Management Principles Craig W. Fontaine, Ph.D. Managing Stress

Stress Stress refers to a psychological or physiological state that results when certain features in of an individual’s environment, called stressors, create discomfort, anxiety, or feelings of being overwhelmed.

Multi-faceted Look at Occupational Stress 1.Sociocultural -racism, sexism 2.Organizational- hiring policies, layoffs 3.Work setting- tasks, supervision 4.Interpersonal- relationships 5.Psychological- self image, coping skills 6.Biological- disease, disability 7.Physical/ Environmental- poor air, climate, noise Occupational Stress occurs in seven different contexts:

Work as a Stressor Research shows that many adults in the workforce identify that workplace stress is a significant issue for them. This has major consequences for individual employees as well as for employers.

Why Is Occupational Stress of Concern? Cost to businesses was about $300 billion/year Employees “always on call” concept Leads to increased sick days, drug or alcohol abuse, and early death Can promote high turnover rates of employees Liability (i.e., workers’ compensation, disability, or litigation)

Occupational Stress Model

Stress Sources of stress: Personal/Life induced Work Place induced Recent studies on work place stress show a dramatic increase in percentage of workers feeling stress, that can be traced back to: Downsizing, offshoring (late 1990’s – 2009 Re-engineering of workplace (early 1990’s) Total Quality Management (late 1980’s)

Stress & Health Health Problems High Blood Pressure Heart Problems Gastrointestinal disorders Overeating, excessive drinking, drug abuse Loss of Productivity Increased Human Error

Stress Personality traits can contribute to stress Type “A” personalities are more likely to be affected by stress Measuring Stress: Paper and pencil test(s) Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory Physiological measurements Urine catecholamines

Stress Stages of Stress: Level of normal Resistance Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

Did You Know? Absences attributed to stress tripled between 1995 and 2004 More than 62% of the time when workers called in “sick,” they were not really “sick” (Entitlement Mentality) Most heart attacks occur on Monday’s and least occurred on Friday’s

The Workaholic Immersing oneself excessively in work at the expense of non-work activities Identifying oneself more with the role of a worker rather than as an individual Are you a person who happens to be a student, or are you a student who happens to be a person?

The Workaholic (cont.) Two factors for classifying workaholics (Naughton, 1987) – Career commitment (CC) – Obsession-compulsion (OC) Naughton believed there were three types of workaholics: 1. Job-involved workaholics (high CC, low OC) 2. Compulsive workaholics (high CC, high OC) 3. Non workaholics (low CC, low OC)

The Workaholic (cont.) Scott, Moore, Micelli classified workaholics as: – Compulsive-dependent – Perfectionist – Achievement-oriented Spence & Robbins (1992) proposed a workaholic triad: – Work involvement, drivenness, and work enjoyment

Ways to Combat Workaholism Focus on the work you most like doing, work that you wouldn’t mind “doing for free” Use your time; don’t let it use you Build friendships at work Schedule open time into your work life Learn to say no sometimes Create a work environment that pleases you Look for the positives in your job

Burnout Adverse stress reaction to work with psychological, psychophysiological, and behavioral components Symptoms include: Diminished sense of humor Skipping rest and meals Increased overtime/no vacation Increased physical complaints Social withdrawal Changed job performance Self-medication Internal changes

Five Stages of Burnout Stage 1: The honeymoon- satisfied with job Stage 2: Fuel shortage- fatigue sets in Stage 3: Chronic symptoms- exhaustion/disease/anger Stage 4: Crisis- illness, absenteeism, relationship issues Stage 5: Hitting the wall- physical/psychological, can be life threatening.

Gender and Occupational Stress Stressors that particularly affect women include: Career blocks Sexual harassment Male-dominated climate Performance pressure Gender stereotyping Isolation Lack of role models

Women and Work Outside the Home Women are clearly disadvantaged in the world of work: – They make less money than their male counterparts – Women are subjected to more sexual harassment – Minority women earn less than non-minority women

Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) 59% of women work outside the home Still employed in traditionally women’s roles Secretaries Receptionists Nurses Bookkeepers Nursing aids Elementary school teachers

University College, London Study Just thinking about work may trigger stress, says Dr. Andrew Steptoe Study of 75 men and women Showed steeper increases in the stress related hormones on workday mornings than on days off occurred within 30 minutes of work, showing anticipation of work may trigger job-related stress

Job Stressors Money Health and safety hazards Work environment Insufficient training Job security Family adjustments or partner’s career Violence

Stress Corporate Wellness Programs are now common place But still the best formula is: Get regular exercise Eat well Monitor personal health Learn to identify sources of stress Managers need to be aware to stress symptoms

Psychological Stress Experiment

Experimental Protocol

Experimental Design 3x2 Repeated Measures Design (Stress level/Gender) Each subject was exposed to three distinct levels of psychological stress: Control condition (No Stress) Normal Stress Extreme Stress Physiological Stress Measured Performance Measured

Subjects entered through this Door!

Inside the room were several chambers and a work area

Subject’s Work Area

Apparatus

Monitor bunny chambers (T.V.’s), Monitor environmental levels Monitor “Alert” box TASK

Normal Stress Situation Environmental Meters look fine No system alert/failure indicators Bunnies are alert

Extreme Stress Situation Meters off normal Failure box alerts Bunnies “in trouble”

Physiological Response to Stress

Stress - Performance Interaction