Chapter Fourteen
Responding to
Personal and
Work-Related Stress
Chapter Preview: Responding to Personal
and Work-Related Stress
• Major personal and work-related causes
of stress
• Warning signs of too much stress
• Stress management strategies
• Stress-related psychological disorders
and therapy options
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The Stress Factor in Your Life
• Stress is the behavioral adjustment to change
that affects you psychologically and physically
• Stress can come from your environment,
body and mind
• Stress can be a powerful stimulus for growth
if it motivates you to do your best
• The most common type of stress comes from
our minds, through negative thinking and
faulty reasoning
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Total Person Insight
Most people seem to agree that these
are high pressure times. Employees
complain of being burned out. Used up.
Overloaded. Too many of us are just
plain tired, overdosed on change, sick
of ambiguity and uncertainty.
Price Pritchett and Ron Pound
Authors, The Stress of Organizational Change
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Responding to Stress
• Three elements of stress: the stressor,
perception of it and response to it
• Attempt to respond in ways that help
you establish mental, physical and
emotional balance
• Our natural response to stress is called
the fight or flight syndrome
• Syndrome causes us physical and
mental health problems today
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Major Causes of Stress
•
•
•
•
•
•
Change
Technostress
Noise pollution
Long hours/irregular schedules
Incompetent leaders
Work and family transitions
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Change
• Many companies do not consider the
impact of change on employees
• Companies should try to help
employees balance job change with
personal and family life
• Surrendering to change demands a
higher level of adaptability to our everchanging workplace
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Technostress
• Technostress is the inability to cope with
computer and related technologies in a
healthy manner
• One of the greatest stressors today
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Tether Anxiety
• Never-ending desire to access
information
• Work demands your attention via
– Personal digital assistants
– Laptop computers
– Cell phones
– Pagers
• Employees are too accessible, creating
imbalance between personal and
professional life
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Monitoring Anxiety
• Companies may track performance and
activity with technology
– Computer monitoring
– Video surveillance
– Global Positioning Satellite (GPS)
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Internet Addiction
• Compulsive surfers, 6-10% of users
• Similar to other addictions
• Signs of the techno-centered state
include
– Machinelike mind-set
– Withdrawal from relationships
– Depression
– Poor health
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Information Overload
• Data smog describes the informationdense society that can cause sensory
overload
• Crowds out quiet moments and
contemplation time
• Leaves us feeling confused
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The Computer Workstation
• Many employees spend the entire day
on a computer terminal
• Computer-related ailments
• Ergonomics is the study of optimal
work-area layout, lighting, furniture
design, machine structure, and task
limits
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Figure 14.1 - Suggestions for Alleviating Some of
the Effects of Workstation-Related Technostress
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Noise Pollution
• Noise can be defined as unwanted
sound
• The uncontrollability of noise, rather
than its intensity is the greatest irritant
• Affects people more than any other
work area pollutant
• Noise can cause
– Anxiety
– Headaches
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- Sleep disturbances
- Depression
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Figure 14.2 - Contribution to Workspace
Distractions Overall
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Long Hours/Irregular Schedules
• Compared to other developed countries,
Americans
– Take fewer and shorter vacations
– Work more hours
• Additional demands on workers
– Reductions in staff
– 24/7 economy
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Incompetent Leaders
• The most talented technically are not
necessarily the best supervisors
• Can be a major source of stress at work
• Incompetent leaders may
– Fail to recognize employee ideas and
concerns
– Withhold information from employees
– Fail to clarify roles and responsibilities
– Set unreasonable deadlines and then
blame employees for not meeting them
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Work and Family Transitions
• Transition is being forced to give
something up and face a change
– Transitions are inevitable
– Today, we are in a constant state of
transition
• Some common transitions are
– Marriage or divorce
– Birth or death
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Total Person Insight
Our lives are complex, but we are not
helpless to do something about the stress we
feel. In fact, we often choose to intentionally
overcrowd our schedules as a means of
avoiding difficult feelings and choices. The
something forces us to slow down. We must
listen to our hearts and bodies, and face a
dawning awareness: My job, my spouse, my
lifestyle—something—is not right for me.
Carol S. Pearson
Editor, The Inner Edge
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Warning Signals of Too Much Stress
•
•
•
•
Physical symptoms
Emotional symptoms
Relational symptoms
90% of illness is stress related
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Table 14.1
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Stress Management Strategies
• Not possible to eliminate stress
• We can manage our reactions to
stressors
• There are many stress management
strategies
• Do not wait to use techniques
– Make them part of your daily routine
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Sleep
• Sleep is one of the most effective
strategies for managing stress
– Develop a ritual
– Mentally wind down before sleep
– Avoid stimulants
– Keep your bedroom cool, dark and well
ventilated
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep at night
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Exercise
• Is the number one treatment for stress
and tension
• Choose an exercise you enjoy
– Walking
– Swimming
– Tennis
– Jogging
• Check with your physician before you
begin any exercise program
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Deep Breathing
• Deep breathing exercises force you to
focus on the present moment rather
than things that are causing you stress
– Complete cycle breathing
– Abdominal breathing
– Reverse abdominal breathing
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Meditation
• Relaxation techniques that slow your
pulse, respiration, brain-wave activity
and blood pressure
• Involves quiet and intentional
detachment from emotional reactions so
you can respond appropriately
– Select a quiet place
– Relax the muscles of your body
– Focus on your breathing
– Think about calm, peaceful present
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Laugh and Have Fun
• When you laugh you
– Boost your immune system
– Reduce stress-related hormones
– Improve you respiratory system
• People can have fun at work without
being silly or inappropriate
• The goal is to create a fun-loving
atmosphere
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Table 14.2
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Solitude
• Individuals who have constant contact
with others can benefit from solitude
• An emotional breather and form of rest
• Time to process and unravel problems
• Take 20 minutes in the morning to
journal, meditate or enjoy the silence
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Resilience
• Resilience is being able to bounce back
when confronted with stress
• Planning ahead is needed to take
control of your life
– Financial planning
– Time management
– Recharge your parenting batteries
• Many people create their own stress
– They want more leisure time, but they also
want that new SUV
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Total Person Insight
Culturally and individually, somewhere
in our history, we chose to make
material possessions important, not
realizing that we would pay for all these
things—consumer goods,
improvements, technology—at the cost
of our time.
Jacob Needleman
Author, Time and the Soul
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Common Psychological Disorders
• Ideally when a stressful situation ends,
hormonal signals switch off, and the
body returns to normal
• If you are under daily stress, your
hormonal response never shuts down
• That can have a hazardous, even lethal
effect on your body and mental health
• Mental illness affects one-quarter of the
U.S. population
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Anxiety
• Condition in which intense feelings of
apprehension are long-standing and
usually disruptive
• Phobia is an irrational fear of a specific
object or situation
• Self-help through stress management
skills such as relaxation techniques
• Professional help
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Figure 14.3 - Getting Professional Help
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Depression
• A mood disorder that impacts a person’s
productivity or relationships
• Symptoms include
– Withdrawal
– Overwhelming sadness
– Hopelessness
• A treatable disorder that often requires
exercise, medication and/or therapy
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Burnout
• Burnout is a response to continuous
flow of stressors
• Symptoms
– Detachment from coworkers and clients
– Tardiness, absenteeism, cynicism and
moodiness
– Disorientation and forgetfulness
– Increased personal problems
• Often impacts successful people who
hold high-level positions
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Burnout Guidelines
• If nearing burnout, act immediately at
home and at work
– Stop trying to do everything
– Clarify your value priorities
– Make time to participate in stress
management techniques
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Therapy Options
• Employee assistance programs address
negative effects of psychological
disorders before employees become
dysfunctional
• Twelve-step programs
– Working the steps
– Attending meetings
• Web-based counseling is growing
– No guarantee of legitimacy
– Confidentiality
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Chapter Review
• Major personal and work-related causes
of stress
– When individuals cannot successfully
adapt to change, stress is usually the result
– Technostress is a significant threat to
individuals and organizations
– Noise pollution, irregular schedules,
incompetent leaders, as well as work and
family transitions add to stress
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Chapter Review
• Warning signs of stress
– Some stress is motivating and exciting
– Goal is to
• Learn to manage various stressors
• Reduce negative effects on the body
and mind
• Become familiar with signals of too
much stress
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Chapter Review
• Stress management strategies
– You are more likely to handle stress when
• You maintain a sleep routine
• Exercise
• Practice deep breathing and mediation
• Laugh and have fun
• Seek solitude
• Learn to recover once the stress is
reduced
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Chapter Review
• Stress-related psychological disorders
– When stress is persistent it can lead to
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Burnout
– Self-management techniques may help, or
medication and therapy may be necessary
– Employee assistance programs and
Twelve-step programs offer support
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