Stress is an

unpleasant psychological process

that occurs in response to
environmental pressures.
Significant Aspects of Stress:

→ can happen because of both opportunities and

threats

→ importance of opportunity/threat

→ uncertainty about how to deal with

opportunities/threats

→ how opportunities/threats are perceived?

People differ in patterns of
emotional
and
physiological
reactions
given in response to
stressful demands
from within or
outside an organization. Stress response is the
unconscious preparation
to flee or fight
 Distress or Strain
refers to any
adverse
psychological, behavioral,
physical and organizational
consequences
experienced or reflected
by an individual
as a result of
any stressor or stressful event.
Are Stressors
always
bad??
Stressors
Stressor can be any demand, either physical or
psychological in nature, encountered during life.

• Challenge stressors
(workload, time urgency, pressure to complete tasks)
though lead to strain but also motivate to perform.

Challenge stressors promote growth and

achievement.

• Hindrance stressors
(office politics, confusion over job responsibilities,
organizational constraints, interpersonal conflict) lead
to higher levels of strain and have high negative effect
on job performance.
 Approach to Stress: Cognitive Appraisal Approach

“If you are distressed by

anything external,
the pain is not always due to the thing itself,
but to your estimate of it;
and
this you have the power
to revoke at any moment.”
Marcus Aurelius Antonius
 Cognitive Appraisal Approach
• Mere presence of harmful events or
conditions in the surrounding is not enough
for them to be stressors.

• Any harmful event can become a stressor to

someone only when he or she
acknowledges it as a stressor.

Tips for accurately assessing potential

stressors:
• Gather all the facts.
• Avoid negative mental monologues

Stressors in the Workplace

Stressors in the Workplace

• Person-Organization misfit
• Person-Job misfit
• Lack of involvement in making
organizational decisions
• Very high expectations for
performance

• Poor communication with colleagues

• Fear of losing one’s job
• Office politics and conflict
• Not being paid enough, given one’s level of responsibility and
performance
• Spending long durations away from home
 Role Demands Leading to Work Stress
• An individual feels stressed due to role conflict and ambiguity at
the work place.

• Role ambiguity occurs when an individual is not clear about

what is expected from him or her on a job. Clarity is missing on
the tasks and responsibilities that are part of the job.

• Incompatibilities between the various sets of obligations faced by

an individual at a job lead to role conflict.

• People get stressed when they are expected to perform more than
what they can handle at their job. (work overload)
 Task Demands Leading to Work Stress

• Any change in job related activities and tasks can be a source of

stress.

• Lack of control in demanding work environment

• Time pressure to meet deadlines

• Concern over career progress

 The Job Demand–Control–Support (JDCS)Model

JDCS model has three components:

i. job demands (psychological stressors involved in accomplishing the workload)
ii. job control (the extent to which an employee has authority to make decisions and utilize skills
concerning the job)

iii. social support (helpful relations with supervisors and coworkers)

• Job demands lead to strain.

• The combination of job control and the presence of social

support at work place can minimize the experience of
strain resulting from job demands.
Buffer hypothesis - - interaction effect on employee strain
 Other Sources Leading to Work Stress

• The causes of work stress are

not limited to work place;
nonwork (external) pressures
also lead to work stress.

• Nonwork pressures ‘spill over’

to work place and adversely
affect the job performance.
 Nonwork Demands Leading to Work Stress

• Family Expectations

• Parental Care and /or Child-rearing

• Civic and Volunteer Work

 Individual Level Moderators

The possibility of potential stressors leading to strain is moderated

by some individual level factors:

• Perception about a stressful situation leads to stress or absence

of stress.

• Personality traits such as neuroticism and workaholism make

individuals prone to psychological strain.

• Work experience enhances the ability to handle stress.

• Social support provides a buffer against stress.

Positive
Stress
Stress
does not
always
lead to
negative
results.

• The healthy stress, known as EUSTRESS, has potential to produce

energy that can be used in a productive manner.

• Healthy amounts of eustress improves performance of a person by

arousing a person to action.
The Influencers of the Inverted U-Model:
• Skill Level
• Personality and Trait Anxiety
• Task Complexity
 Effects of Stress on Individual Level

Stress initiates changes in body processes at various levels such as:

1. Emotional level: Lack of motivation, anxiety.

2. Cognitive level: Hinders thinking capabilities which leads to

errors.

3. Behavioral level: Stress deteriorates relationships

4. Psychological level: The individual complains of increasing ill

health in forms of headaches, general aches, and dizziness
 Forms of Individual Distress
Overstress at job may lead to the following psychological distresses:
• Depression
• Burnout
Three dimensions of Burnout
Emotional Exhaustion Depersonalization
Employee might mention and lack of connectedness
feeling drained or used up, with one’s coworkers and
at the end of the rope, and clients
physically fatigued
Diminished Personal Accomplishment,
Reduced perception of personal accomplishment
i.e.
negative evaluation of the self.

Burn-out contrasts rust-out, which is a form of psychological distress caused by lack of

challenge, inspiration and opportunity on the job.
What should Carlos Do?
 Preventive Stress Management

The stages of prevention are:

1. Primary prevention: Attempts are made to reduce the demands

or stressors causing stress.

2. Secondary prevention: Attempts are made to modify or alter the

individual’s or the organization’s response to the demand or
stressor.

3. Tertiary Prevention: Attempts are made to heal individual or

organizational symptoms of distress or strain.
 Organizational Approaches to Manage Stress

• Selection and Training

• Job Redesign: By redesigning the jobs that are highly demanding

or have restricted job decision control.

• Goal Setting: By goal setting activities organization can reduce

the degree of role conflict and ambiguity. Goal setting activities
also increase task motivation in an employee.

• Role Negotiation: Role negotiation helps individuals to modify

their work roles. The confusions are resolved by comparing the
expectations of the job incumbent and the other key members
influenced by the job.
 Organizational Approaches to Manage Stress (cont’d)
• Social Support Systems: Social support system can be enhanced
by facilitating interpersonal communication at work place.

• Employee Sabbaticals

• Employee Assistance Programs

• Wellness Programs
 Organizational Distress

At organizational level the stress among the workforce is reflected

by:
- Increased absenteeism
- High turnover
- Strikes/stoppage of work
- Poor quality of service or production
- Grievances
 Individual Level Coping Strategies

• Positive Thinking

• Time Management

• Physical Exercise

• Relaxation Training: Meditation

• Opening Up

• Professional Help
The Eisenhower Matrix

It is used for effective time management and prioritization

 Time Management

Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix:

Quadrant 1: Necessity
Quadrant 2: Extraordinary Productivity
Quadrant 3: Distraction
Quadrant 4: Waste
Sphere of Influence

It is useful when the learner is overwhelmed and paralyzed by uncertainty.

Sphere of Influence

i. Circle of Concern: List the factors that contribute to

the person’s current feelings.

ii. Circle of Influence: Identify the factors over which

the person has direct influence or partial control.

iii. Circle of Control: Identify the factors that are

completely within the control of the person.

The factors that do not appear in either of these lists are

completely out of control of the person.