Managing Stress and the Work-

Life Balance
Organizations and the people
who run them are under constant
pressure to increase income while
keeping costs down.
To do things faster and better –
but with fewer people – is the
goal of many companies.
The results can indeed be
increased performance, higher
profits and faster growth.
But stress, burnout, turnover,
aggression and other side effects
can also occur.
 The Nature of Stress

Stress is a person’s adaptive

response to a stimulus that
places excessive psychological
or physical demands on that
person.
 The Stress Process

General Adaptation Syndrome

[GAS] - identifies three (3)
stages of response to a
stressor: alarm, resistance
and exhaustion.
 The Stress Process

First Stage: Alarm

Begins when a person encounters a ‘stressor’
Feels some degree of panic and wonders how
to cope
Should I deal with this or run away?
Stage Two: Resistance
Deals with stressor by getting organized and
resisting the negative effects of the stressor.
 The Stress Process

Third Stage: Exhaustion

Person gives up and can no longer fight the
‘stressor’

Most of the time the resistance

phase ends the cycle.
[See Figure 7.1, pg 172]
General Adaptation Syndrome
 Distress and Eustess
Eustess is the pleasurable stress that
accompanies positive events.

Distress is the unpleasant stress that

accompanies negative events.

Stress can be either good or bad – it can

motivate and stimulate us, or it can lead to any
number of dangerous side effects.
 Individual Differences and Stress

Type A Personality – people who are

extremely competitive, highly committed
to work and have a strong sense of time
urgency.

Type B Personality – people who are less

competitive, less committed to work and
have a weaker sense of time urgency.
 Hardiness
Hardiness – is a person’s ability to cope
with stress
People with hardy personalities:
have an internal ‘locus of control’
are strongly committed to the activities in
their lives
view change as an opportunity for
advancement and growth
 Optimism
Optimism – is the extent to which a
person sees life in relatively positive or
negative terms.
People with optimistic personalities:
see the positive aspects of a situation and
recognize that things may eventually
improve. [glass half full vs half empty]
possess positive ‘affectivity’
 Common Causes of Stress

Organizational Stressors are factors in the

workplace that can cause stress.
Four general sets of organizational stressors
are:
Task demands – associated with specific job
Physical demands – associated with physical setting of job
Role demands – associated with role expected to play
Interpersonal demands – associated with group pressure,
leadership and personality conflicts
[See Figure 7.2, pg 175; Table 7.1, pg 176 and Figure 7.3, pg 178]
Causes and Consequences of Stress

Adapted from James C. Quick and Jonathan D. Quick, Organizational Stress and Preventive
Management (McGraw-Hill, 1984) pp. 19, 44, and 76.
 The Most Stressful Jobs

The Most Stressful Jobs, February 26, 1996. Republished with permission of Dow Jones, from The Wall
Street Journal, February 26, 1996; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Workload, Stress, and Performance
 Role Demands
Role is a set of expected behaviors associated
with a particular position in a group or
organization.

Role Demands are stressors associated with

the role a person is expected to play.

Role Ambiguity occurs when a role in unclear.

 Role Demands
Role Conflict occurs when the messages
and cues constituting a role are clear but
contradictory or mutually exclusive.
Four types of conflict have been identified:
Inter-role conflict
Intra-role conflict
Intra-sender conflict
Person-role conflict
 Role Demands

Inter-role Conflict – conflict between roles

[home vs office]

Intra-role Conflict – conflicting demands

from different sources within the context of the
same role [boss demand vs employee demand]
 Role Demands

Intra-sender Conflict – occurs when a

single source sends contradictory messages. [no
overtime/work late]

Person-role Conflict – results from a

discrepancy between the role requirements and
the individual’s personal values, attitudes and
needs. [told to do something unethical, illegal or distasteful]
 Role Demands

Role Overload – occurs when

expectations for the role exceed the
individual’s capabilities.
 Interpersonal Demands
Interpersonal Demands – are stressors
associated with group pressures, leadership and
personality conflicts.
Group Pressures – pressure to restrict output,
conform to group norms, etc.
Leadership – varying styles of leadership may not fit
employee needs.
Interpersonal Conflict – personalities, attitudes and
behaviors of employees differ [smoking vs non-
smoking, decision-making techniques, etc.].
 Life Stressors

Life Change – is any meaningful change

in a person’s personal or work situation.

Life Trauma – is any upheaval in an

individual’s life that alters his or her
attitudes, emotions or behaviors.
[See Table 9.2, pg 231]
 Life Changes and Life Change Units

Reprinted from Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 11, Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, “3 The Social
Adjustment Rating Scale,” Copyright © 1967, with permission from Elsevier Science.
 Stress Consequences - Individual

Behavioral Consequences – smoking,

alcohol, drug use, appetite problems, accidents,
and violence
Psychological Consequences – depression,
sleeping too much or not enough, family
problems, etc.
Medical Consequences – heart disease,
stroke, headaches, ulcers, acne, hives, etc.
Stress Consequences - Organizational

Decline in Performance – poor quality

work, drop in productivity, faulty decision
making, etc.
Withdrawal – rise in absenteeism, quitting job,
missing deadlines, taking longer breaks.
Attitudes – complain about unimportant things,
do just enough to get by, etc.
 Burnout

Burnout – is a general feeling of mental

and physical exhaustion that develops
when an individual simultaneously
experiences too much pressure and has
too few sources of satisfaction.
Managing Stress in the Workplace

Individual Coping Strategies:

Exercise – feel less tension, suffer less
heart attacks, more self-confident and
more optimistic
Relaxation – regular vacations or take
regular breaks during the work day
Managing Stress in the Workplace

Individual Coping Strategies:

Time Management – prioritizing work tends to
remove stress
Role Management – avoid overload, ambiguity
and conflict; develop the ability to say ‘No’.
Support Group – a close set of friends to spend
time with and discuss problems.
Managing Stress in the Workplace

Organizational Coping Strategies:

Institutional Programs – properly
designed jobs and work schedules; good
supervisors; an organizational culture
that reinforces a healthy mix of work and
non-work activities.
Managing Stress in the Workplace

Organizational Coping Strategies:

Collateral Programs – stress
management programs, health
promotion programs to detect stress,
employee fitness programs, etc.
[See Figure 7.4, pg 186]
Individual and Organizational
Coping Strategies
 Work-Life Linkages
Common Dimensions – Work Common Dimensions – Life

Individual’s Current Job Person’s Spouse

Career Goals Dependents
Job Security Personal Life Interests
Interpersonal Relations at Friendship Networks
Work
 Work-Life Relationships
Work-Life Relationships – are
interrelationships between a person’s work life
and personal life
Employee with many dependents may prefer high
salary, little overtime and little travel.
Employee with no dependents may be less interested
in salary, more receptive to overtime and more
available for job-related travel.
Stress occurs when there is a basic incompatibility
between a person’s work and life dimensions.