7.3 Managing Stress
Learning Objectives
1.
2. Understand what individuals can do to manage their own stress.
Understand what organizations can do to help their employees avoid and
manage stress. Individual Approaches to Managing Stress
The Corporate Athlete
There are several ways to manage stress, and many of them are within the
control of the individual. One way is to harness stress’s ability to improve our
body's performance. Jack Groppel was working as a professor of kinesiology
and bioengineering at the University of Illinois when he became interested in
applying the principles of athletic performance to workplace performance.
Could eating better, exercising more, and developing a positive attitude help
with stress? Groppel’s answer was yes. If professionals trained their minds and
bodies to perform at peak levels through better nutrition, focused training, and
positive action, Groppel said, they could become “corporate athletes” working
at optimal physical, emotional, and mental levels.
The “corporate athlete” approach to stress is a proactive (action first) rather
than a reactive (response-driven) approach. While an overdose of stress can
cause some individuals to stop exercising, eat less nutritional foods, and
develop a sense of hopelessness, corporate athletes ward off the potentially
overwhelming feelings of stress by developing strong bodies and minds that
embrace challenges, as opposed to being overwhelmed by them. Flow
Another way to transform stress is by breaking challenges into smaller parts,
and embracing the ones that give us joy. In doing so, we can enter a state much
like that of a child at play, fully focused on the task at hand, losing track of
everything except our genuine connection to the challenge before us. This
concept of total engagement in one’s work, or in other activities, is called flow. The term flow was coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and is
defined as a state of consciousness in which a person is totally absorbed in an
activity. We’ve all experienced flow: It’s the state of mind in which you feel
strong, alert, and in effortless control.
Figure 7.5 A key to flow is engaging at work, yet research shows that most managers do
not feel they are engaged in purposeful work.
Sources: Adapted from information in Bruch, H., & Ghoshal, S. (2002, February). Beware
the busy manager. Harvard Business Review, 80, 62–69; Schiuma, G., Mason, S., & Kennerley, M. (2007). Assessing energy within organizations. Measuring Business
Excellence, 11, 69–78. According to this way of thinking, the most pleasurable way for a person to
work is in harmony with his or her true interests. Work is seen as more similar
to playing games than most activities adults do. This is because work consists
of tasks, puzzles, surprises, and potentially rewarding challenges. By breaking
down a busy workday into smaller pieces, individuals can shift from the
“stress” of work to a more engaged state of flow. Designing Work That Flows
Keep in mind that work that flows includes the following: Challenge: the task is reachable but requires a stretch Meaningfulness: the task is worthwhile or important Competence: the task uses skills that you have Choice: you have some say in the task and how it’s carried out Corporate athleticism and flow are two concepts that can help you cope with
stress. Next, let us focus more on exactly how individual lifestyle choices affect
our stress levels. Eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and employing
time management techniques are all things we can affect that can decrease our
feelings of stress. Diet
Greasy foods often make a person feel tired. Why? Because it takes the body
longer to digest fats, which means the body is diverting blood from the brain
and making you feel sluggish. Eating big, heavy meals in the middle of the day
may actually slow us down, because the body will be pumping blood to the
stomach, away from the brain. A better choice for lunch might be fish, such as
wild salmon. Fish keeps you alert because of its effect on two important brain
chemicals, dopamine and norepinephrine, which produce a feeling of alertness, increased concentration, and faster reaction times. In addition, research shows
that Omega 3 oils help you focus and learn new information. Figure 7.6 Understanding the Food-Stress Connection Source for Image: © Thinkstock. Source for content: Based on information in Glassman, K.
(2014). 13 foods that fight stress. Prevention; and Mendez, B. (2015). 7 foods that reduce
stress. Inc. Exercise
Exercise is another strategy for managing stress. The best kind of break to take
may be a physically active one. Research has shown that physically active
breaks lead to enhanced mental concentration and decreased mental fatigue.
One study, conducted by Belgian researchers, examined the effect of breaks on
workers in a large manufacturing company. One-half of the workers were told
to rest during their breaks. The other half did mild calisthenics. Afterward,
each group was given a battery of tests. The group who had done the mild
calisthenics scored far better on all measures of memory, decision-making
ability, eye-hand coordination, and fine motor control.
Strange as it may seem, exercise gives us more energy. How energetic we feel
depends on our maximum oxygen capacity (the total amount of oxygen we
utilize from the air we breathe). The more oxygen we absorb in each breath,
the more energy and stamina we will have. Yoga and meditation are other
physical activities that are helpful in managing stress. Regular exercise
increases our body’s ability to draw more oxygen out of the air we breathe.
Therefore, taking physically active breaks may be helpful in combating stress. Detachment and Relaxation
Stress consumes our personal resources. Therefore, our bodies need recovery
from stress to return to pre-stress levels. Experiencing too much stress without
having an opportunity to recover may result in being stuck in the exhaustion
phase, which may result in permanent damage on physical and mental health.
Instead, if we recover, our body will return to its pre-stress levels. Two methods
of recovery are psychological detachment and relaxation.
Psychological detachment involves leaving work at work. In other words, this
method of recovery requires not thinking or worrying about work until the next
day, and mentally focusing on non-work activities. You can think of this as
mentally switching off. While it may take practice and removing yourself from temptations such as checking your work e-mail, this method is quite effective in
recovery.
Relaxation may take the form of taking a break, taking a nap, or sleeping.
Stress can make it hard to sleep. Not sleeping makes it harder to focus on work
in general, as well as on specific tasks. Tired folks are more likely to lose their
temper, upping the stress level of others. American insomnia is a stress-related
epidemic—one-third of adults claim to have trouble sleeping and 54% admit to
actually having fallen asleep while driving in the past year. The work-life crunch experienced by many Americans makes a good night’s
sleep seem out of reach. According to the journal Sleep, workers who suffer
from insomnia are more likely to miss work due to exhaustion. These missed
days ultimately cost employers thousands of dollars per person in missed
productivity each year, which can total over $100 billion across all industries. As you might imagine, a person who misses work due to exhaustion will return to work to find an even more stressful workload. This cycle can easily
increase the stress level of a work team as well as the overtired individual. Mindfulness and Meditation
The most recent findings in neuroscience point to the benefits of mindfulness,
which refers to paying complete attention to one’s own feelings without
reaction or judgment. Experiencing this state involves experiencing the present
moment without thinking about the past or future. The ability to focus in the
moment helps reduce the negative effects of rumination, allows one to focus,
and helps with recovery following stressful events. The benefits of mindfulnessbased meditation programs have been shown in populations prone to anxiety
and depression. As a result, mindfulness-based meditation programs are
gaining popularity as stress management tools and results are promising. Psychological Coping
Individuals cope with stress in different ways, some more effectively than
others. Unhealthy ways of dealing with stress include self-blame and
rumination. Instead, two positive coping strategies are positive reappraisal and putting into perspective. Positive reappraisal involves finding meaning in a
seemingly negative life event. An example is to think of losing one’s job as an
opportunity to make a career change. Putting into perspective is minimizing
the perceived importance of a situation. Upon losing one’s job, remembering
that one’s spouse is still employed and one does not have debt is an example of
putting into perspective. These two methods are thought to be useful stress
management techniques and facilitate recovery. Create a Social Support Network
A consistent finding is that those individuals who have a strong social support
network are less stressed than those who do not.Research finds that social
support can buffer the effects of stress. Individuals can help build up social
support by encouraging a team atmosphere in which coworkers support one
another. Just being able to talk with and listen to others, either with coworkers
at work or with friends and family at home, can help decrease stress levels. Time Management
Time management is defined as the development of tools or techniques that
help to make us more productive when we work. Effective time management is
a major factor in reducing stress, because it decreases much of the pressure
we feel. With information and role overload it is easy to fall into bad habits of
simply reacting to unexpected situations. Understanding how you spend your
day can be helpful in changing poor time management habits. For example,
knowledge workers spend 14% of their day duplicating information or dealing
with unwanted communication such as spam. More than one hour each day is
spent trying to contact customers or collegues, and simply scheduling meetings
accounts for an average of thirty minutes each day. Time management
techniques include prioritizing, manageable organization, and keeping a
schedule such as a paper or electronic organizing tool. Just like any new skill,
developing time management takes conscious effort, but the gains might be
worthwhile if your stress level is reduced. A very poor way of managing your
time is procrastination. Chronic procrastinators postpone doing important
tasks, knowing that they will experience problems later. Research among college students showed that procrastinators experienced lower levels of stress
early in the term, but later in the term had higher levels of stress, were more
likely to get sick, and had more frequent doctors visits. There are many tools
available to help you use your time more wisely. For example, RescueTime
(www.rescuetime.com) is a free software tool that tracks your time use on the
computer. Organizational Approaches to Managing Stress
Stress-related issues cost businesses billions of dollars per year in absenteeism,
accidents, and lost productivity. As a result, managing employee stress is an
important concern for organizations as well as individuals. For example,
Renault, the French automaker, invites consultants to train their supervisors to
avoid the outcomes of negative stress for themselves and their subordinates.
IBM Corporation encourages its worldwide employees to take an online stress
assessment that helps them create action plans based on their results. Even
organizations such as General Electric Company (GE) that are known for a
“winner takes all” mentality are seeing the need to reduce stress. GE has
brought in comedians to lighten up the workplace atmosphere, and those
receiving low performance ratings are no longer called the “bottom 10s” but
are now referred to as the “less effectives.”Organizations can take many steps
to helping employees with stress. The first step in stress management is always
dealing with the source of stress and ensuring that individual exposure to
stress is limited. Some stressors need to be eliminated. For example, if
managers and coworkers are creating a toxic work environment, this problem
needs to be solved. When it is not possible to eliminate the stressor or limit the
individual’s exposure, then the organization will need to increase the resources
available to employees to help them cope with stress better. Different stressors
require different solutions. In this section, we will review some best practices. Give Employees Autonomy
Giving employees a sense of autonomy is another thing that organizations can
do to help relieve stress. It has long been known that one of the most stressful
things that individuals deal with is a lack of control over their environment. Research shows that individuals who feel a greater sense of control at work
deal with stress more effectively both in the United States and in Hong Kong. Similarly, in a study of American and French employees, researchers found that the negative effects of emotional labor were much less for those employees
with the autonomy to customize their work environment and customer service
encounters.Employees’ stress levels are likely to be related to the degree that
organizations can build autonomy and support into jobs. Create Fair Work Environments
Work environments that are unfair and unpredictable have been labeled “toxic
workplaces.” A toxic workplace is one in which a company does not value its
employees or treat them fairly. Statistically, organizations that value
employees are more profitable than those that do not. Research shows that
working in an environment that is seen as fair helps to buffer the effects of
stress. This reduced stress may be because employees feel a greater sense of
status and self-esteem or due to a greater sense of trust within the
organization. These findings hold for outcomes individuals receive as well as
the process for distributing those outcomes. Whatever the case, it is clear that
organizations have many reasons to create work environments characterized
by fairness, including lower stress levels for employees. In fact, one study
showed that training supervisors to be more interpersonally sensitive even
helped nurses feel less stressed about a pay cut. Supervisor Support: Work­Life Conflict Survey
Think of your current or most recent supervisor and rate each of the following
items in terms of this person’s behavior toward you.
Answer the following questions using 1 = not at all, 2 = somewhat, 3 = fully
agree 1. ____
_ My supervisor is willing to listen to my problems in juggling work and nonwork
life. 2. ____
_ My supervisor takes the time to learn about my personal needs. 3. ____
_ My supervisor makes me feel comfortable talking to him or her about my
conflicts between work and nonwork. 4. ____
_ My supervisor and I can talk effectively to solve conflicts between work and
nonwork issues. 5. ____
_ I can depend on my supervisor to help me with scheduling conflicts if I need it. 6. ____
_ I can rely on my supervisor to make sure my work responsibilities are handled
when I have unanticipated nonwork demands. 7. ____
_ My supervisor works effectively with workers to creatively solve conflicts
between work and nonwork. 8. ____
_ My supervisor is a good role model for work and nonwork balance. 9. ____
_ My supervisor demonstrates effective behaviors in how to juggle work and
nonwork balance. 10 ____
.
_
11. ____
_ My supervisor demonstrates how a person can jointly be successful on and off the
job.
My supervisor thinks about how the work in my department can be organized to
jointly benefit employees and the company. 12 ____
.
_ My supervisor asks for suggestions to make it easier for employees to balance
work and nonwork demands. 13 ____
.
_ My supervisor is creative in reallocating job duties to help my department work
better as a team. 14 ____
.
_ My supervisor is able to manage the department as a whole team to enable
everyone’s needs to be met. Add up all your ratings to see how your supervisor stacks up.
Score total = _______________
Scoring: A score of 14 to 23 indicates low levels of supervisor support. A score of 24 to 33 indicates average levels of supervisor support. A score of 34 to 42 indicates high levels of supervisor support.
Adapted from Hammer, L. B., Kossek, E. E., Yragui, N. L., Bodner, T. E., &
Hanson, G. C. (2009). Development and validation of a multidimensional
measure of family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB). Journal of Management, 35, 837-856. DOI: 10.1177/0149206308328510. Used by
permission of Sage Publications. Provide Social Support
Social support can be an individual or organizational strategy. Individuals can
reach out to others to have a connection, but organizations can also facilitate
relationship development and camaraderie. Having a supportive manager is
perhaps the key resource when it comes to dealing with work-related stress, so
the careful selection and training of managers is an effective stress
management technique. A group that is particularly at risk, and therefore can
benefit more from social support, is new employees. Realizing that new
employees are particularly prone to stress and are unlikely to quickly build
relations with others at work, Hyatt hotels initiated the Ambassador program,
matching each newcomer to a colleague who can show them the ropes. Telecommuting
Figure 7.7 Telecommuting helps employees avoid traffic jams like this one. However, while
millions have the option to work from home, more than 80% of US residents
still drive to work.
© Thinkstock Telecommuting refers to working remotely. For example, some employees work
from home, a remote satellite office, or from a coffee shop for some portion of
the workweek. Being able to work away from the office is one option that can
decrease stress for some employees. Of course, while an estimated 65 million
individuals telecommute in the United States each year and an estimated 29%
of people worldwide will work remotely by 2020, telecommuting is not for
everyone. At Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., those who are interested in
telecommuting are put through a rigorous training program that includes two
weeks in one of their three home office simulation labs in Florida, New Jersey,
or Manhattan to see if telecommuting is a good fit for the employee. Employees
must also submit photos of their home office and a work plan. AT&T Inc.
estimates that nearly 55% of its US-based managers telecommute at some
point in the week, and this method is also popular with managers around the
world. A recent survey found that 43% of government workers now
telecommute at least part time. This trend has been growing in reaction to a
law passed by the US Congress in 2000 requiring federal agencies to offer
working from home as an option. Merrill Lynch has seen higher productivity,
less stress, lower turnover, and higher job satisfaction for those who
telecommute. Similarly, a study of a Chinese call center employees found that
telecommuters upped their productivity by 13%, raised their work satisfaction
by 50%, and lowered their turnover by 50%. A recent summary of all the
studies of telecommuting covering thousands of employees confirmed
researcher findings that the higher autonomy of working from home resulted in
lower work-family conflict for these employees. Even more encouraging were
the findings of higher job satisfaction, better performance, and lower stress as
well. Of course, telecommuting can also cause potential stress. The keys to
successful telecommuting arrangements are to match the right employees with
the right jobs to the right environments. If any variable is not within a reasonable range, such as having a dog that barks all day when the employee is
at home, productivity will suffer. Training
Job-related training is useful to build feelings of efficacy. Some types of jobs are
inherently stressful, such as jobs involving physical danger, including
firefighters and police officers. Training them in how best to perform their jobs
prevents them from experiencing unnecessary levels of stress by making them
more capable. In addition to teaching employees how to perform their jobs,
some training programs aim at building resilience. For example, the US Navy
teaches new recruits how to move beyond their automatic fear responses by
immunizing them against danger.
Figure 7.8 Even though they face some of the toughest conditions among military groups,
Navy Seals, the principal Special Operations force of the US Navy, experience
lower levels of stress. This is in no small part thanks to their training in
resilience, immunizing them against fear responses. In the pool competency
test, trainers come out of nowhere to shake the Seals under water, removing
their goggles and oxygen tubes. The Seals learn to stay calm under water and
go against their survival instinct, which is to immediately surface for air.
(Source: Mockenhaupt, B. (July-August, 2012). A military state of mind. Pacific
Standard. Retrieved May 7, 2014 from http://tinyurl.com/m9lq9my.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/owc77o4 Employee Sabbaticals
Sabbaticals (paid time off from the normal routine at work) have long been a
sacred ritual practiced by universities to help faculty stay current, work on
large research projects, and recharge every five to eight years. However, many
companies such as Genentech Inc., Container Store Inc., and eBay Inc. are now
in the practice of granting paid sabbaticals to their employees. While these are
not the norm, with only 23% of US companies offering sabbaticals, they can
help employees relax. For example, at PricewaterhouseCoopers International
Ltd., you can apply for a sabbatical after just two years on the job if you agree
to stay with the company for at least one year following your break. Time off
ranges from one to six months and entails either a personal growth plan or one
for social services where you help others. Employee Assistance Programs
There are times when life outside work causes stress in ways that will impact
our lives at work and beyond. These situations may include the death of a loved
one, serious illness, drug and alcohol dependencies, depression, or legal or
financial problems that are impinging on our work lives. Although treating such
stressors is beyond the scope of an organization or a manager, many companies
offer their employees outside sources of emotional counseling. Employee
Assistance Programs (EAPs) are often offered to workers as an adjunct to a
company-provided health care plan. Small companies in particular use outside
employee assistance programs, because they don’t have the needed expertise
in-house. As their name implies, EAPs offer help in dealing with crises in the workplace and beyond. EAPs are often used to help workers who have
substance abuse problems. Wellness Programs
Corporate wellness programs promote employee health. These programs may
include gym memberships, free health screenings, weight loss programs, and
smoking cessation programs. Many of these programs offer financial incentives
to stay healthy, while others have penalties for not participating. Research has
shown that for every dollar spent on wellness programs, medical costs fall by
$3.27 and absenteeism costs fall by $2.73, making these programs a good
investment. Key Takeaway
There are many individual and organizational approaches to decreasing stress
and avoiding negative outcomes. Individuals can control their diet, exercise,
and sleep routines; build a social support network; and practice better time
management. Organizations can give employees autonomy, facilitate social
support, create fair work environments, consider telecommuting, give
employee sabbaticals, and utilize employee assistance programs.

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