UNIT-11

‫اﻻﺟﻬﺎد ﰲ ﻣﻜﺎن اﻟﻌﻤﻞ وادارة اﻻﺟﻬﺎد‬

Stressininthethe
Stress workplace
Workplace andand
Stress
management Management

Dr. Rakan Ekram

 Lecture Outline
• Overview
• Defining Stress
• Sources of Stress
• Stressors
• Internal Sources of Stress and Anxiety
• Cognitive Aspects of Stress and Anxiety
• Effects of Stress
• Work-Related Stress
• Causes of Workplace Stress
• Stress Management Programs
• Stress Management Strategies

2
 Overview
i

⑰• Stress is a complex and highly personalized

ju

process. As, stress levels in individuals can

So d - st /15 I

vary widely, even in identical situation,

because of people’s abilities to cope with
different forms and levels of stress.
*• Stress is a term that is widely used in
everyday life and most people have some
idea of its meaning. Work-related stress is
recognized globally as a major challenge to
workers’ health, and the health of an
organization.
3
 Defining Stress
• A particular relationship between the person and the
environment that is appraised by the person as taxing
or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his
or her well being. (Schwarzer, 2004, p. 343)
• Stress can come from any situation or thought that
makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. Everyone
sees situations differently and has different coping
skills. For this reason, no two people will respond
exactly the same way to a given situation.

4
 Cont.…
• “Stress is the emotional and physical strain
caused by our response to pressure from the
outside world.”
• Individuals may perceive the same stressful
situation differently on the basis of their
cognitive appraisal; some individuals see
specific situation as a threat, whereas other
individuals see same situation as a challenge
or opportunity.

5
 Sources of Stress
• We can experience stress from four basic sources:
– The Environment – the environment can bombard you with intense and competing
demands to adjust. Examples of environmental stressors include weather, noise,
crowding, pollution, traffic, unsafe and substandard housing, and crime.
– Social Stressors – we can experience multiple stressors arising from the demands of
the different social roles we occupy, such as parent, spouse, caregiver, and employee.
Some examples of social stressors include deadlines, financial problems, job
interviews, presentations, disagreements, demands for your time and attention, loss
of a loved one, divorce, and co-parenting.
– Physiological – Situations and circumstances affecting our body can be experienced as
physiological stressors. Examples of physiological stressors include rapid growth of
adolescence, menopause, illness, aging, giving birth, accidents, lack of exercise, poor
nutrition, and sleep disturbances.
– Thoughts – Your brain interprets and perceives situations as stressful, difficult, painful,
or pleasant. Some situations in life are stress provoking, but it is our thoughts that
determine whether they are a problem for us.

6
 Stressors
• Everyone encounters stress in their daily lives, but the effects on
an individuals depend on a number of factors.
• Situations that are considered stress provoking are known as
stressors. In other meaning Causes or source of stress, known as
stressors. , can take on a number of forms, such as positive or
negative, external or internal, or short term (acute) or long term
(chronic).
• Stress is not always a bad thing. Stress is simply the body’s
response to changes that create taxing demands.
• Many professionals suggest that there is a difference between
what we perceive as positive stress, and distress, which refers to
negative stress.
• In daily life, we often use the term “stress” to describe negative
situations. This leads many people to believe that all stress is bad
for you, which is not true.

7
 Positive Stressors
• A certain degree of stress is necessary for good mental
and physical health; it can be viewed as constructive
stress, which compels us to as with optimum
performance, whereby we achieve our goals.
• Positive stress has the following characteristics:
– Motivates, focuses energy
– Is short-term
– Is perceived as within our coping abilities
– Feels exciting
– Improves performance

8
 Negative Stressors
• Distress refers to the unhealthy, negative, destructive
outcome of stressful events.
• Distress may have behavioral, physiological, and/or
psychological effects on the individuals.
• In contrast, negative stress has the following characteristics:
– Causes anxiety or concern
– Can be short or long-term
– Is perceived as outside of our coping abilities
– Feels unpleasant
– Decreases performance
– Can lead to mental and physical problems

9
• Examples of negative personal stressors can include: • Examples of positive personal stressors might include:
– The death of a partner – Receiving a promotion at work
– Filing for divorce – Starting a new job
– Losing contact with loved ones – Marriage or commitment ceremony
– The death of a family member – Buying a home
– Hospitalization (oneself or a family member) – Having a child
– Injury or illness (oneself or a family member) – Moving
– Being abused or neglected – Taking or planning a vacation
– Separation from a spouse or committed – Holiday seasons
relationship partner – Retiring
– Conflict in interpersonal relationships – Taking educational classes or learning a new
– Bankruptcy/money problems hobby
– Unemployment
– Sleep problems
– Children’s problems at school
– Legal problems
– Inadequate or substandard housing
– Excessive job demands
– Job insecurity
– Conflicts with team mates and supervisors
– Lack of training necessary to do a job
– Making presentations in front of colleagues or
clients
– Unproductive and time-consuming meetings
10
– Commuting and travel schedules
 Internal Sources of Stress and Anxiety:

• Stressors are not always limited to situations where some external

situation is creating a problem. Internal events such as feelings,
thoughts, and habitual behaviors can also cause negative stress.
• Common internal sources of distress include:
– Fears (e.g., fears of flying, heights, public speaking, chatting with
strangers at a party)
– Repetitive thought patterns
– Worrying about future events (e.g., waiting for medical test
results or job restructuring)
– Unrealistic or perfectionist expectations Habitual behavior
patterns that can lead to stress include:
• Over scheduling
• Failing to be assertive
• Failing to set and maintain healthy boundaries

11
 Cognitive Aspects of Stress and Anxiety

• Anxiety is a feeling that we commonly experience when faced with stressful life events.
• Anxiety can be one of the most distressing emotions that people feel. It is sometimes called “fear or
nervousness”. Common reactions to anxiety include:
– Physical Symptoms:
• Sweaty palms
• Muscle tension
• Racing heart
• Flushed cheeks
• Light headedness
– Behaviors:
• Avoiding situations where experiencing anxiety might occur
• Leaving situations when feelings of anxiety begins to occur
• Trying to do things perfectly or trying to control events to prevent danger
– Moods:
• Nervous
• Irritable
• Anxious
• Panicky
– Thoughts:
• Overestimation of danger
• Underestimation of your ability to cope
• Underestimation of help available
• Worries and catastrophic thoughts

12
Effects of Stress

13
 Work-Related Stress
• Work-related stress describes the physical, mental
and emotional reactions of workers who perceive
that their work demands exceed their abilities
and/or their resources (such as time,
help/support) to do the work.
• It occurs when they perceive they are not coping
in situations where it is important to them that
they cope.

14
 Causes of Workplace Stress
• Workplace Stress can be related to
– Individual task demands would include unrealistic deadlines, fear
of failure, new technology, lack of necessary resources) e.g poor
physical work environment, such as noise, heat, and crowding),
work overload, lack of control, and repetitive, unchallenging work
(work under load)
– Individual role demands include job ambiguity, role conflict, and
difficulty balancing work and family life.
– Group demands include poor interpersonal relationship with
coworkers and or supervisors, inadequate support, and lack of
participation in decisions.
– Organizational demands encompass politics, communication
problems, excess rules and regulations, organizational structure
and culture, lack of career development activities, and change
without clear strategic direction.

15
16
 Stress Management Programs
• Organizations are developing comprehensive health
promotion strategies for their employees.
• Stress Management programs often consist of breathing and
stretching exercise, yoga, meditation.
• Crampton and colleagues (1995) related that stress
management programs need to contribute to the goals and
need of both the organization and the individuals.
• Organization need to believe that the benefits of stress
management programs outweigh their costs.
• Employees need to perceive that they will benefit from
stress management programs or they will not voluntarily
participate.
• To meet both organizational and individual goals Crampton
and colleagues provide the following recommendations:

17
 Cont.…
-
• Preventive and/ or proactive Coping (Primary Prevention)
-

– Identify the major stressors in the workplace and

-

assess which one are controllable. Organization- level

strategies might include re-designing employee’s jobs,
improving the selection, placement and orientation of
new employees, provide employee more participation
and autonomy etc…
– Communicate with employees about the benefits of
stress management.

18
 Cont.…
• Anticipatory Coping (Secondary prevention)
– Assist employees to identify their stressors and stress
tolerance levels.
– Develop individualized stress management programs
that meet the needs of the organization employees.
Program should be topic- specific and implemented
in the stage.
– Communicate with employees: Providing more
information about their jobs and other factors that
affect them will help employees feel more in control
of their circumstances and can help build cohesion.

19
 Cont.…
• Reactive Coping (tertiary prevention)
– Make sure employees learn to recognize
symptom of distress.
– Exercise and maintaining a nutrition diet are two
of the most agreed upon stress management
techniques.
– Assist employees to keep a positive perspective
on life and feel a sense of purpose. It is important
for employees to feel they are making a valuable
contribution to the organization.

20
 Stress Management Strategies
• Avoid unnecessary stress
– Learn how to say “no”
– Avoid people who stress you out
– Take control of your environment
• Alter the situation
– Express your feelings instead of bottling them up
– Be willing to compromise
– Be more assertive
– Manage your time better
• Make time for fun and relaxation
– Set aside relaxation time
– Connect with others
– Do something you enjoy every day
– Keep your sense of humor
• Adopt a healthy lifestyle
– Exercise regularly
– Eat a healthy diet
– Get enough sleep
21
22