Stress Mgmt Final Project

8/9/2019 Stress Mgmt Final Project

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Stress Management

INTRODUCTON: -

The evolutionary emphasis of mankind has been to adaptand survive in the hostile environment. In fact men and women are the

most adaptive creature on the face of the earth. Since the evolution of

mankind man has developed a nervous system, which responds

powerfully to any perceived threat or danger. This response is called

Fight or Flight Mechanism. Our ancestors who lived in the jungle

often had to face immediate, life threatening events involving

dangerous animal and human enemies. For survival the cave man had

to fight or simply run away Although this mechanism was useful as a

primitive means of survival the Fight or Flight Response is not useful

for most of the stress situation in modern life because we have few

physical battle to fight and almost no where to run. Today the rate of

change in our life is accelerating .The people, who are most likely to

survive and succeed in this, will be those who can find enjoyment in

adapting to a rapid changing world. Today man struggles to contain his

nervous reaction. Stress management is a change in life style and a

new way of viewing the world we live in.

Stress in general term applied to the pressures people feel in life. The

presence of stress at work is almost inevitable in many jobs. However,individual differences account for a wide range of reaction to stress.

When pressure begins to build up it can cost adverse strain on a

persons emotions, thought processes, and physical conditions.

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MEANING:-

Stress has many meanings, but most people think of stress as the

demands of life. Technically, these demands are called stressors and the

actual wear and tear on our body is called stress. Stress is the term used

for a reaction to a situation which you perceive you will be unable to

cope with successfully and which results in unwanted physical mental or

emotional deterioration .The demand or challenges of life can comefrom people and events around us, as well as from our inner thoughts

and struggles. When this demand increase, people often feel that they are

under stress.

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Stress leads to physical disorders, because the internal body system

changes to try to cope with stress. Some physical disorders are short

range, such as an upset stomach. Others are longer range, such as

stomach ulcer. Stress over a prolong time also leads to degenerativediseases of the heart, kidneys, blood vessels and other part of the body.

It can result in angina and tension headaches. Therefore it is important

that stress, both on and off the job be kept at a level enough for most

people to tolerate without developing either emotional or physical stress.

Definition of Stress:There are numerous definitions and much debate about the meaning of

stress. Stress in individual is defined as any interference that disturbs a

person healthy mental and physical well-being. It occurs when the body

is required to perform beyond its normal range of capabilities. The result

of stress is harmful to individuals, families, society and organization.

It is also important to point out what STRESS is not:

1. Stress is not simply anxiety:

Anxiety operates solely in the emotional and psychological sphere,

whereas stress operates there and also in the physiological sphere.

Thus, stress may be accompanied by anxiety, but the two should not

be equated.

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2. Stress is not simply nervous tension:

Like anxiety, nervous tension may result from stress but the two are

not the same. Unconscious people have exhibited stress, and some

people may keep it bottled up and not reveal it through nervoustension.

3. Stress is not necessarily something damaging bad or to be avoided:

Stress is not damaging or bad and is something people should seek

out rather than avoid. The key of course is how the person handles

the stress. Stress is inevitable, distress that may be prevented or can

be effectively controlled.

TYPES OF STRESS :

1) Emotional stress.

2) Social stress

3) Job stress.

4) Physical stress.

5) Change stress.

6) Decision stress.

7) Commuting stress.

8) Phobic stress.

9) Personal and family stress.

10) Chemical and nutritional.

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1) EMOTIONAL STRESS: -

When we think what has happened or what might has happen

and when we knows that we cannot run from our anxieties or

physically fight our fears we undergoes emotional stress.

EMOTIONAL STRESSORS:

1) We know that we cannot change or stop certain things from

happening or we cannot change certain thing that has already

taken place. Neither can we run away from them. And then we

keep on worrying about such things, which are beyond our

control, and this causes emotional stress.

2) The messages that we give to ourselves about our actions and

the actions of others are emotional stressors.

3) Telling ourselves how awful we are going to do some activity is

an emotional stressor

4) Knowing deadline but consistently denying that we need to be

prepared is also the cause of emotional stress

5) Thinking too much about tomorrow and procrastinating about

todays activities can trigger emotional stress.

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SYMPTOMS OF EMOTIONAL STRESS :

The following are the symptoms of emotional stress

1) Most of the time the person suffering from emotional stress is

tensed and confused.

2) A person suffering from emotional stress doesnt often laugh and

enjoy the life around him.

3) He view neutral events negatively and develop negative attitude.

4) A person feels tired, depressed and dull without any sparkle.

5) A person suffering from emotional stress began to feel isolated and

paranoid.

6) The people suffering from emotional stress find they are near tears

and cry either for no apparent reasons or over minor incident.

EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL STRESS:

SHORT TERM EFFECTS:

1) Emotional stress can interfere with productivity, learning and

interpersonal relationship.

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2) Our ability to interact and understand other people is

disrupted.

3) Our adaptive energy reserves get exhaust and we become

more suspectable to disease.

LONG TERM EFFECTS

1) Many hormones are elevated during the stress response.

Three of them are nor epinephrine, epinephrine, and cortisol. In

response to emotional stress there is increase in all three of the

hormones.

2) Nor epinephrine, epinephrine and cortisol produce higher

levels of fats, cholesterol, and sugar in blood stream.

3) High level of circulating blood cholesterol increases the risk

of coronary heart diseases, strokes, and hypertension and may causesudden cardiac death.

4) Increase in cortical impairs the function of the immune

system, thus making a person vulnerable to even minor illness such as

cold or flu.

5) Increase in norepinephrine, epinephrine close down the

digestive tract by diverting blood away from it so if on

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try to eat while stressed, he experience problem such as

indigestion, nausea and diarrhoea.

6) Adult diabetes may commonly begin after a stressful perioddue to extra strain put on the pancreas by high blood sugar level.

2) SOCIAL STRESS:

Social stress involves stress caused during interaction with

other people. Social stress is the feeling that we have the place in thesocial order.

SOCIAL STRESSORS:

1) Attending functions and parties as a formality or social

obligation may be stressful for the person who likes quiet evening.

2) Asking a person to give speech.

3) Asking a person to give sudden presentation.

4) Unhealthy negotiations and conversation can also cause social

stress.

SYMPTOMS OF SOCIAL STRESS :

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1) Avoiding attending parties, functions, meetings and get together.

2) Avoiding interaction with people.

3) Avoiding being a part of social group.

4) Avoiding taking leadership and initiative.

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL STRESS:

SHORT TERM EFFECTS:

1) A person suffering from social stress avoids being a part of

public and therefore lacking confidence to express him in

public.

2) A person suffering from social stress feel anxious, ignored,

hurt, manipulated and is disappointed with him.

LONG TERM EFFECTS:

1) A Person suffering from social stress gets the habit of push over.

2) The other people get disgusted and frustrated with people who dont

like to be a part of their group.

3) People lose respect for the person who suffers from social stress

as the person suffering from social stress gets into the habit of

pushing and directing his responsibility to others.

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4) A person suffering from social stress keeps on procrastinating

himself and suffering in silence. They start doing things

halfheartedly as formality and become sloppy.

5) Loneliness and isolation become common in such peoples life.

3) JOB STRESS OR WORK STRESS:

Work stress is the tension or pressure we experience because

of our work and work environment. Scholars in a wide range of

academic disciplines have studied the nature of the job stress.

Physicians, Psychiatrists and researchers in management have

studied its causes and its symptoms and have defined the term in a

variety of different way .Job stress is defined as the reaction of an

individual to new or threatening factors in there work environment.

An important characteristic of job stress is that it can either be positive or negative. Some new situation can bring us positive

challenges and excitement, while others are very threatening.

The changing nature of our working world is a major

contributor to stress. As business flourishes, the hierarchy of staff in

the organization keeps on changing. So the employees found it

difficult to have personal contact with each other and therefore they

find it frustrating to meet or communicate with each other .The

sexual composition of the work force is also changing.

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Nearly fifty percent of the women over sixteen years of age are

now in labour market. This group includes half of all the mothers

with school age children. It is comparatively more hectic to handle

office and home at one time. Many a times it happens that the work environment gets influence by personal matters of the employees

and vice versa. This however leads to stress.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

complied a list of the some occupations, which are most susceptible

and least susceptible to stress related diseases.

MOST STRESSFUL OCCUPATIONS:

Secretary

Inspector

Call centre employees

Clinical lab technician

Office manager

Foreman

Manager or administrator

Salesperson

Machine operator

Farm owner

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Miner

Waitress or waiter

LEAST STRESSFUL OCCUPATIONS:

Tailor

Supervisor

Stock handler

Craftsmen

Maid

Farm labourer

Childcare worker

Freight handler

JOB STRESSORS: Job stress is caused mainly because of 3 factors:

1) The nature of the job.

2) The working condition.

3) The working relationship.

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The nature of the job:

The following are the factors relating to the nature of the job

which are potential sources of job stress?

- Career development stressors

1) Lack of opportunity.

2) Frustration and boredom with current role.

3) Lack of job security.

4) Insufficient training.

5) No proper promotion policies.

6) Performance appraisal.

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- Workload :

1) Too much or too little work.

2) Time pressure and deadline.

3) Frequent change in working method.

4) Introduction of new technology or method.

5) Lack of relevant information support and advice.

6) Discipline.

7) Travelling.

- Responsibilities towards clients and colleagues

- Limit of authority

- Unclear defined task and role

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An employee enjoys his work as long as he can exercise

control, has enough time and doesnt experience frustrating

delays. However if the things go in the reverse way out an

employee experiences stress in his work. Similarly if an employee

feels the need of training but perceived that he couldnt afford the

time or it is beyond his control to arrange the training then a

situation of stress may develop.

Similarly if people are not seen to be productive they often

feel that they may be seen as being inefficient. This perception

sometimes creates stress in people with respect to their workload.

In the similar way if employees dont adapt to the new technology

or is unclear about deadlines, the fear of being exposed begins to

become more stressful and problem result.

The working condition:

The following are the factors relating to the working condition,

which are the sources of job stress:

- Rewards:

1) Insufficient monetary benefits

2) Less perks

3) Unsuitable and non flexible timing

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4) Long working hours

5) Insufficient allowance

- Office environment:

1) Uncomfortable sitting arrangement/ergonomics

2) Unbalanced temperature / no proper ventilation

3) Noisy environment

4) Colour schemes and environment and interior of the office

The working relationship:

The following are the factors, which affect the relationship

between employees and between employer and employee.

1) Interference in the work

2) Dominating employer

3) Non-supportive boss

4) Jealousy between departments

5) Discrimination between sex, age, race etc

6) Unhealthy competition

7) More criticism than praising the work

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The relationship of a person with other person depends very

much on our own attitudes and depending upon whom we are

dealing with. If the employee is praised at the appropriate time, he

feels valued and would continue to thrive .If not he will become

despondent and uninterested and may experience stress.

SYMPTOMS OF JOB STRESS:

Physical signs:

1) Tense posture.

2) Increased smoking and cups of tea or coffee

3) Breathlessness

4) Inarticulate in a speech

5) Nail biting

6) Body language

7) Tone of voice

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Behavioral signs and emotional signs:

1) Late for work.2) Long lunch breaks.

3) Reduction in output

4) Mistakes.

5) Loss temper, mood swings, over reaction.

6) Poor decision-making.

7) Failure to make deadlines.

8) Increased absenteeism.

9) Making less realistic judgments.

EFFECTS OF JOB STRESS:

Short-term effects:

- Emotional effects

1) Anxious

2) Tense

3) Under confident

4) Poor self-image

5) Depression

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- Behavioral effects

1) Poor concentration

2) Confusion

3) Lack of awareness

4) Poor planning

5) Not completing task

6) Ambiguous communicate

7) Lack of time

- Physical effect:

1) Poor posture

2) Rapid breathing

3) Indigestion

4) Cramps

5) Shoulder and neck pain

6) Headaches

7) Pupils dilate

8) Sweating and clammy feeling

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LONG TERM EFFECTS:-

The effects of the long-term stress can be devastating. Long-term

Stress not only affects our bodies but it also affects the way we feel

and think. Under long-term stress our personalities seem to change.

We may suffer from depression and feel hopeless and helpless.

Occasionally we may find ourselves compulsively repeating

meaningless task in an attempt to control our lives .At time we act

impulsively without thinking about the consequences.

The long-term effects of job stress on our physical health:

The prolonged effects of stress may lead to stress related

disease. The cardio vascular, the digestive, and the immune system are

well known areas where the disease develops.

Stress related disease of cardio vascular system:

Nor epinephrine, Epinephrine, and cortisol are elevated during

stress response .Due to them higher levels of fats; cholesterol and

sugar are produced in blood stream, which builds fatty plaques. These

fatty plaques narrow the diameter of blood vessel. Therefore a high

level of circulating blood cholesterol increases the risk of coronary

heart disease, strokes, and hypertension and may even cause sudden

cardiac death.

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Stress and digestive system:

Norepinephrine, Epinephrine closes down the digestive track by

diverting blood away from it. So if one tries to eat while stressed, he

may experience problem such as indigestion, nausea, and diarrhoea.

LONG TERM EFFECTS:-

Physical

BREATHING:

1) Hyperventilation

2) Visual disturbance

3) Chest pain

POSTURE

1) Risk of back injury

2) Neck pain

IMMUNE SYSTEM

1) Indigestion

2) Developing ulcers

3) Flue

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4) Arthritis

Emotional:

1) Depression and dull

2) Anger and irritation

3) Isolation

4) Loss of ability to feel care

Behavioral:

1) Long breaks

2) Clock watching

3) Staying late

4) Loss of libido

5) Untidy appearance

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STRESS SPIRAL :

Stress spiral illustrates how events, feeling and health have an

accelerating effect on one another without our realizing it.

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4) Physical Stress :

Physical stress is the stress that results in the change in the state the

of the bodies and that is mainly caused due to increase in physical

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Bid formajorcontract

Chance forpromotion

Workinglate

Home late;argue withpartner andfamilymembers

Breathingshort andshallow

Feel hurt /angry, Lack of support, and understanding.Earning money for family

Breathing short

and shallow

Can't stopthinking

Bad nightssleep-tired in themorning

Falling behindconcentration

Boss Demandsmore

HeadacheDrinkingSmoking

Irritablewith staff

Decreasetheir output

Fail to reachtargets

NoPromotion

Failure,Despondent,Despair,Depressed,Deceased


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demand. Physical stress is caused due to strain we put on our body

by physical overextending ourselves.

PHYSICAL STRESSORS

1) Physically overextending our self

2) Lack of enough sleep

3) Lack of adequate diet

4) Injury

5) Accidents

6) Disease

7) Pregnancies and menstrual discomforts are example of physicalstressor

An abrupt change from high-sustained activity to the boredom of

low activity can also be stressor.

E.g.: Heart attacks occur immediately after a busy period of time

when a person has a chance of rest.

SYMPTOMS OF PHYSICAL STRESS:

1) Faster heart beats

2) Increase sweating or butterflies in stomach

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3) Feeling of nausea

4) Cold hands and feet

5) Rapid breathing

6) Dry mouth

7) Diarrhea

EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL STRESS

-SHORT TERM EFFECTS

1) Physical stress interferes with clear judgment and makes it

difficult to take the time to make good decision.

2) Reduces enjoyment of quality of life.

3) Damages self-confidence.

4) Disrupts focus and concentration.

- LONG TERM EFFECTS:

1) Fatigue and exhaustion.

2) Depression

3) Burnout (loss of interest and motivation).

4) Unhealthy lifestyle.

5) Nervous breakdown.

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6) Mental breakdown.

5) CHANGE STRESS

We experience change stress when we alter anything

important in our lives. When we leave a job, a house, or a

relationship, part of our adjustment to our loss or to our new

situation involves stress. When we move from one part of the

country or city to another we experience the change of

uprooting .The loss of our social network and supports can be

stressful. Technological advances and the shifting framework of

tradition and customs can also lead to change stress.

CHANGE STRESSORS

Change in relationship:

1) Change in health of family members

2) Gain of new family member

3) Death of a family member or friend

4) Change in number of argument with family member or friend.

Change in work:

1) Change to a different line of work.

2) Change in responsibility

3) Change in authority etc.

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Change in lifestyle:

1) Change in eating habits

Change in social activities.

Change in recreation.

Change in residence.

Change in personal habits.

EFFECTS OF CHANGE STRESS:

Change stressors like work stressors differ from person to

person and so do the effect of change stressors. Some people

take change positively whereas some negatively. The

negative effect of change stress disturbs the relationship between spouse, children, other family members, and boss

and work colleagues. This led to change in mental attitude or

may lead to lack of sleep, which affects the physical health,

as well as work life of the individual. However sometimes

the individuals are not ready mentally or physically for

change. In such cases they do take help of chemical

stimulants like tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and other

stimulating drugs, which have detrimental effects on the

body.

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In short change stress result in change in attitude, behavior,

lifestyle, and habits of the individual.

6) DECISION STRESS:

It has become more and more difficult to make decision both on

job and off job because the number of choices we have is

overwhelming. Rational decision depends on the ability to predict

the consequences of the actions. And the ability to make the best

prediction is often compromised by other alternatives available to

us.

DECISION STRESSORS:

1) Too much responsibility.

2) Too little authority.

3) Ambiguity and conflicting job demands.

4) Unpredictable future as the world is changing at thealarming rate.

EFFECTS OF DECISION STRESS:

Decision stress is experience by many of us in todays world

as we humans have limited capacity to receive, process, and

remember information. But the alternative and possibilities to

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consider are comparatively more in number. So it is but

natural for an individual to get confused during analyzing the

alternatives and their consequences to take the decision.

However such confusion and study of long list of alternatives

makes the person stressed.

7) COMMUTING STRESS:

Commuting stress is the stress, which one suffers due to

traveling many people commute long distances to work. Some people drive in rush hour traffic daily. Others spend hours in

crowded bus or trains. A person suffers from commuting stress

because of traffic jams, increasing pollution and the overcrowded

mode of travel.

8) PHOBIC STRESS :

Many people have exaggerated fears of certain animal,

places, objects or situation, which they pose no immediate danger.

These intense fears are called phobias. And the stress which one

experiences because of such phobias is called phobic stress. Some

of the common one and the objects of the unreasonable fear

include acrophobia (heights), aqua phobia (water), school phobia

(in children) etc .We often experience social phobia. Social

phobia is the fear of specific activities such as speaking in front of

large group, meeting new people, making presentation etc.

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However the person having such phobia can overcome his phobic

anxiety only if he heals himself without any fear. Avoiding doing

activities doesnt over come the fear in fact it conditions the fear.

9) PERSONAL AND FAMILY STRESS:

The family structure is changing drastically and so is the

culture. The marriage was once a strong, supportable force that

could help the family members to understand and adjust with each

other. But today around 30 % of all marriages end in divorce and

this force the children to spend the part of their youth with only

single parent. Youngsters leave their family to stay away to enjoy

their independence and to get the privacy .M any stay away from

their homes and family to make money. Interaction with family

members in such cases can be stressful. Stress can also be created

between parents and children because of difference in their

thinking due to generation gap.

10) CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL STRESS:

Chemical and nutritional stress is the stress, which an

employee faces because of the addiction to any drug. We often

come across the problems, stress suffered by the patients while

giving up certain addiction like addiction of cigarettes, liquor, hot

beverages, sweets etc. Such stress is also called chemical and

nutritional stress.

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CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL STRESSORS :

Sweetness in foods.

Caffeine.

Nicotine.

Alcohol.

Cigarettes.

EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL

STRESS:

1) Caffeine and in coffee, tea and chocolate simulates the nervous

system due to acid production, which also leads to increase in

heart rate.

2) Acid production in stomach can lead to indigestion and

aggravation of ulcers.

3) Alcohol affects the heart and blood vessels, damages the liver,

and also leads to weight problems.

4) Tobacco and drugs are often used as ways of coping with stress

although they ultimately compound it by reducing coping

ability.

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5) Chemical and nutritional stress affects our behavior. The effects

on behavior include disturbed sleep patterns, irritability, and

loss of mental alertness, poor relationships and loss of self-

esteem.

STRESS IN CALL CENTRES

Today world is moving towards its progress at a very fast rate.

The size of the industry from textile to I. T is growing at an alarming

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rate. However this industry today adopts capital-intensive modern

technology to give required quality and quantity output. Today in order

to survive in the throat-cutting world of competition, use of these

techniques has become the need of time. Due to the use of the capital-intensive technology the number of employment opportunities

available in the production field has decreased. However in order to

get competitive edge over other competitors, the company today

concentrates on improving their quality of work and service .to

customers. This has given rise to call Center. This either supports the

production and distribution process or provides services to customers.

There are two types of call centers, domestic call center and

international call center .The domestic call center deals with the work

of clients within India, whereas the international call center works for

the clients located in foreign countries. We today have number of call

centers both domestic and international in India. These call centers

attracts large number of youngsters by paying them handsome salary

along with other fringe benefits like car facility etc .We do perceive

call center as the easiest way to earn money but we are not aware of

the work culture and timings of the call centers .The employees

working in the domestic call centers have to face comparatively less

stress than the one working in the international call centers.

The main reason of this is, that International call centers work

largely during the night to coincide with the day hours of the country.

This is supported by the fact that one third of the employees working

in call centers face stress due to frequent change in their work shifts.

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So now let study in detail what are the reasons or factors that are

responsible to give different types of stress to the employees working

in the call centers. It are the factors, which make the employees

working in international call centers more stressed than the employees

working in call centers.

1) Nature of the work :

The nature of the work is the main cause of job stress .The

workday of the call center is designed for 8 to 9 hours a day. Most

of the call center employees in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, for

instance budget at least 1hrs travel up or down to get on work every

day. So the call center employee has to spend in all 11 hours a day

on work. Some call center encourages its employee to work

overtime if the workload is more or important. So some time

employee may have to work for long 13 to 14 hours a day. In

international call centers operational heads may tend to put 16 to 18

hours on a regular basis to stay back for customer conference call

from us and other foreign countries. Working for long hours may

lead to job stress.

2) Workload:

Though the number of hours a day a call center employee

works is the same in call centers and other organizations, it is the

pace at which work tends to happen that makes work load an issue.

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The employees working in different industry with different field

may spent more hours at work than the call center employees but it

shall be noted that these hours are often interspersed with tea

breaks, chat with colleagues, and visit to other department.However the call floor employees have no such luck. Though

International codes suggest five minutes off every hour, no such

codes are practiced in reality even in International call centers.

The workload with insufficient breaks leads to job stress and

physical stress.

3) Holidays:

The employees in domestic call centers get holiday on all

national holidays of India. Some domestic call center does give

holiday on weekends. But the number of such call centers is

comparatively very less. The International call centers do give

holiday on weekend but it should be noted that the International call

centers dont have holidays on our Indian national holidays.

The International call center have holiday have off on the

national holidays of the country for which they work.

4) Strict rules regarding leave and absenteeism:

Today no call center employee is given permanent job in call

centers. According to the Companys law if the employee works for

more than 240 days in a call center then he is entitled to get all the

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benefits of the permanent employee. So these call centers give

breaks to the employees after completing 240 days and call them

back after a short or long break. Most of the employees themselves

leave the call center job because of the job stress, which they face.Only 28 paid leave are given to call center employees annually.

However during the training period the employees are not allowed

to take any leave.

5) Change in lifestyle and habits:

After appointment of any employee for a call center job, trainingis given to him. This training includes personality development

programmers Ascent training programmers and stress management

programmers etc. This help to develop the personality of the

employee. Besides this the handsome salary and other fringe benefits

improves the standard of living of the employee. But simultaneously

the chances of getting addicted to habits like smoking, drinking

liquor, and drugs also increase. These interns affect the personal life

of an employee and may lead to personal and family stress.

6) No job security:

Call center employs a large number of people at a time as a

result these call center require a lot of real estate and therefore such

big call centers are often situated at the outskirts of town. The

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International call centers do provide bus and car facility to its

employees but generally this facility is not given to the employees

working in domestic call center (some domestic call centers do

provide bus facility) Even the Bus and the cars of these call centersget struck into traffic jams and has to face the problem of pollution.

So nearly 1 to 2 hours is spend by the call center employee just to

get on work daily. Traveling is the commuting stressor and

therefore such long hectic traveling may lead to commuting stress.

7) Lack of career development opportunity: During the training programmers the assent and voice

training is given to the employee. Besides this a call center

employee learns how to interact with the customer and clients. His

communication skill do develop after working in call centers but

besides this the call center employee has no better opportunity to

develop his career, as he has to repeat the same process taught to

him at the time of training. So there is less scope for career

development in call center job. Lack of career development

opportunity leads to job stress. It also affects the personal life of the

employee and therefore may sometimes become personal stressor.

8) No job security:

Today no call center employee is given a permanent job.

According to the company law if the employee works for more than

240 days in call centers he is entitled to get the benefits of the

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permanent employee. In order to avoid giving such benefits call

center avoids making its employees permanent .So there is no job

security for the employee working in the call center. No security of

job stress leads to job stress and emotional stress.

9) Irate customer:

It is the call center employee who has to directly interact

with customers and clients .The team leaders and the other seniors

do not directly interact with customer and therefore very few of

them actually get burnt .The job of the call center employee is todeal and interact with clients and the customers. Most customers

call when they have a problem. Often they are further irritated by

long call queues. In such cases the customers get irritated and

remove their frustration on the call center employee. So irate

customer again increases the stress of call center employees.

10) Disturbance in natural cycle:

Our biological clock requires us to rest between 10 pm and 8

am. This is when the body assimilates and digests all nutrients and

repairs wear and tear. Unfortunately this is the time when call

center employees are working under high stress conditions.

And there fore none of the natural cycle is followed and therefore

the body functioning goes out sync. The nature of the work requires

employees to be glued to their seats for 9 hours and their every

move whether taking a leak or spending a few moments at water

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cooler are monitored on weekly basis, making it a high pressure

job. Individuals are likely to turn to food and alcohol to unwind.

They are highly susceptible to degenerative diseases like cancer,

diabetes, blood pressure arthritis and obesity.

PRODUCTS OF STRESS

Stress can be either temporary or long term either mild or

severe. The effects on an employee depend mostly on how long itscauses continue, how powerful they are and how strong the employees

recovery powers are. If the stress is temporary and mild, most people

can handle it or at least recover from its effects rather quickly. The

inflated salaries that call center employees enjoy dont come without

paying a price. Spondylitis, backaches, soreness and dryness of eyes,

blurred vision and headache is some of the serious illness that they

tend to complaint about

In call center there are different teams. Each team is given different

target to achieve. Each team has the team leader who monitors, control

and guides the employees in the team. These team leaders are more

susceptible to stress since they put in more long hours than regular

employees. Further irregular eating habits and the tendency to binge

when stressed, due to constant performance monitoring gives rise to

digestive problems.

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1. Burnout

In contrast to temporary stress there are some major pressures that

result in stress that is sustained for long periods. Problems

predictably arise when high intensity stress continues for anextended duration. The human body cannot instantly rebuild its

ability to cope with stress once it is depleted. As a result, people

become physically and psychologically weakened from trying to

combat it. This condition is called burn out- a situation in which

employees are emotionally exhausted, become detached from their

clients and their work and feel that they are unable to accomplish

their goals

Symptoms of burn out:

When employees become burned out, they are more likely to

complain to attribute their errors to others and to be highly

irritable. The tendency to think negatively increases. The

employee gets emotionally exhausted and feels that they are

weak and so are unable to accomplish their goals.

Effects of burn out:

When workers become burned out, they attribute their errors to

others and become highly irritable .The alienation they feel drive

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many call center employees to think about leaving their job

performance.

1) Aggression :

Aggression is one of the common reactions to stress. Whenever

employees are stress they are likely to become aggressive. When

the workload is more and if the employee fails to reach the desired

target they are likely to become frustrated. They become more

irritable; develop an uneasy feeling in stomach etc. Whenever the

call centre employee gets aggressive it affects his voice tone and the

ability to interact with the customer and clients. There are

possibilities whereas the employee may become aggressive in

dealing in even small issues.

Stress damages the positive framework of mind that is required for

high quality work by promoting negative thinking, damaging self

confidence, narrowing attention, disrupting focus and concentration

and making it difficult to cope with distractions, anxiety, frustration

and temper. This is the energy that should be devoted to work.

THE NUMBER CRUNCH

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The call center employees ranked high for attrition due to health

reasons :

For sleeping disorder: 83 %

Voice loss: 39.5%

Ear problems: 8.5%

Digestive disorders: 14.9 % Eyesight problems: 10.6%

APPROACHES TO STRESS MANAGEMENT:

Stress is a factor that everybody has to content with both in the work

and non-work spheres of life. It is important for every individual to

mange the stress, since the body has only a limited capacity to respond

to stress. There are several ways in which stress can be handled

effectively that is, relaxation, meditation, physical exercise and

engaging in sports activities, etc. In addition to this, there is technique

known as Managing work to home transitions which is also

helpful in combating stress. This strategy emphasizes that it would be

beneficial to psychologically shift attention from stressful work

situation to a relaxed evening at home in the family environment as

one reaches the end of the working day. This is instead of carrying the

pressure of the work to the home the suggestion is to finish the courses

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of the work during the last working hour and enter the home in a

relaxed and peaceful frame of life.

Both call centers and individuals are highly concerned aboutstress and its effects. In the attempt to manage the stress they have two

broad options preventing and coping with stress. Call center can seek

to improve communication skills, empower employees to through

participation, redesign jobs to be more fulfilling or implement calcite

development programs. These steps are aimed at reducing or

eliminating stressors for employees several approaches also exist for

coping with stress. These often involve cooperative efforts among

employees and management and may include social support, relaxation

efforts, biofeedback and personal wellness.

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Social support

Call center employees put in long 9 hours in work and that

too sometimes against the biological clock as a result they are

detached from the world around them; they lack warm interpersonal

relationship Individuals with driving ambition and a strong need for

independence may fail to develop close attachments to friends and

colleagues. To achieve their success, they often sacrifice fulfillment

of their social need. Their lack of social attachments may result in

anger, anxiety and loneliness all producing stress in their lives.

A powerful antidote to this problem lies in the presence of social support at work. Social support is the network of helpful

activities, interaction and relationships that provides an employee

with the satisfaction of important needs. Call centers celebrates

various events like food festivals like special days like traditional

day blank & white day. They also encourage, develop and nurture

there social support network at work by arranging picnics, get to

gather function at parties and regular interval to reduce stress in

their lives.

Relaxation:

Relaxation some employees turn to various means of mental

relaxation to adjust to the stresses in their lives for that purpose

many call centers held counseling sessions at regular intervals.

Basically these counseling secessions are held once or twice a

week. . Where as the counselor interacts with the employees to

understand their mental and physical state at work there by he also

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suggest necessary exercise for mental relaxation and physical

relaxation. Many call centers conduct physical fitness programmed

exercise classes and progressive relaxation programmes. Such

programmers help employees to learn how to relaxation learn thetechniques to control dishonesty like anxiety, headache, backaches

and hypertension. Physical relaxation is pleasant ant tents to live the

individual with the sense of refreshment.

Relaxation also involves meditation. Meditation involves

concentration on inner thought in order to rest the body physically

and emotionally. Its helps to remove employees temporarily fromthe stress full world and reduce their symptoms of stress. Some of

the easiest way of meditation is as follows :

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1. Focus on breathing

Concentrating on breaths in and out, counting breaths and

visualizing images of the number changing with each breath.

2. Focus on object

Looking at the immense detail of the object for entire

meditation. Examining the shape, colors differences, texture,

temperature, and movements of the object.

Imagery training -The work life of the call center employee is hectic. Further

the long hours of work and irate customers add to the stress.

Thoughts about the problems keep on spinning in minds, one

idea lead to another and soon the employee turned down in a

frazzle. For a call center employee mental relaxation is equally

important as physical relaxation. Imagery training helps to reduce

and control mental anxiety. In imagery training, training is given to

the employees to visualize pleasant images in mind. Visualizing the

successful dreams helps to produce a state of calm. Practicing

imagery regularly helps to control upsetting thoughts and enjoys a

deep state of physical relaxation.

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Biofeedback:

The word Bio refers to leaving organisms. Feed means

to give or in this case display. Back refers to the direction in

which this information is provided. Thus biofeedback is simply a

term for the modern technology of measuring a persons internal

(bio) response and giving the person immediate knowledge (feed

back) about that response.

Earlier it was thought that people could not control their involuntary nervous system which in turn controls internal

processes such as heart beat, oxygen consumption, stomach acid

flow etc. However today employee under medical guidance learns

from instrumental feedback to influence symptoms of stress, such

as increased heart rate or severe headaches. Many call centers have

in-house doctors on call who give feedback to the employees

regarding their health whenever require. Further many call centers

have their dietician to plan out the diet of the employees as per their

work schedule.

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Employee appreciation program/incentives/contest:

Call centers keeps on introducing various incentives and

contest to encourage its employees to give better performance. This

contest not only encourages employee but also increases the

confidence and competition among the employees. Various

employees appreciation programmer are held in call centers on

small and large basis. Small meeting or party appreciates some

times the work of the employee or group during the break time or

otherwise special party is arranged to appreciate to work

employees.Employees get a sense of satisfaction through appreciation

programmed as they feel that their efforts are recognize by the

employer and are paid off regular.

Personal wellness:

Many call centers have there own well ness centers. This

wellness center this includes fitness centers health education

programmers and in-house court or indoor games. Many call

centers have there on health care specialist and dietician who

recommend practices to encourage changes in life style such as

breathing regulation muscle relaxation, positive imagery, nutrition

management and exercise embalming employee to use more of their

full potential.

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ANNEXURE

(STUDY ON INTELENT GLOBAL SERVICES)

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INTELENET GLOBAL SERVICES

Intelenet is a leading BPO service provider which focus on providing

solutions to global organization seeking to reduce cost while consistently

maintaining superior levels of services .Their solutions extends across all

strata of BPO ,technology and consulting and it can be applied to

organization in industries diverse as Banking , Finance, Insurance, Retail,

Telecom and hospitality. Intelenet Global services have in all 4500

employees working for international call center and 6000 employees

working for domestic call center.

Two leading global investors HDFC and Barclays provide financial

backing that Intelenet needs to lead in a global market place. HDFC is

Indias leading financial services conglomerate, while Barclays is a

venerable financial services group headquartered in UK ranking among topten Banks in the world based on market capitalization. At the same time

there combined financial strength provides Intelenet with the ability to

remain on cutting edge of call centre processes while simultaneously

maintaining corporate growth and achieving the goals and objectives set

forth by their customer.

Intelenet currently operates four state-of-the-art facilities in India and has

access to more than 40 additional service centers in Europe and the UK.

With 100% redundancy, these facilities continually provide clients with

99.99% uptime.

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They currently have four centers in India; Two in Mumbai region and Two

in Chennai.

The values that employees of Intelenet embody are etched in their HR

mission are:

To build a Performing Organization that creates a

competitive advantage for our clients, by focusing on

People, Customers, Excellence and thereby creating

value.

The Intelenet work culture embodies:

1. An open door policy

2. Conducive work environment

3. Concern and empathy

4. Touch & feel Leadership

5. Work hard play hard ethic

How training helps Intelenet employees to reduce stress?

All employees at Intelenet undergo an intensive training program,

where along with their core values, soft-skills training and relevant process

knowledge is imparted. Apart from this, refresher programs are also

conducted on a regular basis.

A Train the Trainer model by which Intelenet trainers are

certified, trains new team members. This facilitates smooth mapping and

documentation of processes and procedure.

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How Intelenet provides career development opportunities for

its employees?

Due emphasis is also given to continuous training programs so that

employees are fully trained and effective at all times. Intelenet also conducts

programs like STEP (Strive Towards Excellence Program) and LEAD

(Leadership Excellence Accreditation & Development) to help associates

and Team Leaders in their career advancement.

They also help people evolve into better professionals by not only

training them on industry standard and client specific programs but also by

encouraging them to get a business management certification. This program

is run by one of Mumbai's premier management institutes at Intelenet's

campuses.

What facilities are provided to the employees?At Intelenet, employees enjoy state-of-the-art facilities that match or

exceed industry-best standards. Infact Intelenet is one of its kinds that own

an entire building for its working (call center).

A world-class working environment and facilities such as:-

o 24-hour cafeteria services with subsidized food.

o 24x7 transport.

o An in-house doctor (visiting 2 3 days a week).

o Coffee machines are available at each floor.

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Tie-ups with local hospitals for immediate attention to employee health

issues:

o In-house counselor.o ATM machine.

o Well Equipped Gymnasium.

o Yoga Center.

o Concierge services.

Tie-Ups with local boutiques, restaurants, health clubs for employeediscounts.

In addition to the above services, Intelenet provides subsidized company

accommodations to all outstation candidates who become part of the

Intelenet family. This enables their employees to use more of their full

potential in working.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Organizational Behaviour - John. W. Newstrom.

Stress Management Edward. A. Charlesworth and Ronald G Nathan

Coping with Executive Stress G. S. Das

Managing Pressure At Work Helen. Frogatt and Paul stamp.

Articles from Mid day

Organizational Behaviour-Hugh Jarnold

Organizational Behaviour-Stephen Robbins

www.google.com

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Documents

Stress Mgmt Final Project