1 Dealing With Change and Stress Forces for Change External n Marketplace n Regulation n Technology n Economic Forces Internal n Long Range Plans n New Equipment n Work Force n Comp and Benefits n Employee Attitudes

2 External Forces Environmental Dynamics These changes include new government regulations, changing social and political trends, new tax laws, changes in labor market conditions, or new strategies taken by competitors.

3 External Forces New Technologies The introduction of new equipment, tools, methods, automated machinery, and computerization allows employees and supervisors to do their jobs better and faster.

4 External Forces Environmental Dynamics These changes include new government regulations, changing social and political trends, new tax laws, changes in labor market conditions, or new strategies taken by competitors.

5 Internal Forces Include changes in the organization’s overall strategy, reorganizations, changes in the composition of the work force, introduction of new equipment, and the need to modify employee attitudes.

6 Change Agents n People who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for overseeing the change process. n The change agent can be a supervisor, a staff specialist, or an outside consultant.

7 Two Views on the Change Process n Traditional - allows for successful change by requiring unfreezing of the status quo ( equilibrium state ), changing to a new state, and refreezing the new change. n Contemporary - environments are both uncertain and dynamic and change is a “continuous” process.

8 Two Views on the Change Process In the contemporary setting the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” no longer applies. It has been replaced with “if it ain’t broke, you haven’t looked hard enough. Fix it anyway.”

9 Resistance to Change Individual resistance to change is a universal condition and it takes many forms: n Habit - programmed responses. n Threats of job or income. n Fear of the unknown. n Selective perception. n Threat to expertise. n Threat to established power and interpersonal relationships.

10 Reducing Resistance to Change n Build trust n Open channels of communication n Involve employees n Provide incentives

11 Changing Employee Attitudes Attitudes - evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, or events. n ID the attitude you want to change n Determine what sustains the attitude n Unfreeze the attitude n Offer an alternative attitude n Refreeze the new attitude

12 Work-Related Stress An adaptive response resulting from any environmental action, situation, or event that places excessive psychological and/or physical demands on a person.

13 Work-Related Stress Two conditions are necessary for a potentially stressful situation to create actual stress for a person: n Uncertainty over the outcome n The outcome must be important

14 Sources of Work Stress Organizational Factors n Task demands n Role demands n Interpersonal demands n Organizational structure n Organizational leadership Individual Factors n Family problems n Economic problems n Personality

15 Work-Related Stress Stress factors are additive and individuals react to stress differently.

16 Work-Related Stress Four individual difference factors have been found to be important: Perception - Stress is not negative to everyone Experience Social Support Hostility - Type A vs Type B behavior

17 Symptoms of Stress Headaches High Blood Pressure Heart Disease Anxiety Depression Decreased Job Satisfaction Change in Productivity Change in Absenteeism Increased Turnover

18 Stress Reduction Be a good supervisor, apply all of the concepts and principles outlined in this text, and when that isn’t enough look for help elsewhere: *EAP - programs designed to act as a first stop for individuals seeking psychiatric or substance-abuse help, with the goal of getting productive employees back on the job as swiftly as possible. *Wellness Programs - designed to keep employees healthy, focusing on such things as smoking cession, weightcontrol, stress management, physical fitness, etc.