Stress management is important for both employees and employers. Stress can negatively impact employee health, behavior, and productivity if not managed properly. There are many potential stressors in the workplace, including task demands like time pressure, role ambiguity, and interpersonal demands from conflicts or role conflicts. Employers can help reduce stress by ensuring a healthy work environment, providing training, allowing employee input, and supporting healthy habits like exercise, rest, and time off. Innovative companies recognize managing stress benefits employees' well-being and business performance.

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.