Managing Job Stress

• First, identify what's creating stress at work. Maybe it’s lack of control over your job. Or maybe it's worry about losing your job or how you are doing at work. You might feel stress because you're unable to express your thoughts and ideas to your boss and coworkers.
• Think about why you want to reduce stress at work. You might want to protect your heart and your health by reducing stress. Or maybe you simply want to enjoy your life more and not let work stress control how you feel. Your reason for wanting to change is important. If your reason comes from you-and not someone else-it will be easier for you to make a healthy change for good.
• Next, set a goal for yourself that involves reducing your stress level. Think about both a long-term and a short-term goal.
• After setting your goals, think about what might get in your way. Write down your goals, the possible barriers, and your ideas for getting past them. By thinking about these barriers now, you can plan ahead for how to deal with them if they happen.
• Most important, make sure you get support from friends and family in your efforts to reduce job stress. Or talk to someone who can help you set goals and provide support in dealing with setbacks

    You and your job

• Get organized. Keep track of your projects and deadlines by making a list of what's urgent. Decide what matters most and what can wait.
• Don't put things off. Use a schedule planner to plan your day or week. Just seeing on paper that there is time to get each task done can help you get to work. Break a large project into small steps, and set a deadline for each one.
• Learn to say "no." Don't overcommit yourself. If you take on too much, you're creating stress.
• Focus. Do one thing at a time. In some cases, you can do two things at a time. But if you start to feel stressed, go back to doing one thing at a time.
• Concentrate. Try to limit distractions and interruptions. Ask others to give you a block of time when you are not disturbed.
• Delegate. Ask someone else to take on a task. It's not always important to have all the control.

Take care of yourself

• Make time for you. Leave your job at the office, even if your office is a room in your home. Use time  you've set aside for you and your family. Stay positive. Remember that everyone has good days and bad days at work.
• Reward yourself. When you finish a difficult task, celebrate. Enjoy a snack at your desk, or-if your job permits-take a short walk or visit with a coworker.
• Schedule time for fun. If you spend every second of your day getting things done, you may resent never having time for yourself.
•  Go into work earlier and take a longer break at lunch to make time for a  walk.
• Practice breathing and relaxation techniques. You can do these at home or in a quiet place at work

Individual Differences in Coping

• Social Support helps to reduce stress.
• Job Skill – the more skilled at job, the less stress
• Physical Health – good health leads to reduced impact of stress
• Type A/Type B Personality – Type A personality reflected by competitiveness, inflated sense of time urgency, hostility.  Hostility component of Type A personality is linked to heart disease, Type A individuals, in essence, create more stress for themselves. Type B individuals rarely have heart attacks before the age of 70.
• Job Complexity – increased complexity leads to heart disease in Type A individuals.  But, complexity also is linked to job satisfaction!!
• Locus of Control – internal locus of control is linked to reduced impact of stress
• Negative Affectivity –A tendency to focus on the negative aspects of life.  Linked to high levels of stress
• Individual Differences Hardiness: Reflects a resistance to stress: elements include :Sense of commitment to family and work, A perceived sense of control, A view of change as normal and challenging.
• Organization-based Self Esteem – our assessment of our adequacy and worth with regard to our place in the employing organization (job specific self esteem)
• Gender Differences – female managers face more stressors than do male managers (e.g., role conflict, discrimination, harassment)
• Stress and Type of Occupation: Clerical and blue collar workers suffer the most stress due to a relative lack of control. Most stressful professions include: laborer, secretary, clinical lab. technician, nurse, first-line supervisor, restaurant server, machine operator, farm worker, miner. One of the least stressful professions is college professor.
• Work-Family Conflicts : Greater role conflict for women – primary responsibility for family life falls on woman. Family with 3 kids, average work week for females is 90 hours, for males it is 70 hours. Bad work days tend to carry over into family life – tendency is stronger for women.  Sadly, positive states do not carry over. Despite these problems, women with paying jobs are psychological and physically healthier than full-time homemakers

  

Stress at Workplace

In todays world, the work places have become a cause of stress. What actually is Stress?   Stress  is a physiological and psychological responses to events in the environment. However there are 2 types of stress:

Eustress: good stress

Distress: bad stress

What's Job Stress?

Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.

Where does stress come from?

1. Major life events?
2. Daily hassles: frequency, intensity, duration
3. Job satisfaction and stress – those who enjoy work suffer less impact from stressful events.

Causes of Stress in the Workplace

• Work overload
• Quantitative: too much to do in too short a time
• Qualitative: work that is too difficult
• Quantitative has increased in recent years due to downsizing
• Work underload – work that is too simple or insufficient to fill one’s time
• Both of these impact stress and health, appears that a moderate amount of stress is optimal
• Organizational Change – if not hardy, change causes stress in individuals.  Can be reduced by including employees in planning.
• Role Ambiguity – unstructured or poorly defined job responsibilities (expected standards, methods, schedules)
• Role Conflict – conflict between job demands and employee’s personal standards
• Management Style. Lack of participation by workers in decision making, Poor communication in the organization, lack of family friendly policies.Example: Their needs to get the boss’s approval for everything, and the company is insensitive to her family needs.
• Interpersonal Relationships. Poor social environment and lack of support or help from coworkers and supervisors.
• Career Concerns. Job insecurity and lack of opportunity for growth, advancement, or promotion; rapid changes for which workers are unprepared.
• Environmental Conditions. Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems.