MANAGING STRESS

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow

from flying over your head;

But you can prevent them from making

nests in your hair
 Stress Impacts ….
• Overall Employee Health – Insurance Costs

• Productivity Levels
• Absenteeism
• Morale
• Engagement
• Focus
• Safety
• Workplace Violence
• Substance Use/Abuse
Myths of Stress

 All stress is bad

 Stress will not hurt you
 What stresses you out also stresses me out
 No symptoms, no stress
 Only major symptoms of stress are harmful
Is All Stress Bad?

 Moderatelevels of stress may actually improve

performance and efficiency

 Too little stress may result in boredom

 Toomuch stress may cause an unproductive

anxiety level
 The Demand-Response Imbalance

Optimal
Performance

Boredom High motivation Insomnia

Decrease in Energy Irritability
e

Pe
motivation
c

Seek challenge Increased errors

an

rfo
rfo w

Lo an
Absenteeism
rm
Pe Lo

w
rm
Indecisiveness
Apathy
Depression

ce
‘Rust Out’ Optimal Stress ‘’Burn Out’

Stress
 Sources of Work Stress
Intrinsic to the job
Repetitive jobs
Time pressures
Shift work

Work – Life Conflict Role in organization

Org versus family demands Role - overload, conflict, ambiguity
Org versus own interests Low participation in decision-making
Individual
* Personality traits
* Tolerance for
ambiguity
Physical Factors * Ability to cope Career development
with change
Poor working conditions Lack of job security
* Motivation
Commuting Unclear career growth
Accident prone work Thwarted ambition

Relations within organization

Low social support
Office politics
Sexual harassment
Individual

 Most of the stress we experience is self-generated

 How we perceive life - whether an event makes us

feel threatened or stimulated, encouraged or
discouraged, happy or sad - depends to a large
extent on our perception
Self-generated Sources of Stress

 Worrier
 Procrastinator
 Workaholic
 Super-responsible
 People-pleaser
 Type ‘A’ personality
‘Type A’ Personality
 High drive for success & recognition
 Measure success in terms of quantity
 Excessive energy & aggression
 Low tolerance for failure
 Schedule many activities simultaneously
 ‘I can do it better myself fallacy’
 Difficult to sit idle (rarely take a holiday)
 Play to win every game (even with children)
 Become impatient when watching others carry out a task
 Get irritated when others respond slowly, when having to
wait etc.
 High absorption in work adversely affects health, family
Mind Traps
I Ought to / Should
 Be good at everything
 Be appreciated by all
 Be responsible
 Be in control - not make mistakes
 Not reveal my feelings
 Live up to other’s expectations
 Be self-reliant- not take help from others

 Unrealistic expectations
 Taking things personally
 Rigid thinking - all or nothing
 Overly Self –critical
 Over analysing
Cognitive (Thoughts)

 Pay attention to what you say to yourself

 Identify negative thinking and irrational beliefs
 Negative thinking leads to stress and anxiety
 Learn thought-stopping techniques
 Give Affirmations
Unresolved Emotions Lead to:

 Hostility, anger & frustration

 Passiveness, resistance to cooperate
 Sugar-coated manipulation
 Scheming to put down others
 Attacking others
 Cynicism
 Individual Response to Stress

Physiological Behavioral Psychological

Heart disease Smoking Relationships
Stroke Alcohol abuse Disturbed sleep
Ulcers Accidents Lack of concentration
Backache Appetite disorders Depression
Skin problems Restless Impatience
Digestive disorders Hypochondria Panic attacks
High BP Violence Confusion
Holding On

 Longer we hold on, more tension we experience

 Sometimes ‘letting go’ is an act of far greater power
than hanging on
 Have the courage to let go what you can’t change
 The most expensive real estate in the world is not in
New York of Japan, but in your mind; don’t let
anyone or anything stay there for free
Coping with Stress
Techniques for Alleviating Stress
 Identify your major sources of stress
 Acknowledge feelings - don't suppress them
 Avoid blaming others
 Leave work at work
 Adopt self – care practices
 Provide positive feedback to others
 Deal with problems - avoid procrastinating
 Ask for help - develop support systems
 Say "no" when justified, without guilt
 Watch for your inner voice & how it stresses you
 Understand some things are beyond your control to
change
 Avoid" hurry, worry & curry"
 Beliefs That Keep Us Stuck

 Experiencing stress is a weakness

 Keeping stress to yourself is the best approach
 Other people or situations are to blame for your
stress and imbalance
 Cutting back or eliminating social, sporting, or
personal interests will restore balance
 Believing that there is a single solution
Identify what you can control – and
what you can’t

 Ask yourself: Is this important to me?

◦ If it’s not important – forget about it!

 Ask yourself: Can I control this?

◦ If you can’t control it, why worry?

◦ Can you change the situation somehow so that

you can control it?
General Misconceptions on Time

 The harder one works, the more one gets done

 Higher level people make better decisions
 Most people are over-worked because of the
nature of their jobs
 It is best to do everything yourself
 Most of the day’s activities don’t need planning
 Most people know how they spend their time
 Efficiency means effectiveness
 URGENT NOT URGENT

I II
IMPORTANT

• Crises • Values clarification

• Pressing problems • Planning
• Deadline-driven • Relationship building
projects • Re-creation
• Subordinate
development

III IV
NOT IMPORTANT

• Interruptions, • Trivia,
phone • Junk mail
calls • Phone calls
• Mail, reports “Escape” activities
• Meetings
• “Popular” activities