7 STRESS AND WELL-BEING AT · Web viewconsists of the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events. A

7 STRESS AND WELL-BEING AT WORK

CHAPTER SCAN

Stress can be beneficial or negative. Stress is inevitable, yet the techniques and approaches we choose to handle negative stress with are increasing. Some individuals and some circumstances are more at risk for high stress than others. The benefits of controlling stress in the workplace are reviewed.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1. Define stress, distress, strain, and eustress.2. Compare four different approaches to stress.3. Explain the psychophysiology of the stress response.4. Identify work and nonwork causes of stress.5. Describe the benefits of eustress and the costs of distress.6. Discuss four moderators of the stress-strain relationship.7. Distinguish the primary, secondary, and tertiary stages of preventive stress management.8. Discuss organizational and individual methods of preventive stress management.

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110 Chapter 7: Stress and Well-being at Work

KEY TERMS

The following key terms are introduced in Chapter 7.

stressstressordistressstrainhomeostasisego-idealself-image eustress participation problemperformance decrementcompensation awardType A behavior pattern personality hardiness transformational copingself-reliance counterdependence overdependencepreventative stress managementprimary preventionsecondary preventiontertiary prevention

THE CHAPTER SUMMARIZED

I. LOOKING AHEAD: Deregulation, Stress, Financial Risk, and Airline Safety

II. WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress is the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when faced with any demand. Stress does not necessarily have to be destructive. Distress consists of the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events. A stressor is the person or the event that triggers the stress response.

Chapter 7: Stress and Well-being at Work 111

A. Four Approaches to Stress

1. The Homeostatic/Medical Approach

Walter Cannon was the physiologist who discussed the stress response, and he initially named it "the emergency response,” or "the militaristic response." A steady state balance, or equilibrium, is homeostasis, which is upset when a person faces an external demand. The body has natural processes to keep it in homeostasis.

2. The Cognitive Appraisal Approach

Richard Lazarus made contributions related to the psychology of stress. What is stressful for one person, may not be stressful for another. Stress is a result of the person-environment interaction. The person's cognitive appraisal of a situation as stressful is a key part of the stress process.

3. The Person-Environment Fit Approach

Robert Kahn determined that there is a person-environment fit when skills and abilities match role expectations. Stress occurs when expectations are conflicting or confusing, or when a person's resources are unable to meet the expectations.

4. The Psychoanalytic Approach

This approach is based on Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Harry Levinson believes that two elements taken together cause stress. The ego-ideal is the embodiment of a person's perfect self. In contrast, the self-image is how a person sees himself or herself. Stress results when there is a discrepancy between the two.

B. The Stress Response

The stress response is a combination of mind and body events. The stress response prepares the mind and body for fight-or-flight. It can be very functional.

III. SOURCES OF STRESS AT WORK

The four sources of stress for people at work are: task demands, role demands, interpersonal demands, and physical demands.


A. Task Demands

Uncertainty and lack of control are two of the most stressful demands people face at work. Laid-off employees have referred to the day after being laid off as the day they regained control of their lives. Sometimes the dread of being selected in a layoff is worse than actually being laid off. Similarly, one study found that heart attacks are more common when individuals have little control and heavy work demands. Other task demands include career progress, work overload, and new technologies.

B. Role Demands

Two factors that constitute role demands are role conflict and role ambiguity. When an individual receives inconsistent or incompatible expectations they experience role ambiguity. Interrole conflict occurs when individuals receive cultural messages to enjoy life and spend meaningful time with families, at the same time they are rewarded for working harder and longer hours on the job.

C. Interpersonal Demands

Individuals seem especially stressed when they are in situations where they must work with abrasive personalities. Some organizational cultures tolerate abrasive personalities on the basis of their productivity. Individuals face interpersonal conflict when they expect a leadership style that is different than what they are accustomed to working with.

D. Physical Demands

The environment in which an individual works can be a very stressful situation based on physical demands. Most people can list extreme, or typical conditions, yet, faulty air cooling or warming environments can provoke irritability among employees, which leads to mistakes. Even working with computer equipment can be physically demanding if it is not designed ergonomically.

E. Nonwork Demands

Most individuals have stressors that affect their energy and attention level on their job. The most obvious ones are related to family demands, yet these are not the only ones that are experienced. As the society ages, more working individuals will have responsibility for taking care of their aging parents, many of whom will be living with them.


IV. THE CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS

The benefits of stress are captured with the term eustress, which stands for healthy, normal stress. Eustress is positive for organizations and individuals.

A. Performance and Health Benefits of Stress

The Yerkes-Dodson law tracks the benefits of stress that lead to improved performance and where the benefits fall off after a certain point. McGrath mentions that performance falls off because of the difficulty of the task to be performed.

B. Individual Distress

Individual distress can be seen in psychological symptoms such as depression, burnout, and psychogenic disorder. The word burnout is probably overused, particularly in regard to individuals who are simply malingering to rationalize failure or boredom. Stress is directly related to medical symptoms, particularly heart disease and strokes, back-aches, peptic ulcer, and headaches. Behavioral problems are another form of distress that are manifested in violence, substance abuse, and accidents.

C. Organizational Distress

Organizational distress can be evident in participation problems, performance decrements, and compensation awards. Participation problems are costs associated with absenteeism, tardiness, strikes and work stoppages. Performance decrements are costs resulting from poor quality or low quantity of production, grievances, and unscheduled machine downtime and repair. Compensation awards are the costs resulting from court awards for job distress.

V. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE STRESS-STRAIN RELATIONSHIP

What is a predictor of stress for one individual does not have the same effect for everyone. The Achilles heel phenomenon suggests that people break down at their weakest point. There are a host of heroic tales that most people could not have handled.

A. Gender Effects

Women and men have different life span expectations, with women typically living seven years longer than men. There are gender differences in stressors experienced and in vulnerability to different stress symptoms.

B. Type A Behavior Pattern


One of the ways to determine the likelihood of stress and coping capability is to examine the type A behavior pattern. Type A behavior pattern is a complex of personality and behavioral characteristics, including competitiveness, time urgency, social status insecurity, aggression, hostility, and a quest for achievements. Type A behavior has been labeled coronary-prone behavior.

C. Personality Hardiness

Personality hardiness describes an individual resistant to distress and characterized by challenge, commitment, and control. Hardy individuals appear to transform the stressful event. Transformational coping is actively changing an event into something less subjectively stressful by viewing it in a broader life perspective. It is useful to point out to students that this is not the same as exhibiting an "I don't care" attitude.

D. Self-Reliance

Self-reliance is a healthy, secure, independent pattern of behavior related to how people form and maintain supportive attachments with others. One opposite extreme, counterdependence, is an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other people. Similarly, the overdependent individuals are also unhealthy and insecure, but they are preoccupied with achieving security through relationships.

VI. PREVENTIVE STRESS MANAGEMENT

Since organizations have become aware of the affects of stress on their organizational performance, they are concerned with preventing stress. A preventive stress management approach believes that there is a joint responsibility for promoting health and preventing distress and strain for individuals and organizations. A critical factor in this approach is the stage in which the stress is managed. The three levels of prevention are the primary prevention stage, (designed to reduce or eliminate the stressor), the secondary prevention stage (designed to modify the individual's response to stress), or the tertiary prevention stage (designed to heal symptoms of distress).


A. Organizational Stress Prevention

1. Job Redesign

High job demands and restricted decision latitude are characteristics of high strain jobs. Job redesign is a core characteristic of the Hackman model for motivation. The goal is to enhance worker control.

2. Goal Setting

Goal setting increases task motivation by reducing role conflict and ambiguity while focusing attention on the task.

3. Role Negotiation

Role negotiation reduces stress by allowing individuals to modify their work roles.

4. Social Support Systems

Studies have determined that the support of co-workers and supervisors may be one of the most important factors in managing stress in the workplace.

B. Individual Prevention

1. Learned Optimism

Learned optimism begins with identifying pessimistic thoughts and then distracting oneself from these thoughts.

2. Time Management

There are numerous approaches to time management. One of the approaches for time management is to separate the urgent from the priority.

3. Leisure Time Activities

"Leisure is not gained by simply being out of work" is a concept that is difficult to live by. Many people work at their leisure. Students may be more active on their leisure time than their parents, for example. Do they see this as leisure in both instances?


4. Physical Exercise

Aerobic exercise and flexibility training are important to stress prevention.

5. Relaxation Training

The use of prayer and meditation can help prevent stress.

6. Diet

A healthy diet is important to overall health thus reducing vulnerability to distress.

7. Opening Up

Opening up at work implies that an individual trusts colleagues with self-disclosure. Sensitivity training approaches from the 1960s were intended to increase self-disclosure.

8. Professional Help

Increasingly, organizations are encouraging their employees to seek professional help if it is warranted. The ways in which they support this is through compensation benefits, release time for appointments, and through employee assistance plans.

C. Comprehensive Health Promotion

Create strong and health conscious employees through building on individual prevention and life-style changes.

VII. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: STRESS WITHOUT DISTRESS

VIII. LOOKING BACK: Serious Fun at Southwest Airlines


CHAPTER SUMMARY

· Stress is the unconscious preparation to fight or flee when faced with any demand. Distress is the adverse consequence of stress.

· Four approaches to understanding stress are the homeostatic/medical approach, the cognitive appraisal approach, the person-environment fit approach, and the psychoanalytic approach.

· The stress response is a natural mind-body response characterized by four basic mind-body changes.

· Employees face task, role, interpersonal, and physical demands at work, along with nonwork (extraorganizational) demands. Global competition and advanced technologies create new stresses at work.

· Nonwork stressors, such as family problems and work-home conflicts, can affect an individual's work life and home life.

· Stress has health benefits, including enhanced performance.· Distress is costly to both individuals and organizations.· Individual diversity requires attention to gender, Type A behavior, personality hardiness, and

self-reliance in determining the links between stress and strain.· Preventive stress management aims to enhance health and reduce distress or strain. Primary

prevention focuses on the stressor, secondary prevention focuses on the response to the stressor, and tertiary prevention focuses on symptoms of distress.

REVIEW QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. Define stress, distress, strain, and eustress.

Stress is the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when faced with any demand. Distress is the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events. Strain is distress. Eustress is healthy, normal stress.

2. Describe four approaches to understanding stress. How does each add something new to our understanding of stress?

(1) The homeostatic/medical model contributes to the flight-or-flight response that we use to define stress. (2) The cognitive appraisal approach contributes the view that we classify events as stressful or not. (3) The person-environment fit approach argues that stress results when the role expectations are confused and/or conflicting. (4) The psychoanalytic approach is based on Freudian theory. This considers the ego-ideal and the self-image, and the comparison between the two.

3. What are the four changes associated with the stress response?


The physical changes are: (1) the redirection of the blood to the brain, (2) increased alertness by way of improved vision, hearing, and other sensory processes, (3) the release of glucose and fatty acids into the bloodstream to sustain the body during the stressful event, (4) depression of the immune system, as well as emergent processes.

4. List three demands of each type: task, role, interpersonal, and physical.

Task demands related to stress are lack of control, uncertainty, career progress, overload, and new technologies. Interpersonal demands are abrasive personalities, sexual harassment, and leadership styles. Physical demands include extreme environments, strenuous activities, and hazardous substances.

5. What is a nonwork demand? How does it affect an individual?

Nonwork demands are personal life stressors that carry into the workplace. Marital expectations, child care and elder care are all demands that may take individuals away from their focus at work, either physically or mentally.

6. Describe the relationship between stress and performance.

Moderate stress has been found to have a positive effect on performance. The Yerkes-Dodson law indicates that there is an optimum point for stress. After this point is reached, the curve turns downward and has negative ramifications on performance. The optimum point will vary from individual to individual.

7. What are the major medical consequences of distress? The behavioral consequences? The psychological consequences?

The most significant medical illnesses of stress are heart disease and strokes, back-aches, peptic ulcers, and headaches. Behavioral problems include violence, substance abuse of various kinds, and accidents. Psychological consequences include depression, burnout, and psychogenic disorders.

8. Why should organizations be concerned about stress at work? What are the costs of stress to organizations?

There are a variety of direct and indirect costs to an organization because of stress. Accidents may happen to the person who is not mentally alert. Stress results in high absenteeism and turnover. Participation problems, performance decrements, and compensation awards are all costs to organizations.

9. How do gender, the Type A behavior pattern, personality hardiness, and self-reliance moderate the relationship between stress and strain?


These are individual factors that affect the connection between the stressors and strains. Type A personality individuals are prone to difficulties because their personalities invite stress. Personality hardiness enhances one's ability to cope with stress. Self-reliance helps individuals manage stress through healthy relationships with others.

10. What is primary stress prevention? Secondary prevention? Tertiary prevention? Describe major organizational stress prevention methods.

All three of these preventions are steps in which organizations attempt interventions to reduce stress. Primary prevention is focused reduction of stress by reducing, modifying or eliminating the stress. Secondary prevention attempts to alter or modify the stress response. Tertiary prevention is reactive, and is designed to heal individuals after the stress has had an impact on the individual. Job redesign is effective because it increases workers' control over their situation. Goal setting increases task motivation, and reduces role conflict and ambiguity. Role negotiation allows individuals to modify their work expectations. Social support systems build a community and socioemotional approach to help support individuals.

11. Describe eight individual stress prevention methods.

Individuals can practice learned optimism, which is a positive way of perceiving actions and events. Time management is a technique to control schedules that cause stress. Leisure activities help one maintain a balanced lifestyle. Secondary prevention methods for individuals include physical exercise, relaxation training, and diet. Tertiary methods include opening up to individuals, which results in taking risks with self disclosure. Professional help may be warranted if the situations are greater than an individual can cope with.

12. What is involved in comprehensive health promotion programs?

The emphasis of the programs is to build "strong and resistant hosts" by aiding individual prevention and life-style change. Some programs include risk assessments, education, diet and exercise assistance, and smoking cessation.

DISCUSSION AND COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. Why should organizations help individuals manage stress? Isn’t stress basically the individual’s responsibility?

On a practical side, it is in their best interest to do so. Benefit coverage for individuals with controllable illnesses is exorbitant. A more altruistic reason is that individuals that are in control of their stress are better performers on the job and that individual health is a worthy pursuit.

2. Is there more stress today than in past generations? What evidence is available concerning this question?


Students will vary on this question. It is interesting to challenge them to compare their lives with frontier America, the medieval era, or even the first portion of the 20th century. 3. Discuss the following statement: Employers should be expected to provide stress-free work environments.

To some degree, this is legally true. Employers need to eliminate dysfunctional situations from the work environment. If an employers can assist individual with their stress control, they should do so. The only stress-free environment is a coffin.

4. If an individual claims to have job-related depression, should the company be liable?

The courts have been tossing this issue around more frequently. Supervisors should make reasonable inquiries and provide reasonable assistance. Have students debate this question in opposing teams.

5. Do you use any prevention methods to manage stress that are not listed in the chapter?

These are often very interesting lists. Students are often surprised that instructors have stress and that we practice stress reduction techniques.

6. Write a memo describing the most challenging demands and/or stressors at your workplace (or university). Be specific in describing the details of these demands and/or stressors. How might you go about changing these demands and/or stressors?

This memo could be assigned prior to the class period(s) in which stress is discussed. During class, then, students can be encouraged to consider what categories of stressors they are experiencing and whether or not they have chosen the most effective means for managing those demands and stressors.

7. Interview a medical doctor, a psychologist, or another health care professional about the most common forms of health problems and distress seen in their work. Summarize your interview and compare the results to the categories of distress discussed in the chapter.

This is a great exercise to give students a broader perspective of stress than they get from the textbook. Encourage students to share in class the responses they obtained from the medical professionals and to discuss the similarities and differences among the responses.

8. Do research on social support and diaries as ways to manage stressful and/or traumatic events. Develop an oral presentation for class that explains the benefits of each of these approaches for preventive stress management. Include guidelines on how to practice each.

If students have also completed question 6 above, they could consider how social support and/or diaries could help them deal with the specific stressors and demands they are experiencing.


ETHICS QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. Suppose a company knows that health risks are associated with very high stress levels in one operation and decides it is willing to pay for employee health problems rather than lower the stress levels. Is this ethical on the company's part? Should employees be informed of the risks?

The regulation of workplace risks seeks to determine an objective level of acceptable risk. The key factor is that individuals need the information related to the risk to determine whether the risk is acceptable to them. Employers have the responsibility to inform, and the employee has the right to refuse hazardous job assignments. The deciding factor surrounds the issue of acceptable known levels of risk.

2. Suppose a company prescribes certain healthy behaviors for all employees, such as regular exercise and the practice of relaxation, for all employees. Is it ethical for a company to influence these employee behaviors, or does this infringe on their individual rights?

A company cannot prescribe healthy behaviors, but can certainly encourage employees to participate. If the organization values this in employees, they may choose to grant release time, or sponsor individuals in marathons. However, it is an infringement of rights to demand participation, or to withhold rewards based on the lack of participation.

3. Assume that personality hardiness, Type B behavior, and self-reliance are positive personal attributes, and assume further that individuals with these attributes will cope better with stress. Is it appropriate for organizations to use these attributes as hiring criteria? That is, can organizations hire only hardy, self-reliant, Type B people?

This is not vastly different than hiring only non-smokers or non-drinkers. Honesty tests are on the increase, but physical fitness is not a criterion for most positions, unless it is BFOQ, that is a bona fide occupational qualification. This is similar to the area where airlines lost the battle over prescribing physical attributes for their airline attendants.

4. Assume that a company finds that many employees have lower back problems associated with bending over work benches. In looking into the problem, the company finds that it can either raise the benches so employees bend less or send all the employees to a lower back care class. Should the company choose the more cost-efficient approach? What else should the company consider?

The employees' welfare should be paramount in the decision.


CHALLENGES

7.1 THE FRAZZLE FACTOR

A good follow-up to this challenge is to have students develop an action plan for overcoming their stress and/or anger. The action plan should focus on specific, concrete steps the student can take to improve in each of these areas.

7.2 ARE YOU SELF-RELIANT?

The Self-Reliance Inventory consists of 20 statements. The respondent completes the instrument by evaluating each statement according to a 6 point scale, ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Then the respondent records responses on the scoring sheet, which results in two scores, one in the overdependence dimension and other in the counterdependence dimension.

Healthy life adjustment is linked primarily to the presence of two factors, self-reliance and a secure support network. People who are self-reliant and yet are able to depend on others when appropriate are better equipped to manage the challenges they meet than are those without self-reliance and support. An absence of self-reliance may be expressed as either overdependence or counterdependence. The overdependent person strives for too much togetherness in relationships, clinging to others out of fear of being incomplete. The counterdependent person strives for too much separateness, avoiding relationships with others and denying the necessity or importance of such relationships.

On the other hand, the person who has not experienced or has overcome the effects of repeated separation anxiety has a strong chance of becoming self-reliant. The attribute of self-reliance means accepting responsibility for one’s own well-being and, at the same time, knowing that someone will be available and willing to help in times of need. Self-reliant individuals have resolved the conflict between their separateness in the world and their need for union with others; they can work comfortably and naturally either with others or alone, depending on which is more appropriate to the circumstances at hand. They are able to discern when their limitations have been reached in terms of time, energy, knowledge, or abilities; by turning to others in these circumstances, they overcome their own limitations, thus enhancing their effectiveness and well-being.

Self-Reliance/Counterdependence Norms:Student/Managers: Mean=16.81 (n=310)Military (Officers/Enlisted): Mean=20.79 (n=163)

Self-Reliance/Overdependence Norms:


Student/Managers: Mean=15.43 (n=310)Military (Officers/Enlisted): Mean=14.95 (n=163)

* Adapted from J. C. Quick, D. . Nelson, and J. D. Quick, ”The Self-Reliance Inventory,” in J. W. Pfeiffer (ed.), The 1991 Annual: Developing Human Resources (San Diego: Pfeiffer & Co., 1991), pp. 149-161.

EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES:7.1 SEX ROLE STRESSORS

This exercise allows students to examine the differences in the stressors based on gender roles and expectations. If time allows, you might want to have two groups, one all males and another all females, exchange their lists after step 3. Instead of a full class discussion, have students reverse roles and have the males discuss the female pressures, and then the females discuss the male pressures.

7.2 WORKPLACE STRESS DIAGNOSIS

This activity encourages students to consider the impact of different work environments on the type and degree of stressors experienced. Push students to consider why certain work environments are more or less stressful. The optional Step 5 is an excellent opportunity for students to apply the material covered in the chapter. Particularly useful in this step is the development of measures of effectiveness of stress management strategies. Oftentimes students do not consider the need to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, or they do not know how to evaluate strategies’ effectiveness.


ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISESOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORK ANALYSIS

Instructor's Notes:

Self-reliant individuals are masters at developing good social support networks. They prefer interdependence, and they are also good providers of support to others. This exercise, designed to be done in class, will help you develop an understanding of the types and sources of social support needed to develop an effective network.

1. Students complete the analysis by filling in the blanks with the names of people from whom they receive social support. Next to each name, they are to write the type of support they receive: E = emotional caring and nurturance

I = informational supportA = appraisal and evaluative feedbackM = role modeling and guidanceS = instrumental support, providing resources or acting on behalf of a person

2. Students gather in groups of five or six to discuss the questions provided on their worksheets.

* Adapted from J. C. Quick, D. L. Nelson, and J. D. Quick, “The Self-Reliance Inventory,” in J. W. Pfeiffer (ed.), The 1991 Annual: Developing Human Resources (San Diego: University Associates, 1991: 149-161.


SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORK ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Self-Reliant individuals are masters at developing good social support networks. They prefer interdependence, and they are also good providers of support to others. This exercise, designed to be done in class, will help you develop an understanding of the types and sources of social support needed to develop an effective network.

1. Individually complete the following work-related and nonwork-related network analyses by filling in the blanks with the names of people from whom you receive social support. In the parentheses following each blank, write the type of support received: E=emotional caring and nurturance; I=informational support; A=appraisal and evaluative feedback; M=role modeling and guidance; and S=instrumental support providing resources or acting on behalf of a person.

2. In groups of five or six, discuss the following questions:· Where were the blank spaces in your work and non-work networks?· Are there any types of support (emotional, informational, appraisal, role modeling, or

instrumental) that you do not receive from anyone?· What can you do to develop your network?· How has social support been important to you in managing your stress? Give specific

examples.

Work Related Network (formal organizational relationships)

Manager ( )Co-workers ( )

( ) ( )

Employees ( ) ( ) ( )

Others ( ) ( )

Nonwork Related Network

Family members ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friends ( ) ( ) ( )


MBTI EXERCISE:

Exercise Learning Objectives:

a. Students should understand that time management is viewed differently by people.b. Students should understand that stress means different things to various people. Stress to one person may be another person's energizer.

Exercise Overview:

1. Students should have taken the MBTI or short version in Chapter 3.

2. Students will form "J" and "P" preference groups.

3. Students will work in small groups (4-6 students)

4. Students will first do individual work; then group work.

5. The instructor should review the concepts of stress and time and how the J and P dynamic of MBTI relates to time and stress.

Exercise Description:

1. Ask students to individually define both TIME and STRESS.2. Place students in "J" and "P" groups of 4-6 students each.3. Ask the groups to develop a group definition of time.4. Post each group's definition on the wall so the entire class can see it.5. Report out. Compare each group.6. Ask the groups to develop a group definition of stress.7. Post each group's definition on the wall so the entire class can see it.8. Report out. Compare each group.9. Time permitting, have students describe the relationship between time and stress. Have each group report out.

What the instructor should expect:

a. J groups generally believe that time is to be scheduled and controlled. Traditional time management--specific periods of time (to the minute) to specific task and the task completion needs to be done within the time allocated.


b. P groups generally believe that time can be adapted and added to. Nontraditional time management--time is relative to the task and time allocation would be expanded without stress to accomplish the task.c. J groups get stressed and give stress when they lack closure and/or control. Leaving issues open for further discussion can be disconcerting especially if nothing is completed. Additionally, reopening "closed" issues is stressful.

d. P groups get stressed and give stress when the number of options gets smaller or the nature of the task becomes too routine for too long. Closing the issue too quickly can be disconcerting because not all of the data has been collected yet. Additionally, keeping an issue "closed" when new data becomes available is stressful.

Instructor's Summary:

In our country, most everything is "run by the clock." We schedule our activities around the clock. For some people, it is very important that things stay on schedule as scheduled. Additionally, it is very important to these people that something be accomplished within the time allotted.

For other people, time is much more relative. These people are not as concerned about deadlines and schedules as they are about making sure the issues are fully explored. It is important to these people that the issue be discussed and that time allocated can be expanded.

We've a similar issue in the area of stress. It is as bipolar as the time management issues we've just discussed. Some people are stressed when issues are not settled, when things are not orderly, and when things are not where they are supposed to be. Whereas, other people are stressed when things are settled too quickly, when things are too structured, and when things are too organized.

EXTRA EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES

The following alternative exercises to supplement the material in the textbook can be obtained from:

Marcic, Dorothy & Seltzer, Joe. Organizational Behavior: Experiences and Cases, 5th Ed. South Western College Publishing Company, 1998.

Assessing Your Level of Stress. p. 89-98. Time: 20 minutes or more.Purpose: To assess the stress level in your life.

Strategies for Managing Stress. p. 99-106. Time: 50 minutes.Purpose: To develop personal strategies for stress management.


ROLE PLAYS

Additional role plays relevant to the material in this chapter are located in Appendix A of this instructor's manual.

Documents

7 STRESS AND WELL-BEING AT · Web viewconsists of the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events. A