Subject Name Code Credit Hours

Organizational Behavior BBA 2633 3

Organizational Behavior
BBA 2633

Work Related Stress And Stress

Management
4 Lecture Hours
Lecturer : Mr. Mohan B. Basnet
Email:
mohanbasnet01@gmail.com
 Course Evaluation
Course Evaluation
• Consists of Two components, namely:
• 1. Continuous Evaluation:
– Quizzes 10%
– Assignment 20%
– Mid-Semester Exam 20%

• 2. Final Examination: 50%

• TOTAL 100%
Course Evaluation
Learning Modes
Lectures
Tutorials
Quizzes
Exams
Projects
Presentations
 Learning Outcomes of the Session
Learning Outcomes of the Session
• To state the meaning of stress.
• To identify the source of stress.

• To list the type of stress.

• To discuss the impact of stress on organization.

• To explain stress-management techniques.

 What Is Stress?
 Stress is usually defined in terms of a situation that
creates excessive psychological or physiological
demands on a person.
 Thus the situation, often referred to as the stressor,
and the response together create the stress that an
individual experiences.
 This distinction is important because what is stressful
to one person may be enjoyable or at least viewed as
neutral by another.
 Although almost anyone might feel stress if followed by
a stranger in a dark alley, not everyone feels stressed
when given the opportunity for public speaking.
 What is Stress? (cont.)
 According to Robbins,
“ Stress is a condition in which an
Individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint or
demand related to what he or she desires and for which
the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and
important”.
• Stress is a part of our everyday life. Living in a fast-paced, hi-tech
society with many demands on our time, the majority of people can
state, “I am stressed out.”

• From morning to evening, we keep on managing time to accomplish

our unending responsibilities in a harsh world. There are various
problems, which we face in our daily lives. These include traffic
jams, problems at home, health problems, behavior of the
supervisor, attitude of the colleague etc. This makes us frustrated,
anxious and scared all the time.
 What is Stress? (cont.)
– Stress is the reaction, people have to excessive pressures or
other types of demands placed upon them. It arises when
they worry that they can’t cope with the fast changing
environment.

– Stress is our mind and body’s response or reaction to a real or

imagined threat, event or change.

– Such threat, event or change is commonly called a stressor.

– Stressors can be internal such as thoughts, beliefs, and
attitudes, or external such as loss, tragedy or change.
– Stress is associated with two factors- demands and resources.
 Stages of Stress
 Dr. Hans Selye suggests that stress occurs in three stages:
alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
 The alarm stage occurs when the body tries to meet the
initial challenge of the stressor.
o The brain reacts by sending a message to the rest of the
body’s systems, causing such symptoms as increased
respiration, raised blood pressure, dilated pupils, and
tensed muscles.
o In today’s busy life, when we begin to experience a stressful
event or perceive something to be stressful, certain
physiological changes occur in our body. This experience or
perception disrupts our body’s normal balance and
immediately our body begins to respond to the stressors as
effectively as possible.
 Stages of Stress (cont.)
 The resistance stage occurs if the stressor continues.
o At this stage, a person feels such symptoms as fatigue, anxiety, and
tension due to the body’s attempt to fight the stressor.
o In this stage, our body tries to cope or adapt to the stressors. They
start a process of repairing the damage caused by the stressors.
 The exhaustion stage occurs from prolonged and continual
exposure to the same stressor
o Individuals who frequently go through alarm, resistance, and
exhaustion cycles are more likely to be susceptible to fatigue,
disease, aging, and other negative physical and psychological
consequence.
o In this stage, we are not able to manage the stressor effectively. It
becomes difficult to be normal. Our body and mind are not able to
repair the damage. The reaction can be digestive disorder,
withdrawal, headache, tension, insomnia, loss of temper etc.
 Types of Stress
Eustress: It is also known as positive stress.
Low to moderate stress is constructive in
nature. It can increase the effort and stimulate
creativity.
Distress: Distress is negative in nature. It is not
considered healthy for an individual or an
organization. In other words, it can be
explained that distress or negative stress
occurs when the level of stress is either too
high or too low, and the body or mind begins
to respond negatively to the stressors.
 Causes of Stress
A variety of sources of stress have been
identified, including “work overload; role
conflict; ineffective, hostile and incompetent
bosses; lack of personal fit with a job; lack of
recognition; lack of a clear job description or
chain of command; fear, uncertainty, and
doubt about career progress; and prejudice
based on age, gender, ethnicity or religion.”
 Causes of Stress (cont.)
A variety of changes in the workplace have
resulted in additional causes of stress.
 Competition and change.
 Technological change
 Increasingly diverse workforce.
 Downsizing.
 Employee empowerment and teamwork.
 Work/home conflict.
 Organizational factors

• Occupational Demands

• Role Conflict

• Role Ambiguity

• Role Overload

• Role Under load

• Interpersonal Relationship

• Poor Communication

• Responsibility

• Job Change

• Working Environment
 Personal Factors

 Impact of Life Change: Traumatic experiences in life can be

extremely stressful and can affect your psychological wellbeing.
o Any kind of loss, any death in the family, divorce, marriage or
retirement can also be a cause of stress.
 Personality Type
– Type A Personality: Type A personalities are that they are hard
working, ambitious and set high targets for themselves. They are
impatient, aggressive, restless and competitive.
– Type B Personality: Type B personalities work at a slow pace and set
reasonable targets for themselves. They avoid fighting on every issue.
They are more patient and try to maintain good interpersonal
relationships with others.
 It has been said that Type A people are more stressful than Type B
people.
 Other Reasons : In a limited time, people experience role conflicts due
to the overlapping demands of the work and family. Excessive rules
and regulations can be a cause of stress.
 Consequences of Stress
Stress manifests itself in a number of ways.
For instance, an individual who is experiencing
a high level of stress may develop high blood
pressure, ulcers, irritability, difficulty in
making routine decisions, loss of appetite,
accident proneness, and the like.
These symptoms can be placed under three
general categories: physiological,
psychological, and behavioral symptoms.
 Consequences of Stress (c0nt.)
 Physiological symptoms:
o Most of the research on stress suggests that it can create changes
in metabolism, increase heart and breathing rates, increase blood
pressure, cause headaches, and induce heart attacks.
 Psychological symptoms:
o Job dissatisfaction is “the simplest and most obvious psychological
effect” of stress.
o However, stress also manifests itself in other psychological states—
for instance, tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom, and
procrastination.
o The evidence indicates that when people are placed in jobs that
make multiple and conflicting demands or in which there is a lack of
clarity as to the person’s duties, authority, and responsibilities, both
stress and dissatisfaction increase.
 Consequences of Stress (cont.)
 Behavioral symptoms:
o Behaviorally related stress symptoms include
changes in productivity, absence, and
turnover, as well as changes in eating habits,
increased smoking or consumption of alcohol,
rapid speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.
More recently stress has been linked to
aggression and violence in the workplace.
Why Do Individuals Differ in Their Experience of Stress?
 Perception:
o Individuals react in response to their perception of
reality rather than to reality itself. Perception,
therefore, moderates the relationship between a
potential stress condition and an employee’s reaction
to it.
o For example, one person might fear losing his job
because the company is laying off staff, while another
might perceive the situation as an opportunity to
receive a large severance allowance and start a small
business.
o Similarly, what one employee perceives as a
challenging job may be viewed as threatening and
demanding by others.
 Why Do Individuals Differ in Their Experience of Stress? (cont.)

 Job experience:
o Experience on the job tends to be negatively related to
work stress.
o Two explanations have been offered.
o First, people who experience more stress on the job
when they are first hired may be more likely to quit.
o Therefore, people who remain with the organization
longer are those with more stress-resistant traits or
those who are more resistant to the stress
characteristics of their organization.
o Second, people eventually develop coping mechanisms
to deal with stress. Because this takes time, senior
members of the organization are more likely to be fully
adapted and should experience less stress.
 Why Do Individuals Differ in Their Experience of Stress? (cont.)

 Social support:
o There is increasing evidence that social
support— that is, collegial relationships with co-
workers or supervisors— can buffer the impact of
stress.
o The logic underlying this moderating variable is
that social support helps ease the negative
effects of even high-strain jobs.
o Involvement with family, friends, and community
can provide the support—especially for those
with a high social need—that is missing at work,
and this can make job stressors more tolerable.
 Why Do Individuals Differ in Their Experience of Stress? (cont.)

 Belief in locus of control:

o The personality trait locus of control determines
the extent to which individuals believe they have
control over the things that happen in their lives.
o Those with an internal locus of control believe
they control their own destiny.
o Those with an external locus of control believe
their lives are controlled by outside forces.
o Evidence indicates that internals perceive their
jobs to be less stressful than do externals
 Why Do Individuals Differ in Their Experience of Stress? (cont.)

 Hostility:
o Some people’s personality includes a high degree
of hostility and anger.
o These people are chronically suspicious and
mistrustful of others.
o Recent evidence indicates that such hostility
significantly increases a person’s stress and risk
for heart disease.
o More specifically, people who are quick to anger,
maintain a persistently hostile outlook, and
project a cynical mistrust of others are more likely
to experience stress in situations
 How Do We Manage Stress?
Individual Approaches:
 Time management
o understanding and using basic time management
principles can help individuals cope better with
tensions created by job demands.
(1) making daily lists of activities to be accomplished;
(2) prioritizing activities by importance and urgency;
(3) scheduling activities according to the priorities set;
(4) knowing your daily cycle and handling the most
demanding parts of your job during the high part of your
cycle, when you are most alert and productive.
 Individual Approaches (cont.)
 Physical activity:
o Noncompetitive physical exercise, such as
aerobics, walking, jogging, swimming, and
riding a bicycle, has long been recommended
by physicians as a way to deal with excessive
stress levels.
o These forms of physical exercise increase
heart capacity, lower at-rest heart rate,
provide a mental diversion from work
pressures, and offer a means to “let off
steam.”
 Individual Approaches (cont.)
 Relaxation techniques:
o Individuals can teach themselves to reduce
tension through relaxation techniques such as
meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback.
o The objective is to reach a state of deep
relaxation, where you feel physically relaxed,
somewhat detached from the immediate
environment, and detached from body
sensations.
 Individual Approaches (cont.)
 Building social supports:
o Having friends, family, or colleagues to talk to
provides an outlet when stress levels become
excessive.
o Expanding your social support network,
therefore, can be a means for tension
reduction.
o It provides you with someone to listen to your
problems and to offer a more objective
perspective on the situation.
 Organizational Approaches
• “It’s in my company’s best interest to have my
employees be healthy,”.
• “Corporate wellness is good for employees
and there is a lot of research that shows
healthy employees take fewer sick days and
are more productive."
• Most firms that have introduced wellness
programs have found significant benefits.
•
 Organizational Approach (cont.)
So what can organizations do to reduce
employee stress?
• In general, strategies to reduce stress include
improved processes for choosing employees,
placement of employees in appropriate jobs,
realistic goal setting, designing jobs with
employee needs and skills in mind, increased
employee involvement, improved
organizational communication, and, as
mentioned, establishment of corporate
wellness programs.
 Organizational Approach (cont.)
• Research shows that individuals perform better when
they have specific and challenging goals and receive
feedback on how well they are progressing toward
them.
• One idea that has received considerable recent
attention is allowing employees to take short naps
during the workday.
• Increasing formal organizational communication with
employees reduces uncertainty by lessening role
ambiguity and role conflict.
• Final suggestion is to offer organizationally supported
wellness programs, these programs focus on the
employee’s total physical and mental condition.
 Tips for Reducing Stress
• At least two or three times a week, spend
time with supportive friends or family.
• Ask for support when you are under pressure.
This is a sign of health, not weakness.
• If you have spiritual or religious beliefs,
increase or maintain your involvement.
• Use a variety of methods to reduce stress.
Consider exercise, nutrition, hobbies, positive
thinking, and relaxation techniques such as
meditation or yoga.
 Reducing Stress in the Workplace
• Avoid electronic monitoring of staff. Personal
supervision generates considerably less stress.
• Allow workers time to recharge after periods of
intense or demanding work.
• Deliver important information that significantly
affects employees face to face.
• Encourage positive social interactions between
staff to promote problem solving around work
issues and increase emotional support.
• Keep in mind that staff need to balance privacy
and social interaction at work. Extremes can
generate stress.
 Assignment
What are the consequences of stress? How
stress are managed in work place?
 Business
Reference English
and (BBATextbooks
Suggested 1213)
- Acharya, Bhawani Shankar (2009), Organizational
Relations, First Edition, Asmita Books Publishers &
Distributors (P) Ltd. Bhotahity, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Adhikari, Devraj (2009). Organizational Behavior,
Third Edition, Buddha Academic Publishers and
Distributors Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal
- Luthans, Fred (2005). Organizational Behavior, Tata
Mcgraw Hill, Singapore
- Robbins, S. P. (2005). Organizational Behavior, Tenth
Edition, Pearson Education Press, Singapore
THANK YOU