Chapter 2: Managing Personal Stress

1. Chapter 2: Managing Personal Stress How can you control your own stress, and the stress of your employees?

2. Managing Stress: Objectives • Eliminate stressors • Develop resiliency • Cope temporarily with stress

3. Stress • Reduces national economy by $500 billion • Leaves almost half of all adults with health problems • Causes between 60 and 80 percent of industrial accidents • In workplace, is primarily caused by incompetent management

4. Managers Who Experience Stress... • selectively perceive information • fixate on a single approach to a problem • overestimate how fast time passes • adopt a crisis mentality • consult and listen to others less • rely on old habits • are less able to generate creative thoughts

5. Stress as a Force Field Current Level of Functioning Driving Force A Driving Force B Driving Force C Driving Force D Restraining Force A Restraining Force B Restraining Force C Restraining Force D

6. Reactions to Stress • Alarm – increase in anxiety, fear, sorrow or loss • Resistance – attempt to control stress using defense mechanisms • Exhaustion – stop trying to defend against stress. Stress related pathology occurs in this stage

7. Stress Defense Mechanisms • Aggression – attack stressor directly • Regression – use behavior that was successful at an earlier time • Repression – deny that stress exists • Withdrawal – leave stressful situation • Fixation – persist in response regardless of effectiveness

8. Experiencing Stress • STRESSORS • Anticipatory • Encounter • Time • Situational • REACTIONS • Physiological • Psychological • RESILIENCY • Physical • Psychological • Social

9. Types of Stressors • Time Stressors • Work overload • Lack of control • Encounter Stressors • Role conflicts • Issue conflicts • Action conflicts

10. Types of Stressors • Situational Stressors • Unfavorable working conditions • Rapid change • Anticipatory Stressors • Unpleasant expectations • Fear

11. Consequences of Stress • Physiological • Immune response • Coronary disease • Viral infection • Psychological • Burnout

12. Stress as a Person/ Situation Interaction • Assumption: Events trigger stress, but people respond to stress differently • Resiliency factors moderate stress WithoutResiliency Reaction Stressors WithResiliency No Reaction

13. Resiliency Factors • Physical: cardiovascular health, dietary control, rest • Psychological: emotionality, self-esteem, hardiness • Social: close emotional ties, common experiences, supportive interactions, mentors, teams

14. Managing Stress

15. Eliminating Stressors

16. Managing Time Effectively • Spend time on important, not urgent, matters • Identify what you feel is important vs. what you feel is urgent • Focus on results, not methods • Don’t feel guilty for saying “no”

17. Types of Activities That Determine Time Use URGENCY HIGH LOW 1 Crises Customer Complaints 3 Developmental Opportunities Innovating Planning HIGH LOW IMPORTANCE 2 Mail Ringing Telephone Unscheduled Interruptions 4 Escapes Routines Arguments

18. Personal Principles for Time Use • Ask yourself: • What do I stand for? • What do I care passionately about? • What do I want to be remembered for? • What do I want to have accomplished 20 years from now? • What principles do I want everyone in the world to follow?

19. Read selectively Make a list of things to accomplish Have a place for everything Prioritize your tasks Do several trivial things simultaneously List five 10-minute tasks Divide up large projects Determine critical 20 percent of tasks Save best time for important matters Limit others’ access to you Don’t procrastinate Keep track of time Set deadlines Do something productive while waiting Do busy work at one set time Reach closure on one thing per day Schedule some personal time Don’t worry on continuing basis Write down long-term goals Be alert for ways to improve your time management Managing Time Efficiently – 20 Rules for Everyone

20. Hold routine meetings at end of day Hold short meetings standing up Set a time limit Cancel meetings sometimes Have agendas, stick to them, and keep track of time Start meetings on time Prepare meeting minutes and follow up Insist that subordinates suggest solutions to problems Meet visitors in doorway Go to subordinates’ offices Don’t overschedule your day Have someone else answer phone and e-mail Have a place to work uninterrupted Do something with each piece of paper Keep workplace clean Delegate work, identify amount of initiative granted, and give others credit for their success Managing Time Efficiently – 20 Rules for Managers

21. Collaboration • Maintain an “emotional bank account” • Make deposits by treating people with kindness, courtesy, honesty and consistency • Minimize withdrawals made by not keeping promises, not listening, not clarifying expectations, or not allowing choice

22. Work Redesign • Lack of freedom is most important contributor to stress • Use job redesign model to reduce stress • combine tasks • form identifiable work units • establish customer relationships • increase decision-making authority • open feedback channels

23. Eliminating Anticipatory Stressors through Goal Setting 1. Establish a Goal 2. Specify Actions and Behavioral Requirements 4. Identify Criteria of Success and a Reward 3. Generate Accountability and Reporting Mechanisms

24. Small Wins Strategy • Identify something under your control • Change it in a way that leads toward desired goal • Find another small thing to change and change it • Keep track of changes made • Maintain the small gains made through change

25. Developing Resiliency • Some stressors will not go away • Resiliency increases capacity to withstand negative effects of stress

26. Balance Life Activities

27. Increase Cardiovascular Conditioning • MOVE! Exercise: • Lowers blood pressure • Increases heart efficiency • Lowers triglyceride levels • Lowers cholesterol • Increases energy • Reduces anxiety and depression

28. Take Control of Your Diet • Eat a variety of foods • Maintain optimal weight • Reduce fat intake • Eat more whole foods • Reduce sugar intake • Reduce sodium intake • Avoid alcohol and caffeine

29. Improve Hardiness • Take control of your life • Do something that you can be committed to and involved in • Feel challenged by change, not paralyzed

30. Moderate Type A Personality Syndrome • Type A people: • have a chronic, combative struggle with the social and physical environment • are aggressive, hostile, impatient • are subject to time demands, self-imposed pressure • eat fast, walk fast, talk fast!

31. To Moderate Type A Behavior • Focus on small wins • Use deep-relaxation strategies • meditation • yoga • self-hypnosis • biofeedback

32. Increase Social Resiliency • Maintain friendships and family relations • Find and use a mentor • must be two-way relationship • Work in teams • involve others in defining challenges • encourage participation • share resources broadly • focus on team, rather than individual, rewards

33. Temporary Stress Reduction • Muscle relaxation • Deep breathing • Visualization - Imagery and fantasy • Rehearsal • Reframing

34. Managing Your Own Stress • Enactive, proactive and reactive strategies • Recognize and observe your own stress reactions (e.g., irritability, muscle tightness, fatigue, sleep disorder, distractibility, confusion, etc. • Learn to surf...reframe perceptions

35. Managing Your Own Stress • Build time management skills • Regularly revisit goals and priorities, beware of reactivity • Learn to delegate. Trust and share your work with others • Communicate and participate with colleagues and employees • Find reason and time to laugh

36. Managing Others’ Stress... • attend to your own stress • mentor and monitor time management: set goals with time lines, check in regularly • redesign work: task demand, control, intellectual challenge, clarified responsibilities • set boundaries and expectations: create a healthy organizational culture

37. Managing Others’ Stress... • make time to play, celebrate small and big wins, develop relationships, and relax • don’t sweat the small stuff • communicate and participate