Job Stress Management:

Stress Causes & Effects; Tips for Workplace Stress Reduction

Workplace stress has a negative impact on the business as well as on the individual employee. The increase in job stress creates emotional, financial, and safety concerns for employers and managers. The bottom line: workplace stress management and stress reduction make sense.


Stress in the workplace is not a new phenomenon, but it is a greater threat to employee health and well-being than ever before. While technology has made aspects of many jobs easier, it has also added to the anxieties of office life through information overload, heightened pressure for productivity, and a threatening sense of impermanence in the workplace. In 1996, the World Health Organization labeled stress a “worldwide epidemic.” Today, workplace stress is estimated to cost American companies more than $300 billion a year in poor performance, absenteeism and health costs.

What is workplace stress?
Stress—the responses our bodies and minds have to the demands placed on them—is a normal part of life and a normal part of any job. Without stress, we wouldn’t meet deadlines, strive to hit sales or production targets, or line up new clients. Meeting the demands and challenges of a job is part of what makes work interesting and satisfying, and it’s often what allows people to develop new skills and advance in their careers. In the workplace, we regularly experience stress-causing situations, react to them with heightened tension, then return to a more relaxed state when the crisis, big or small, is resolved. However, problems occur when stress is so overwhelming or constant that the tension never abates and we never get to relax.

What we think of as “job stress” is what happens when:

*The challenges and demands of work become excessive.
*The pressures of the workplace surpass workers’ abilities to handle them.
*Satisfaction becomes frustration and exhaustion.

When stress crosses the line from normal to excessive, it can trigger physical and emotional responses that are harmful to employees and businesses alike. And unfortunately, for many people “stress” has become synonymous with “work.”

What causes stress in the workplace?
Some jobs are stressful by definition because they’re physically dangerous (such as firefighting or criminal justice), involve matters of life and death (emergency functions), or are psychologically demanding (social work, teaching). But people who stamp metal or crunch numbers can also be subject to stress on the job.

Workplace stress is usually the result of high demands on the job, real or perceived lack of control concerning those demands, poor day-to-day organization and communication, and an unsupportive work environment.

The following chart lays out many of the factors that lead to job stress:


Factors that Lead to Job Stress
Types of Job Stressors
(*Examples)


Specific work factors
*Excessive workload.
*Tedious or meaningless tasks.
*Long hours and low pay.
*Infrequent rest breaks.
*Unreasonable performance demands.


Physical environment
*Noise and overcrowding.
*Poor air quality.
*Ergonomic problems.
*Health and safety risks (heavy equipment,
toxic chemicals).

Organizational practices
*Unclear responsibilities or expectations.
*Conflicting job demands.
*Multiple supervisors.
*Lack of autonomy or participation in decision- making.
*Inefficient communication patterns.
*Lack of family-friendly policies.


Workplace change
*Fear of layoff.
*Frequent personnel turnover.
*Lack of preparation for technological
changes.
*Poor chances for advancement or promotion.
*Tensions brought about by greater workplace
diversity.

Interpersonal relationships
*Distant, uncommunicative supervisors.
*Poor performance from subordinates.
*Office politics, competition, and other
comflicts among staff.
*Bullying or harassment.
*Problems caused by excessive time away from
family.

What are the health effects of job stress?
There is a clear connection between workplace stress and physical and emotional problems. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, early warning signs of job stress include:

*Headache
*Sleep disturbance
*Upset stomach
*Difficulty concentrating
*Irritability
*Low morale
*Poor relations with family and friends
While these early signs are relatively easy to recognize, it may be harder to see how job stress affects chronic health problems, since chronic conditions develop over time and may be influenced by factors other than stress. Still, evidence suggests that workplace stress plays an important role in several types of ongoing health problems, especially:

*Cardiovascular disease
*Musculoskeletal conditions
*Psychological disorders

To learn more about the symptoms and impact of stress, see Helpguide's Stress: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects.

What can managers or employers do to reduce stress at work? Stress on the job creates high costs for businesses and institutions, reducing morale, productivity, and earnings. Clearly, it is in every employer’s best interests—fiscal and otherwise—to reduce workplace stress as much as possible. Businesses can lower and prevent job stress through two methods:

*Stress management programs and training for employees.
*Organizational changes that improve working conditions.

Stress Management
Nearly half of large American corporations provide their employees with stress management training and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). EAPs are designed to help workers with personal problems that may be adversely affecting their on-the-job performance. The confidential services include counseling, mental health assessment and referrals, workshops on topics such as time management and relaxation, and legal and financial assistance.
Read The EAP Buyer's Guide for advice on selecting the right EAP for your business, and browse the EAP Directory of national and international credentialed EAP providers.

Organizational change
While EAPs can be very beneficial to workers, the relief they provide may be superficial and short-lived if important root causes of stress in the work environment are not addressed. Lasting stress reduction is brought about by institutional change. “Managers are the key holders of corporate culture,” Michael Peterson, a professor at University of Delaware, told FDU magazine. “They perpetuate it.” While stress management techniques like yoga are great, he said, “if your boss is draconian, exercise is not going to help.”

No meaningful job or workplace is, or should be expected to be, stress-free. However, less stress occurs when a business or institution encourages employee participation from the bottom up, implements policies that take employee needs into account, and empowers employees to do their best.

Look at the table below for a list of ways in which an organization can foster low levels of job stress and high levels of productivity:

Changing the Organization to Reduce Job Stress
Improve communication
*Share information with employees to reduce uncertainty about their jobs and
futures.
*Clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities.
*Make communication friendly and efficient, not mean-spirited or petty.

Consult your employees
*Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their jobs.
*Consult employees about scheduling and work rules.
*Be sure the workload is suitable to employees’ abilities and resources; avoid
unrealistic deadlines.
*Show that individual workers are valued.

Offer rewards and incentives
*Praise good work performance verbally and institutionally.
*Provide opportunities for career development.
*Promote an “entrepreneurial” work climate that gives employees more control over
their work.

Cultivate a friendly social climate
*Provide opportunities for social interaction among employees.
*Establish a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.
*Make management actions consistent with organizational values.


What can employees do to reduce job stress?
While organizational change comes from management, there are still many things employees—individually or collectively—can do to reduce workplace stress.

Stand Up for Yourself
* Get a job description. If your employer hasn’t provided a specific, written description of your job, ask for one, or, better, ask to negotiate one. According to the American Psychological Association, the act of negotiating a job description “does more to dispel a sense of powerlessness than anything else we know. You can object to what and insist on what you do want. If there is a compromise, it's because you agreed to it. With a clear job description, your expectations are spelled out, as are your boss’s.”
* Change your job. If you like where you’re working but your job is too stressful, ask if the company can tailor the job to your skills or move you to a less pressured slot.
*Get support. Use the local, state, and federal agencies created to support workers’ interests — and your union, if you belong to one — to back you up in situations that expose you to unnecessary danger, unsafe or unhealthful conditions, or undue harassment. While some locations and agencies are more sympathetic to employees’ rights than others, sometimes simply mentioning that you know where to turn for help is enough to start an employer thinking about improvement.
*Get a new job. If the level of stress at your job is harming your health and your relationships, and you don’t see any prospect of real change, it may be time to move on.

Eliminate Self-Defeating Behaviors
Many of us make job stress worse with patterns of thought or behavior that keep us from relieving pressure on ourselves. If you can turn around these self-defeating habits, you’ll find employer-imposed stress easier to handle.

*Resist perfectionism. No project, situation, or decision is ever perfect, and you put undue stress on yourself by trying to do everything perfectly. When you set unrealistic goals for yourself or try to do too much, you’re setting yourself up to fall short. Do your best, and you’ll do fine.
*Clean up your act. If you’re always running late, set your clocks and watches fast and give yourself extra time. If your desk is a mess, file and throw away the clutter; just knowing where everything is saves time and cuts stress. Make to-do lists and cross off items as you accomplish them. Plan your day and stick to the schedule — you’ll feel less overwhelmed.
*Flip your negative thinking. If you see the downside of every situation and interaction, you’ll find yourself drained of energy and motivation. Try to think positively about your work, avoid negative-thinking co-workers, and pat yourself on the back about small accomplishments, even if no one else does.

Find Ways to Dispel Stress

Quintessential Careers offers these tips for reducing stress:

*Get time away. If you feel stress building, take a break. Walk away from the situation. Take a stroll around the block, sit on a park bench, or spend a few minutes meditating. Exercise does wonders for the psyche. But even just finding a quiet place and listening to your iPod can reduce stress.
*Talk it out. Sometimes the best stress-reducer is simply sharing your stress with someone close to you. The act of talking it out – and getting support and empathy from someone else – is often an excellent way of blowing off steam and reducing stress.
*Cultivate allies at work. Just knowing you have one or more co-workers who are willing to assist you in times of stress will reduce your stress level. Just remember to reciprocate and help them when they are in need.
*Find humor in the situation. When you – or the people around you – start taking things too seriously, find a way to break through with laughter. Share a joke or funny story.


Sourced by: TheSAMIGroup.com

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/work_stress_management.htm