STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2010 Modified by Jackie Kroening 2011

STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT

Chapter 14

Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed Modified by Jackie Kroening 2011

Causes of Stress

* Stress is any reaction or response made by the body to a new situation.

Two kinds of stress: * Eustress is a positive, pleasant, and

desirable stress. Example: wining a race. Distress is negative stress.

Stressor is a situation or an event that causes the body to react.


Causes of Stress Life changes and daily hassles

* Major life changes such as divorce increase daily hassles, causing stress.

Example is “During the past year, you got married, got a promotion, and moved into a bigger house.”

Daily hassles such as getting stuck in traffic or misplacing your keys cause stress in your life.

Even if stress is due to a pleasant change, daily hassles can occur.


Causes of Stress

Chronic stressors Inescapable day-to-day situations or

conditions that cause stress. More stressful than daily hassles. Not as stressful as a major life change. Examples include poverty, abuse, long-

term health problems, and racism.


Sources of Stress

External stressors Stressors from outside sources that causes pain

or discomfort, frustration, or conflict. Frustration is the feeling people get when their

goals are blocked. * Inner conflict is the pressure felt when forced to

make a choice. The three types of inner conflict are approach-

approach, approach-avoid, and avoid-avoid.


Sources of Stress

* Approach-approach conflict – Feeling of conflict one gets when torn between two desirable goals.

Approach-avoid conflict – Occurs when one is drawn towards and away from something at the same time.

* Avoid-avoid conflict – Occurs when one is torn between two undesirable options.


Sources of Stress

Internal stressors One’s perceptions or interpretations of a stressor

as well as personality factors. Perceptions differ because of:

* Cognitive appraisal: Your “thinking evaluation” of an event or a situation.

* The unnecessary stress of irrational beliefs: An irrational belief system or, at worst, turning an irrational belief into an imagined catastrophe.

The stress of irrational beliefs can be reduced by the “rational emotive therapy.”


Sources of Stress

Ellis’s ABC Approach to stress


Type A and Type B Personality Behavior

Type A and Type B personalities are associated with personality factors. * Type A personality is characterized by

impatience, hostility, perfectionism, and a sense of time urgency.

* Type B is characterized by flexibility, the ability to relax and delegate work, and a minimal sense of time urgency. Most top level executives are likely to be Type B people.


Type A and Type B Personality Behavior

Someone with a different kind of personality than type A or type B: The survivor personality type manage

things well even if the stressors and problems are impossible to overcome.

The hardy or resilient personality see *1. challenges, have a sense of 2. commitment, and a feeling of being in 3. control. (the three C’s)


The Physical Effects of Stress

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): When confronted with stress, the body responds

with an activation of the sympathetic nervous system – Fight-or-flight response.

* When the fight-or-flight response is activated, you enter the first stage of GAS – Alarm.

The second stage is adaptation where one adapts to the stressor and can usually return to normal.

* The third stage is exhaustion where one ends up using all the physical resources.


The Physical Effects of Stress

The immune system serves three basic functions:

Recognizing foreign cells and attacking them. Developing antibodies to recognize foreign

invaders in the future. Sending white blood cells and other helper cells

to the location of an injury or infection to speed healing.

Chronic stress can actually weaken your immune system and fall victim to an illness that you would normally fight off with ease.


The Cost of Stress in the Workplace

Job burnout is the physical and emotional exhaustion resulting from long-term stress or frustration in one’s workplace. It leads to lower productivity, lost days of

work, worker’s compensation claims, and lawsuits among others.



Health effects on employees are headaches, back pain, exhaustion, anxiety, anger, insomnia, and digestive upsets.

Other effects include accidents on the job, excessive eating or smoking, anger outbursts, and alcohol/drug abuse.

Employees are seeking help for stress through employee programs.



Causes of employee stress Stress from management. Having no say in decisions. Too much/little structure. Racism and sexism. Frustrating company policies. Low pay. Stressful relationships with

supervisors/peers. Boredom. Work overload; too much responsibility. No promotions.



Stress affects self-esteem. It makes one overwhelmed. It makes people less productive and less

successful, which lowers self-esteem. It impacts all areas of people’s lives.


Strategies for Success

Discard irrational beliefs:1. Evaluate the consequences of the belief.2. Identify your belief system.3. Dispute the self-defeating belief.4. Practice effective ways of thinking.


Strategies for Success

Change your behaviors to reduce stress:

1. Take charge of your life.2. Use humor.3. Compare yourself with others.4. Take advantage of stress.5. Learn to live with unavoidable stress.


Strategies for Success Take care of yourself:

1. Use relaxation techniques.2. Increase your fitness: Exercise, eat well, and

reduce/quit smoking and drinking.3. Make time for rest and leisure.4. Get social support.5. Try to reduce stress in the workplace.6. Manage your time.7. Stop procrastinating.

STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT

Documents

Transcript of STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT