Unit 4: Managing stress at work

1. Unit 4: Managing stress at work Objectives: • What is stress at work? • Importance for managers to understand the causes and consequences of stress • How stressful life events create stress • Describe coping stress • What are the different stress reduction techniques available.

2. Definition of stress: Stress is defined as “ an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics or psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation or events that places special physical or psychological demands upon a person.

3. Causes of stress: Stressful life events Stressful life events are non work related changes that disrupt an individual’s lifestyle and social relationships. The Schedule of Recent Experiences (SRE) is the method for accessing an individual’s cumulative stressful life events

4. Some examples of stressful life experiences: • Death of spouse • Divorce • Marital separation • Death of close family member • Personal injury or illness • Problems facing at work • Fired at work • Retirement

5. Coping stress Coping is the process of managing demands (external or internal) that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person. The coping has 3 major components: • Situational and personal factors These are environmental characteristics that affect how people interpret stressors. For e.g the ambiguity of a situation.

6. Personal factors are personality traits and personal resources that affect the appraisal of stressors. • Cognitive appraisal of stressors It reflects an individual’s overall evaluation of a situation. This results in a categorisation of the situation as either harmful, threatening or challenging. These appraisals influence how people cope with stress.

7. Coping strategies Coping strategies are characterized by the specific behaviours and cognitions used to cope with a situation. People use 3 approaches to cope with stress namely • Control strategy ( use behaviour & cognition to solve problems) • Escape strategy (avoid/escape problem) • Symptom management strategy (relaxation, meditation to manage stress)

8. Stress reduction techniques • Muscle relaxation Uses slow deep breathing, systematic muscle tension reduction and an altered state of consciousness to reduce stress. • Biofeedback A machine is used to train people to detect muscular tension. • Meditation This is activated by redirecting one’s thoughts away from oneself.

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