Richard L. Daft

1. STRESS MANAGEMENT
By Muhammad Kashif Din

2. STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT
• Definition:
• A Physiological and emotional response to stimuli that place physical or psychological
demands on an individual. It create uncertainty and lack of personal control when
important outcomes are at stake.
• These Stimuli that create emotional and physiological response are called Stressors.
• Stressors produce some combination of frustration (the inability to achieve a goal,
such as the inability to meet a deadline because of inadequate resources) and
anxiety (such as the fear of being disciplined for not meeting deadlines).

3. PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOR TOWARDS STRESS
• People’s response towards stressors depends on following factors:
• Personality of individuals;
• Resources available to cope;
• The willingness of coworkers to team up and help each other succeed;
• Family members’ understanding of an employee’s need to work extra hours;
• More stress is negative for work and well being of the individual while low stress is
positive for the achievement of goals and desirable results.

4. DRAWBACKS OF HIGH STRESS
• Too much stress is associated with many negative consequences including:
• Effects on Employee’s health
• Sleep disturbances;
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse;
• Headaches;
• Ulcers;
• High Blood Pressure; and
• Heart Diseases
• Effects on Employee’s behavior
• Employees may become irritable in interactions with other Colleagues
• Employee may withdraw from interaction with co-workers
• Employee may take excessive time off from Work

5. TYPE ‘A’ AND TYPE ‘B’ BEHAVIOR
• From studies of heart related diseases it has been observed that some people are more
vulnerable to the ill effects of Stress than others.
• They categorize people as Type ‘A’ and Type ‘B’
• Type A Behavior: Behavior Pattern Categorized by extreme competitiveness, impatience,
aggressiveness, and devotion to work.
• Type B Behavior: Behavior pattern exhibits less of Type A characteristics and includes a more
balanced, relaxed life style.
• Type A people tend to experience more stress related illness than Type B People.
• Most Type A People are high energy people and may seek position of power and
responsibility. Type A personalities can be powerful forces for innovation and leadership.
• Type B People live with less stress unless they are in a high stress situations.

6. CAUSES OF WORK STRESS
• Characteristics of Stressful Job:
• Difficult Uncomfortable Exhausting Frightening
• Managers can better cope with their own stress and establish ways for the
organization to help employees cope if they define the conditions that tend to
produce work stress.
• Way of identifying work stressors is to think about:
• Stress caused by demands of job tasks; and
• Stress caused by interpersonal pressures and conflict
• Task Demands and Interpersonal demands are stressors that lead to work stress.

7. TASK DEMANDS
• Definition: Task Demands are stressors arising from the tasks required of a person
holding a particular job.
• Stressful Decisions: Some decisions are inherently stressful. Theses are:
• Decisions that are made under time pressure
• Decisions that have serious consequences
• Decisions that must be made with incomplete information
• Role Ambiguity: Task demands also sometimes cause stress because of role
ambiguity.
• Role ambiguity is that people are unclear about what task behaviors are expected of
them.

8. INTERPERSONAL DEMANDS
• Definition: Interpersonal demands are stressors associated with relationships in the
organization.
• Although in some cases interpersonal relationships can alleviate stress, they also can
be a source of stress when:
• The group put pressure on an individual; or
• Conflicts arise between individuals.
• Role Conflicts: Interpersonal demands can happen because of role conflicts. This
occurs when an individual perceives incompatible demands from others.
• Cause of Role Conflict: Role Conflict of managers are often caused by demands of
their superiors does not match with those of their superiors.
• Almost everyone feel some sort of pressure but not all stress is negative and try to
help people manage stress in a healthy way.

9. INNOVATIVE RESPONSE TO STRESS
MANAGEMENT
• Competitive World needs Competitive business which in turn needs managers to be
competitive. However negative stress needs to be avoided. Hence stress
management is a priority for managers.
• Managers need to create an environment that help to manage workplace stress
such as:
• Ensuring that employees are not exposed to poor physical work environment.
• Employees have necessary skills and training to meet their job requirement.
• Employees are given an opportunity to offer input into the way their work is done.
• Techniques to help manage individual stress by helping in staying healthy by:
• Taking exercises regularly; Getting plenty of Rest;Eating a healthful diet

10. CONTINUE……..
• Enlightened /Modern /Efficient Companies support healthy habits to help people
manage stress and be productive. In today’s world it not only an ethical priority but
also a normal business practice to take care of their employees.
• Supporting people can be as simple as encouraging people to take breaks and
vacations. Time off is a valuable investment as it allows employees to approach their
work with a new renewed effort and perspective.
• Other approaches include:
• Nutrition Counseling; Exercise Facilities; Telecommuting; Flexible Working Hours
(Daily Flextime)
• Manager’s attitude also help employees stay focused fit, relaxed, energetic and
productive.