselee’s problems and to lay out a course of action. Herein lies the
difficulty, because understanding another person’s complicated problems, much less telling
that person what to do about them, is almost impossible. Advice may breed a relationship in
which the counselee feels inferior and dependent on the counselor. In spite of all its ills, advice
occurs in routine counseling because workers expect it and managers like to provide it.
2. Reassurance
Counseling can provide employees with reassurance, which is a way of giving them courage to
face a problem or a feeling of confidence that they are pursuing a suitable course of action.
Reassurance is represented by such counselor remarks as “You are making good progress” and’
don’t worry this will come out all right.”
One trouble with reassurance is that the counselees do not always accept it. They are smart
enough to know that the counselor cannot know that the problem will come out all right. Even
if counselees initially accept reassurance, their temporarily self-confidence may fade away as
soon as they face their problem again, which means that little real improvement had been
made. Their false sense of self-confidence may even lead them to make poor personal
decisions.
Though reassurance has its weakness, it is useful in some situations and is impossible to
prohibit. Reassurance cannot be prohibited just because it is dangerous, any more than
automobiles can be prohibited because they cause accidents; but like automobiles, reassurance
Another function of counseling is orientation of the counselee. This is more than mere
emotional release or clear thinking about a problem. Reorientation involves a change in the
employee’s psychic self through a change in basic goals and values. For example, it can help
people recognize and accept their own limitations. Reorientation in the kind of function needed
to help alcoholic’s return to normalcy or to treat a person with the potential for physicalviolence. It is largely a job for professional counselor job is to recognize those in need of
reorientation before their need becomes severe, so that they can be referred to professional
help in time for successful treatment.
Types of Counseling:
In terms of the amount of direction that a counselor gives a counselee, counseling can be
viewed as a continuum from full direction (directive counseling) to no direction (nondirective),
as shown in figure. Between the two extremes is participative counseling. These three
counseling types are discussed in order to show how counselors may vary their control in a
Directive counseling is the process of listening to an employee’s problem; deciding with the
employee what should be done, and then telling and motivating the employee to do it.
Directive counseling mostly accomplishes the counseling function of advice, but it also mayreassure, communicate, give emotional release, and – to a minor extent- clarify thinking.
Reorientation is seldom achieved in directive counseling.
Almost everyone likes to give advice, counselors included, and it is easy to do. But is it
effective? Does the counselor really understand the employee’s problem? Does the counselor
have the knowledge and judgment to make a right decision? Even if the decision is right, will
the employee follow it? The answer to these questions is usually no; hence advice may not be
helpful in counseling.
Though advice is of questionable value, some of the other functions are worthwhile. If the
directive counselor is a good listener, then the employee should feel some emotional release.
As the result of emotional release coupled with ideas that the counselor imparts, the employee
also may clarify thinking. Furthermore, useful communication probably takes place. Both advice
and reassurance can be worthwhile if they give the employee more courage to take a helpful
course of action that the employee supports.
Nondirective Counseling
Nondirective, or client-centered, counseling is at the opposite end of the continuum. It is the
process of skillfully listening to and encouraging a counselee to explain troublesome problems,
understand them, and determine appropriate solutions. It focuses on the counselee rather than
on the counselor as judge and adviser; thus it is client-centered. Managers can use the
nondirective approach; however, care should be taken to make sure that managers are not so
oversold on it that they neglect their normal directive leadership responsibilities.
Nondirective counseling was developed concurrently by two groups: Elton Mayo, fritz
Roethlisberger, and others at Western Electric Company and Carl R. Rogers and his colleagues.
crutch for emotionally dependent employees to lean on while they avoid their work
responsibilities.
In some cases counseling itself is insufficient because it necessarily returns the employee tothe same environment that caused the problem. What is really needed is a better environment
for providing employee psychological support. In this situation the counselor may step beyond
the usual counseling role and give advice to management to take corrective action.
Participative Counseling
Nondirective counseling of employees is limited because it requires professional counselors and
is costly; directive counseling often is not accepted by modern, independent employees. The
type of counseling typically used in organizations is between the two extremes of directive and
nondirective counseling. This middle ground is called participative counseling.
Participative counseling (also called cooperative counseling) is a mutual counselor –counselee
relationship that establishes a cooperative exchange of ideas to help solve a counselee’s
problems. It is neither wholly counselor-centered nor wholly counselee-centered. Rather, the
counselor and counselee mutually apply their different knowledge, perspectives, and values to
problems. Participative counseling integrates the ideas of both participants in a counseling
relationship. It is, therefore, a balanced compromise that combines many advantages of both
directive and nondirective counseling while avoiding most of their disadvantages.
Participative counseling starts by using the listening techniques of nondirective counseling; but
as the interview progresses, participative counselors may play a more active role than
nondirective counselors would. They offer bits of knowledge and insight; they may discuss the
situation from their broader knowledge of the organization, thus giving an employee a different
view of the problem. In general, participative counselors apply the four counseling functions of
reassurance, communication, emotional release and clarified thinking.
Stress is a burning issue. There are a lot of studies going on around it and an increasing number
of professionals or organizations are coming forth with ways to reduce stress. No one of them is
absolute. It will depend on the person under stress to which method works for him. The
problem with these coping mechanisms is that they keep you from doing things that help buffer
your stress load--like exercising or relaxing with friends or family--or add greater stress to your
body. Indeed, using many of our most cherished time-saving gadgets can backfire. Cell phones
and mobile e-mail devices--to give just two examples--make it harder to get away from the
office to decompress. Working from home may, in some cases, exacerbate the situationbecause it isolates employees while simultaneously blurring the line between work and leisure.
We also have a lot of misconceptions about who gets stressed out and why. Twenty years ago,
psychologists almost exclusively blamed job stress on high workloads or lack of control on the
job. More recent studies, says Christina Maslach, a pioneer in burnout research at the
University of California, Berkeley, show that unfairness and a mismatch in values between
employees and their companies play an increasing role in triggering stress. "Probably one of the
strongest predictors is when there's a vacuum of information--silence about why decisionswere made the way they were," Maslach says. "Another is having to operate in conflict with
your values. Do you need to shade the truth to get authorization from the insurance company?
Are you selling things that you know people don't really need?"
NO. 2
STRESS ALTERS YOUR BLOOD CHEMISTRY
FOR YEARS PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE concentrated on the behavioral symptoms of burnout: lost
energy, lost enthusiasm and lost confidence. Now, thanks to new brain scans and more
sophisticated blood tests, scientists can directly measure some of the effects of stress on mind
and body--often with surprising results.
You are probably familiar with the signs of an adrenaline surge (racing pulse, hairs on the neck
standing on end), which evolved to help us fight or flee predators and other immediatedangers. And you may have heard of cortisol, another stress hormone, which is produced more
slowly than adrenaline and lingers in the bloodstream longer. But did you know that too little
cortisol in your bloodstream can be just as bad as too much? Or that tucking into comfort
foods, while soothing in the short term, can sabotage your long-term stress response by
increasing the number of inflammatory proteins in your body?
the phenomenon closely in laboratory rodents, whose nervous system bears striking similarities
to that of humans.
Here's how the experiment works: if you provide mice with an escape route, they typically learnvery quickly how to avoid a mild electrical shock that occurs a few seconds after they hear a
tone. But if the escape route is blocked whenever the tone is sounded, and new shocks occur,
the mice will eventually stop trying to run away. Later, even after the escape route is cleared,
the animals simply freeze at the sound of the tone--despite the fact that they once knew how
to avoid the associated shock.
Obviously, humans have more intellectual resources at their disposal than mice do, but the
underlying principle remains. When too many of the rules change, when what used to work
doesn't anymore, your ability to reason takes a hit. Just being aware of your nervous system's
built-in bias toward learned helplessness in the face of unrelieved stress can help you identify
and develop healthy habits that will buffer at least some of the load.
But the one thing you should not do is ignore the risks. Animal research has shown that there is
a relatively small window for reversing the physiological effects of chronic stress. Studies of
people are starting to produce similar results. Once a person's cortisol level gets completely
blunted, it seems to stay that way for years. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones not to
let that happen.
Some other smart ways to beat stress
Eat several mini-meals of carbohydrates to raise mood regulating brain chemical
serotonin, suggests Judith Wurman, a nutritional biochemist
Enhance your emotional IQ. Take action immediately to handle the stress that set anger
off and melt tension, says Duke University psychologist Redford Williams.
Handle stress with a daily after work run and aerobic exercises as physical activity
reduces anxiety and dissipates stress, says psychologist Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper.
Check your perspective and do only those tasks that would have serious consequences
if left undone, says, Michel Taylor, stress management expert and psychologist.
Take at least half hour a day to do something you enjoy, to charge your batteries.
Look to the light side. Humor has a miraculous way of relieving stress, says author and
educator Joel Goodman
Take a break. Have an excursion. You can’t control everything, but you can control yourschedule to create some breathing space for yourself, says Rosenman, co-author of Type
A Behavior and your Heart.
Say a little sincere prayer daily. It invigorates your internal healing system and impact of
stress hormones (noradrenalin and adrenaline), says psychologist and medical scientist
Joan Borysenko.
A Contingency View
A manager’s decision to use directive, participative, or nondirective counseling with an
employee should be based on an analysis of several contingency factors. It should not be made
solely on the manager’s personal preference or past experience. However, the manager’s
knowledge and capacity to use a variety of methods are clearly critical factors in choosing how
to proceed.
One of the key contingency elements to consider is the degree to which the employee’s
problem appears to be focusing on facts and the need for a timely, logical solution (implying the
use of a more directive approach) versus focusing on personal feelings and emotions (implying
a more nondirective approach). Another consideration is the degree to which the manager is
willing to devote time and effort to the growth and development of a more independent
employee. Counselees may also have different expectations for the behaviors and
characteristics of their counselors, so their preferences may need to be considered. For
example, some counselees prefer the nurturing role provided through participative or
nondirective methods. Others seek someone with job-related expertise or problem –solving
skills, which are more easily shared through the directive approach. Overall, an effective
manager requires awareness of the alternatives available, the skills to be comfortable with each
method, and the analytical ability to make a choice that fits the situation.