Report On Workplace Stress Management Essay

Report On Workplace Stress Management EssayWorkplace tune arrangeabout be defined as the mental trauma and di sieve that an employee has to go through when there is a disparity between the requirements at organise and the capabilities, efficiency or the resources available. Workplace to sidereal day has become a studio wherein scripts are written to overtake other studios and divulgeperform both single cause of competition out in the middle. Hence the pressure put by employers on their bulls to plough their fields is immense. This pressure takes its toll and results in increased worry and tension levels among deviseers. This phenomenon is popularly called focusing in the reckonplace. Over functional, repeated rebuttals faecesful cause such a response in engageplaces these days. Majorly, work tie in stress affects quietus causing insomnia and sleeplessness. It affects fitness adversely because of the reduced sleep. It can cause problems in the family of the affected individualistic like infighting, frequent arguments and fits of disagreement. This adversely affects the family life and in like manner enhances the inefficiency at work. All of this lead to increased levels of frustration and hesitancy and directly affects the bore of work, thus elevate compounding the pressure on the individual. Also stress is connect to the cause of versatile physical disorders like cardiovascular and others. Hence workplace stress is a potent problem faced by modern day offices and employees. It not only affects the individual, alike the play along is on the receiving end of poorer flavour of work output. (Wikipedia)There has been much work going on in assure to increasing the level of comfort of an employee so that there are lesser and smaller chances of stress burnout. This includes increasing the number of employees taken in, or easier division of fag at the workplace, or better appreciation or acknowledgement of quality work. All of this is being done by companies to offer their employees an opportunity to a wholesome job. A full-blooded job, as defined by the World wellness Organization, is one where the pressure on an individual is proportional in footprint to the individuals capability, the resources available at hand, the make sense of work assigned to him and the people present to support him. All of these form fundamental factors in deciding the stress levels of an individual at the workplace. Also, the WHO emphasises that a good working surround would be one wherein the individual feels not only the absence of stress inducing factors, but to a fault the presence of health and good allow promoting factors. (WHO authoritative website)Statement of the problemOur major concern in the undertaking of this project is to assess factors that whitethorn lead to a stress burnout in modern day work environments and a possible solution to mitigate their effects on employees. This study aims at studying the measures that gua rd already been taken to counter the problem of work related stress and questions their effectiveness. We will look at measures suggested by various agencies like the WHO and people touch in inquiry on this subject in order to provide the world with a workforce performing at its maxima.PurposeFirstly, the study will focus on the causes and effects of increased stress levels, especially in or due to the workplace. The symptoms are evident. Increased levels of tension (hypertension), insomnia, loss of interest in work, apathy or indifference, increased frustration, fatigue, trouble concentrating these are all symptoms that an individual is on the verge of a nervous break discomfit due to highly magnified levels of stress or anguish, thus leading to a poor response at the workplace. At times, this heightened anxiety may also lead to the individual involving in the usage of dope or turning an alcoholic. so the symptoms indicate when a person is in need of guidance, help or assistanc e to cope with the psychological pressures of working overtime or not being able to match with the standards of his peers. Then our focus will be on measures to detract such piazzas from coming to the fore in a workplace. We will study methods that seek to improve the overall well being of the employee, whether it is changes in the sociological environment, or the use of a counsellor to help the individual emerge from his secern of depression.Significance of the studyIts of agile and absolute necessity that the problems of the office and the workplace be solved as curtly as possible before they spill over into the personal lives of the concerned individuals. There are m any problems affecting the corporate sector, problems related to promotional material and HRM, but when the output coming out of an employee is sub standard, and if that happens on a mass scale, the keep guild loses long standing clients and the reputation takes a steep decline, inhibiting further expansion a nd growth. Hence, employee satisfaction is one of the major concerns in todays corporate world. And one of the almost important aspects in employee satisfaction remains burnout prevention. If the company can clutch employees from exhausting their potential due to excessive workload, they will certainly excel in other aspects of growth. The feedback of an employee is essential to the expansion and the reputation of the company. Thus, employees form the backbone of the adenoidal structure of any company. Hence the study of work related stress becomes of top priority of corporate honchos. If a company is unable to protect its employees from the fatal outcomes of a burnout, the word about the companys exploitative policies gets out in the market and then there are hardly any people willing to crossroads the company even on a bit elevated pay scale. The company loses reputation, and there is no way in which it can recruit quality professionals because of its lousy reputation. Also t he company becomes a bed of controversies as people start criticising its policies of employee management. This adversely affects the stakeholders in the company. Hence, employee management and satisfaction form a uncomplicated priority of the companys policies.Chapter 2BackgroundThe problem we are looking at is the issue of employee burnout at the corporate level in todays cut throat environment where companies draw up plans of execution that require employees to exhaust themselves by repeated stints of overtime, incentive found overload, etc. Though in the short term the company ends up profiting from such misplaced dedication, in the long term, the company loses its energy and money on training professionals who are eventually going to burn themselves out in a particular instance. Hence the long term loss of the company is far more than emphatic, and the company has to invest in order to serve it right. Hence the company loses a lot of its money and time setting things right. Thus, the modern day corporate has woken up to an existing issue of workers suffering work induced stress. This problem necessarily to be addressed with a steel authority so that in the long term, employees dont end up leaving the company due to such reasons, and the company can retain most of its staff, thus putting good to all the investment it made on training and command the staff. The issue of employee burnout also has to be addressed to improve the output of a employee in a capacity. An increased output level of an employee can make wonders for a company looking for dandyer ventures. An employee holds the key to a companys ability to make it big in the corporate world. A grumpy and irritable employee only succeeds in turning the mood of an environment irritable, leading to an epidemic of grouchy workers, in turn leading to a horrible turnover for the company, failed attempts at meeting deadlines, indignant clients. Thus an employee needs to be looked after if he does show signs of burnout. A pat on the back can do wonders to lift the morale of the worker. It can give him much needed assurance from the employers side. However, it is also recognise to appreciate the quality of work a worker constantly turns in by rewarding him a pay rise. At times, a little counselling from experienced people can also help the individual climb out of his state of depression.Literature ReviewA lot of belles-lettres has been published on the above topic to help companies with various techniques aimed at reducing stress at the workplace. The WHO has been actively involved in collaborating with researchers and the corporate world alike to enhance the methods taken to help individuals with their stress disorders. This is necessary for all companies throughout. The studies undertaken can be company specific, pertaining to the workplace of a particular company. The studies undertaken may be industry specific, pertaining generally to the kind of work involved in the industr y of choice which will more or less be the same in most companies working deep down the domains of that industry. The studies could also be general, pertaining to some common features that all industries share. These measures can be adopted by all companies and are for global welfare of employees. Also the governments of various nations fund their own studies and researches to identify the key aspects that regard the psychological functions of an employee. Thus even governments are actively involved in working for the welfare of their workforce. Many governments digest set up centres or councils that work all the twelvemonth around to study present day policies of companies towards its workers and give suggestions relevant and feasible to protect workers from an overdose of work. Also many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are also working for the same. humane rights activists are also actively voicing their concerns over the exploitative policies of certain companies and at times, also the governments. These add up to numerous research papers and literature on policies that a company should follow to save its employees from blowing off the lid off their heads.DefinitionsAn important definition is of a healthy job. As previously mentioned, a healthy job is one where the load on an individual is considering the capabilities of the individual, his resources, his knowledge of the topic, his work routine, so that he is not indirectly forced into putting in far too many extra hours, his support staff, whether everything in the personal life of the individual is fine and doesnt involve sizeable perturbations.Also the stress related hazards at work can be differentiated into 2 categories work content and work context. Work content includes the amount of work handed to the individual, the quality of the job, also whether the individual is coped with enough resources to carry out the work, whether the work entails him to put in hours of extra effort, thereby aff ecting sleep.The work context includes the sociological factors in a workplace. These can be the competition at the workplace, the disappointments of failure, and the grumpiness due to malpractices at the workplace, the ignorance of the high commands to the appreciable work done by the individual, the lack of penury or disinterest in the kind of work allotted.Chapter 3Causes of Workplace StressAs many countries around the world spend billions of rupees on anti-depressants and stress-busters to write their people from stress, an analysis of the causes of stress provides a great deal of understanding of the problem. The research hence indicated some of the chief causes of stress, the major causes being explained as follows. The issue Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, U.S., emphasises that the personal traits and characteristics of the workers play a chief role in determining the level of stress the person is likely to go through, given a fixed set of working conditions. (NIOSH, 2010).For instance, the stress level of one person may differ from another person based on their skills to cope and even off, and the tendencies of their bodies to respond to the mental stress. Another increasingly popular notion which is gaining credence states that the working conditions, instead, play a greater and dominating role in causing stress to the people. Apart from these viewpoints, there are also other causes by various organizations of the world, which are cited as contributing factors in inducing stress. For example, the dapple of a person, his status in the organization can also alter the levels of stress he might be experiencing. In other words, people who have little influence and lower status in the organization are found to be more in a bad way(p) out than other people, who at higher posts. Such arguments also state that even though people at powerful positions have higher workload, but there is no co-relation between workload and stress. In addition it mustiness be mentioned, the Global Business and Round Table Conference on Addiction and Mental Health puts the overload factor, also called as The Treadmill Syndrome on the top of the list of the factors causing workplace stress. Moreover, there are popular arguments which have claimed to link the stress with economic factors. It can be best illustrated by an increasingly increment trend in the 21st century business world wherein companies are very quick to lay off workers or sack them stating some reasons, cutting down jobs and taking back benefits to the existing employees, so as to save on capital and adjust with the rapidly changing business environment. The solid emergence of the concept of downsizing leads to worrying employees, which in turn leads to a great deal of stress. Moreover, studies of the WHO reveal that the most significant cause of work stress can be attributed to the pressures and demands from the employees who are either not capable enough, or not qualified and equipped to the level which would enable them to do the required work. Such situations, clearly, lead to immense workplace stress. Another factor that adds to the stress of an average employee is the vagueness of his perception of his job and the goals of the organisation. When the employees are equivocal about their jobs, their duties and what is expected of them, it leads to worries and anxiety. Furthermore, the lack of concrete and clear knowledge about the philosophy of the organisation and its objectives leads to a lack of awareness, commitment, interest and a sense of decrease confidence. In addition, many studies have revealed the inflexibility is also a major factor contributing to stress. Workplaces where the employees are required to work for long hours under a strict schedule, and particularly those where they are made to do so alone, and the environment is non-social, it leads to great stress. The mental pressure increases with the strictness, and this might also, in a way, depend upon the characteristics of the supervisor (manager). Another aspect of stress which is usually found to be its cause is, as discussed, lack of control or participation. The reason behind why employees at lower positions feel stressed is actually this factor, by which the employee tends to feel that his contribution to the organisation is making no difference, since he holds no say in any sort of decision-making or constitution-framing. Gradually a growing sense of alienation and frustration combine, thereby leading to stress. (Workstress.net)Effects of StressStress in the working environment of a company directly affects the individuals, and in turn, affects the organizations and its many aspects to a great extent. Apart from the physical toll stress can take on an individual, leading to many problems like fatigue, blood pressure problems, the emotional and psychological effects of stress are the most severe. A distressed person may lose his spirit of dedication and commitment towards the organization totally, thereby putting in less and less amount of effort and creativity in the work he does, and contributing less to the organization. Stressed out employees may not be able to work with concentration which can affect the output of their work in a negative way. All this in turn affects the organization as a whole. For instance, increasing workplace stress may cause significant absenteeism from work thereby pulling down efficiency and productivity. In addition, it may create many other problems like defaming the image of the company, and dissatisfaction among the public (customers). Stress among the employees also leads to objectionable trends like drug abuse, etc. It negatively impacts the procedure of recruiting new staff, as the image of the company has been harmed and ill-used. In addition to this, stress can be very problematic on the personal side of the employee. Anxiety, mood swings, etc. may affect the personal life and the relati onship of the employee with his family and loved ones, the negative impact of which may result into more and more stress. Hence, the effect of stress is multi-faceted. It is taxing to the company, to the individual and to other people not directly related to the organisation. The effects of the stress lead to symptoms of stress amongst the employees, which must be identified at a stable stage, so that the task of stress prevention is carried out effectively and successfully. (Workstress.info)Chapter 4SummaryThe problem of stress, its management, its causes and effects is one of the most important global problems of the current area. The ever-increasing concern about workplace stress and how to curb it is the key penury behind the research. Furthermore, the particular aim of the research is to study the causes and effects of stress, and provided recommendations. There has been a attested attempt in fulfilling the aim, beginning by reading a great amount of literature on the topic. Various studies and various sources have tried to provide a concrete notion of the causal of workplace stress, based on which many have provided recommendations. Those causes are studied in a practical environment, as part of this research, so as to genuinely assess their validity. The research also involves considerable study on workplace stress management. Preventive measures that have been implemented to reduce stress have been evaluated and looked into, and measures that include management of stressed out workers and their total recovery from stress have also been analysed.DiscussionIt must be mentioned here that completely doing away with stress is an unprofitable concept. mental studies reveal that a small amount of stress can provide for just the right amount of drive needed to work effectively with genuine interest. Thus, a little stress is always good. But when stress assumes larger proportions, it can be destructive for the organisation. We have studied the factors leadi ng to stress. The causes of workplace stress vary, as we have seen. Contrasting arguments also exist, for instance, some cases argue that the even though managers and executives of a company face a larger workload, there are less stressed out than other employees at lower positions. On the contrary, there are studies that list the overload factor as one of the primary quill factors leading to stress among the employees. The likelihood of the latter claim seems more intense, since it is more reasonable and plausible. Furthermore, stress is now increasingly believed to be arising out of a situation known as the Work Organisation Problem, which states that the stress among the employees is a consequence of improper, inefficient, problematic and inappropriate organisation of tasks and work amongst the employees. This is perhaps a result of various studies which point out and emphasize that the mismatch between qualification and work done by an employee is the root of all problems that arise in various forms within the organization. Moreover, the recommendation for the organisation to look for signs of stress amongst its employees stems out of the need for prevention of stress. Since stress management, i.e. management of stressed out workers involves many structural measures and a great deal of temporary effort, and is also time consuming, it is always imperative for the organisation to prevent stress in a proactive way. Managing stressed workers should always be recorded for further interpretation of the findings, and hence for effective human resource management of the organisation. The need for culture change within the body of employees is an area that must be taken care of. Having unions for the betterment of the employees is a notion that must be discussed with the employees first, and then implemented. Furthermore, it is quite clear and easily comprehendible that stress leads to the damage of the image of the organization. Such damage is usually both intern al, i.e. within the perceptions of the employees, as well as in the eyes of the public. (Guide to Stress Management)RecommendationsBased on the findings, it can be concluded that stress arises out of not one factor, but many factors. Improper work organisation, economic factors like pressure from investors in the share-market, growing fear of being downsized, and so on can create workplace stress. In any case, an organization must follow certain fundamental steps whenever stress is discovered to threaten its efficiency. The risks involved with stress are huge, and affect the organisation in many direct and indirect ways. Hence, a concrete policy of risk-management must be followed. Such a policy includes various steps as shown by the following flowchart. Beginning from the assessment of risk, to planning and materialisation of the required action plan, all steps must be followed up with genuine concern for the stressed employees and the suffering organization. (Leka)Thus, to addres s the overload problem first and foremost, the primary concern of the managers should be proper distribution of work among the employees. Moreover, there can be also a regular training for all employees to teach them on how to prioritize work efficiently. Certain other factors that are also cited as causes of stress must be treated. For instance, random and abrupt disturbances for the employees can have a negative impact. Various experts have suggested measures such as effective management of workspace and time as a solution to this type of stress. In an organization, it is imperative for every employee to be treated every bit and justly. Absence of such treatment can also leads to uncertainty and stress amongst the employees. Hence, it must be tended to that each employee is treated equally and at par with everybody else, and all his rights are guarded. Mistrust amongst employees should be taken care of, with an attempt to develop frank communication levels and healthy inter-person al relationships within the organization. It is powerfully recommended that any kind of politics must be rejected and condemned, so as to create a healthy workspace. In addition, the aim of creating a healthy and productive workspace can be done through rewards and recognizing outstanding performances, and their appreciation. Such measures have been found to go a long way in creating a sense of loyalty, commitment and a ordained attitude towards the company. Stress puts the whole organisation at the risk of survival. Hence, it must be addressed as soon it has been discovered. Apart from small measures, a need to take large steps within the organization to reduce the problems caused by work stress might also arise. Such steps may involve redesigning the whole structure of work, and reorganising it within the employees, and managing it. Work stress generally shows itself in little observations, hence regular and constant steps must be taken to assess the conditions of the workers, a nd to look for signs of stress. Such measures may include regular questionnaires, or talks with the employees and managers. Also, whenever the warning signs are discovered, immediate action must follow. Discussions should take place with the stressed out workers, and certain changes which will help remove stress must be implemented. Such discussions should dig suggestions and measures that could be taken on the personal front of the employees, which could help in lowering the stress. Steps such as having a balanced diet, thinking positive and even incorporating ideas like organising regular workshops on how to psychologically manage stress and combat it could turn out to be of great help. It becomes all the more important in many situations whether these discussions take place or not, since they could greatly benefit and completely curb stress within the workplace. A sense of direction, in totality, needs to be provided to the staff at regular intervals. (Life positive official web site)ReferencesWikipedia (n.d.) retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_stressWHO official website retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//www.who.int/occupational_health/topics/stressatwp/en/ topic Institute of Occupational Safety and Health official website (n.d.) data retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/workorg/Workstress.info official website (n.d.) retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//www.workstress.info/the-health-effects-of-workplace- stress/Workstress.net official website retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//www.workstress.net/causes.htmGuide to stress management official website (n.d.) data retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//www.guidetostressmanagement.com/workplace-stress/Work Health and Organization Stavroula Leka and Amanda Griffiths UK 1-35 obtained on 17/5/2010 from www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/en/oehstress.pdfLife Positive official website retrieved on 17/5/2010 from http//www.lifepositive.com/mind/psychology/stres s/stress-at-work.aspAppendixDownsizing (cutting down or chopping the workforce in economically unfavourable times) Page 9.Flowchart on Risk Management Page 13.Flowchart on Stress causative Mechanism Page 8.Global Business and Round Table Conference on Addiction and Mental Health (organised by the Centre of Mental Health and Addiction , Toronto) Page 9National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NOISH) U.S. Page 8.Summary of the research Page 10.Treadmill Syndrome (disproportionately high amount of work with respect to time, space) Page 9.Work content Page 8.Work context Page 8.WHOWorld Health Organisation Pages 4, 7, 9.