CHP 17: Helping People through Change and Burnout Prevention

Believe the change is the right thing to do. Have influence on the nature and process of the change. Respect the person who is championing the change. Expect the change will result in personal gain. Believe this is the right time for change.116

This positive reaction is most likely to happen when people

Tertiary prevention

involves the treatment of health conditions to lessen the impact on personal functioning, regardless of the source. Tertiary treatment is typically reactive to existing problems and is traditionally provided by medical personnel, often through an employee assistance program. An important example is treatment of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Frontline employees.

Frontline people may feel threatened by changes announced by management and may respond with denial and resistance, leading often to worry and protective behavior. At this point, employees may shut down and be morale casualties. In this state, lack of willingness to take initiative and to be accountable is not uncommon.

control

Loss of ____ is one of the things people dislike most about change. Out of a need for control, they may choose dysfunction over uncertainty. Often the only way to get people to say good-bye to the past is to convince them that the price of holding on to it is too high and that change is the only way to survive

(1) People need to be flexible and willing to change to preserve important values and goals; (2) people need a positive attitude toward lifelong learning to remain viable in the workplace; (3) career education is a survival skill, since people must learn to manage their own careers; and (4) change can be expensive

Many lessons have been learned from studying organizational change, but four stand out:

eight-stage process provided by John Kotter of Harvard University

One of the best models for leading change is an ______. Kotter's model summarizes the steps necessary to produce successful change. The first four steps unfreeze the status quo and energize the organization around a new vision. The remaining four steps help move the organization to the desired state, including implementing new practices and reinforcing changes in the organizational culture

Well-designed jobs. Evaluation systems to detect psychological disorders and underlying risk factors. Education of workers and managers on the signs, causes, effects, and control of work-related psychological disorders. Improved mental health service delivery for workers.162

One product of collaboration between the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Association of Schools for Public Health, and experts from the American Psychological Association, labor, and industry is agreement on a blueprint for protecting the health and well-being of American workers. The four cornerstones of this blueprint are as follows:

top management - isolated middle management - squeezed frontline employees - resistant

Organizational response to change

them

People judge a change primarily on the basis of how it will affect ____. If a change is personally disruptive, resistance can be great. Even computer professionals resist change when computerization has an impact on their own lives.

Level I programs include newsletters, health fairs, screening sessions, posters, flyers, and classes. These activities are useful in making people aware of the specific consequences of poor health habits. Level II programs provide specific training, such as physical conditioning and proper methods of performing physically demanding tasks. The programs may last several months or may be available on an ongoing basis. Level II programs are aimed at helping people develop lifelong healthy habits and may use behavior modification to achieve this goal. Level III programs create an environment that helps people sustain healthy lifestyles and behaviors. A Level III program fosters participation by providing fitness center memberships and making healthy food available. Although a Level III program could be conducted independently, it is usually an outgrowth of ongoing Level I and Level II activities. The following section describes a Level III program.182

Wellness programs are implemented at three levels of intensity and depth:

commitment

a pledge or promise; an agreement that binds one with others or to a cause; the sense of duty one has to accomplish a task; an essential element of caring leadership. See care and caring leadership.

In each pair of monkeys, the executive monkey (so named because of the analogy to human executive situations) was the one having access to an operational lever and was able to learn the relationship among the light, the lever, and the shocks. The other, nonexecutive monkey had a nonoperational lever and therefore was unable to learn any way to prevent the flow of electric current. The only thing this monkey knew was that every once in a while there was a shock, but the monkey didn't know why. In this study, the executive monkeys, who were responsible for saving their partners and themselves, developed ulcers and died, while the uninformed, nonexecutive monkeys remained healthy. The results of the study suggested that the burden of responsibility, including the need to maintain a high degree of vigilance and the pressure to make decisions, was the cause of the high level of stress, resulting in death.

"Executive monkeys develop ulcers" was the conclusion of a study Joseph Brady did in 1958.170 In this study, Brady placed pairs of monkeys in an environment where both received electric shocks. A red light signaled the shock period. However, the monkeys were not shocked if one of them operated a lever that prevented the flow of electric current.

"diffusion of innovation curve.

A helpful concept in leading change is the _____ Sinek explains how ideas, practices, and products are received in the marketplace and society: 2.5 percent of people are innovators, 13.5 percent are early adopters, 34 percent are early majority, 34 percent are late majority, and 16 percent are laggards.

15 and 17 percent on the "diffusion of innovation curve."

A tipping point occurs somewhere in the chasm between _______ At this point, an innovation or change is accepted by enough people for it to take root and grow. The innovation could be an idea such as democratic leadership, a practice such as total quality management, or a product such as the computer.

primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.1

Historically, three distinct approaches have been used as strategies for reducing or controlling stress. These approaches can be classified as

Learn from the past. Enjoy the present. Plan for the future.

commitment helpful strategy

People.

Change in any of the preceding variables can result in changing relationships—change in managers, employees, co-workers, and customers, as well as change within a given person, such as change in knowledge, attitude, and skills.

Structure.

Change in structure is often severely resisted. Mergers, acquisitions, right-sizing, and reengineering activities typically involve tremendous change.

exploration reponsibility commitment

Change occurs in the states of

Tasks.

Changes in the environment, including products and processes, require changes in tasks. Driving forces include customer needs, productivity improvement, and quality initiatives.

Technology is a major influence at work and at home the pace of technological and social change is rapid and accelerating the speed of communication and access to information are increasing there is increasing reliance on self-help vs institutional help a dominant trend is greater diversity in the workplace there is greater variety of living arrangements there is greater variety of working arrangements there is growth in population, including cultural and ethnic diversity there is globalization of world economies there is a trend toward breakdown of traditional values and social order

Changes in today's world

new strategies aren't implemented well acquisitions don't achieve expected synergies reengineering takes too long and costs too much downsizing doesn't get costs under control quality programs don't deliver hoped for results

Consequences of above errors

personal commitment sense of control positive attitude balanced perspective caring relationships

DEVELOPING RESILIENCE

burnout

Danger lurks in modern society, and the victim is often the dedicated and talented person. This danger is called ____, and it can occur both on the job and in the home. The dictionary definition of _____is "to fail, wear out, or become exhausted due to excessive demands on one's strength, resources, and energy."

Remember the adage "He who drinks from the cup of denial will sleep in the inn of defeat." Live by the principle "Know the truth and it will set you free."

Denial helpful strategy

1. allowing too much complacency 2. failing to create a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition 3. underestimating the power of vision 4. undercommunicating the visionby a factor of 10 5. permitting obstacles to block the new vision 6. failing to create short-term wins 7. declaring victory too soon 8. neglecting to anchor changes firmly in the corporate culture

Eight common errors common to organizational change efforts and their consequences

Maintain a safe and organized work environment. Clarify work unit goals and objectives. Be sure individual job expectations and instructions are clear. Evaluate workloads and deadlines. Are they reasonable? Have regular reviews to provide accurate and timely feedback; give assurance that good work is appreciated.Page 414 Show patience, understanding, and support in dealing with employee problems. Deal with personality differences directly and constructively. Coach and develop employees to their full potential. Involve people, as much as possible, in decisions that affect them. Keep communication lines open with an open-door policy.128

In Managing Stress for Mental Fitness, Merrill Raber and George Dyck list 10 strategies for supervisors to follow in helping employees manage job stress:

(1) contribute more than you cost and (2) make your customer your first priority.

In dealing with change, employees are faced with uncertainty and lack of role clarity. Often there are more questions than answers. In such times, success belongs to the committed, to those who work from the heart and adjust quickly when change occurs. These individuals create role clarity for themselves. They chase down the information they need and align their efforts with the organization's larger purpose and goals. Then they attack the work to be done as best as they understand it to be. Two rules to follow are

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: less supervision team culture focus on quality downsizing mergers and acquisitions diversity international environment innovative pay strategies

In their book Working Scared, Ken Wexley and Stan Silverman argue that stress associated with change causes many employees to work in a state of anxiety and fear. They identify eight major areas of change in organizations and provide helpful techniques for dealing with these stressors

Technology.

Innovations in this area have dramatically increased the rate of change. No industry, trade, or profession is immune to change caused by technological advancements.

Middle management.

Managers in the middle feel pressure to implement organizational change, but often lack information and top leadership direction to be successful. They may feel squeezed between resistant or withdrawn subordinates and demanding but out-of-touch superiors.

1. have a good reason for making a change 2. personalize change 3. implement change thoughtfully 4. put a respected person in charge of coordinating change 5. tell the truth 6. wait patiently for results 7. acknowledge and reward people

Seven rules should guide leaders in all change efforts

First, unfreeze the status quo; second, move to the desired state; third, live by conditions that become the new, but not rigid, status quo

Social psychologist Kurt Lewin identified a three-step process for helping people through change:

Change often means loss—loss of security, confidence, relationships, direction, or possessions. Healthy coping means dealing with loss realistically and letting go of what must be given up in order to move on. You must adopt the belief that it is never too late to change your attitude and set your life on a new and positive course. At each phase of the attitude curve, there are strategies that can be taken to help you deal successfully with change.

Strategies for dealing with change

1. establishing a sense of urgency 2. creating the guiding coalition 3. Developing a vision and strategy 4. Communicating the change vision 5. empowering broad based action 6. generating the short term wins 7. consolidating gains and producing more change 8. anchoring new approaches in the culture

The eight stage process of creating major change

Too many demands on strength and resources over a prolonged period of time + High expectations and deep personal involvement in the work one does + Too few actions taken to replenish the energy consumed in meeting these demands = Burnout

The following is a formula for the burnout process:

structure tasks technology people

The four major types of change in the workplace are

One myth is that change will go away, when the reality is that change is here to stay. Another myth is that you can just keep on doing things the way you have been, when the reality is that if your world is changing—home, work, and society—then you may have to change as well.

There are a number of myths and realities in dealing with change.111

(1) enthusiasm—this is a time for high hopes and high energy as a task or job is begun; (2) slowdown—at this stage, excitement fades and energy wanes; (3) stagnation—frustration begins with questions on the value of the task or work effectiveness; and (4) apathy—physical and emotional exhaustion is felt, depression is common, and performance deteriorates

There are four steps in the typical path to burnout:

Top management.

Top leaders may underestimate the impact of change on lower levels of the organization. They expect employees to go along when a change is announced and blame middle managers if people resist or complain. They may be so insulated that they truly don't know the results of their decisions and programs.

Clarify the mission, goals, and values of the organization, and live these personally. Clearly communicate role expectations. People need to know their place in the plan. Maintain a healthy work environment—meet physical, safety, and emotional health needs. Manage work processes so that individuals and groups are neither overloaded nor underloaded. Maintain an effective balance between continuity and change. While self-renewing change is vital for keeping up with shifting conditions, change should not occur at a pace so fast that it produces widespread stress. Foster a spirit of belonging and teamwork throughout the organization through personal involvement, effective communication, and morale-building activities. To the degree possible, allow people flexibility to work at the pace and manner that will ensure personal satisfaction while maintaining needed productivity. Provide people opportunity for ongoing involvement in decisions affecting them. Have career development policies and activities that help people achieve their full potential. Provide assistance in times of stress. Services ranging from fitness programs to counseling centers can be provided within the organization, or referral networks can be established.127

Two out of three employees say their leaders play a bigger part in creating stress at work than any other personal, organizational, or environmental factor. Executives can institute the following 10 practices to prevent burnout in the workplace:

In all areas of life, attitude affects our happiness, effectiveness, and general well-being. Attitude can make or break your career, your relationships, and even your health. We have all known someone with an attitude problem.

What a person does when change occurs depends on his or her attitude. At one extreme, the individual may shut down and declare, "I will never change." A more effective approach is to keep an open mind and say, "Let's consider the possibilities."

how to implement or manage change should be addressed.

When organizations have the right goals in mind—they want to be customer-focused, quality-conscious, empowered, and profitable—and the reason for change is accounted for by market competition, customer demands, and other forces, the question of

change

all the things we have to do differently in the future

Say this is intolerable—enough is enough. Resolve to improve. Say good-bye to the past. Be willing to alter behavior.

attitude helpful strategy

1. communicate a clear, compelling vision to employees 2. make structures compatible with the vision 3. provide the training employees need 4. align information and personnel systems to the vision 5. confront supervisors who undercut needed change

empowering people to effect change tips

Have an open mind. Consider all possibilities. Coping includes fact-finding and visioning an ideal future.

exploration helpful strategy

burnout

physical, psychological, and spiritual fatigue; inability to cope. Symptoms include lack of energy, low vitality, depression, loss of sharpness in thinking and feeling, lack of interest and meaning in life. Types of burnout victims include workaholics, burned-out Samaritans, mismatched people, and midcareer coasters. The formula for burnout is too many demands on strengths and resources, plus high expectations and deep personal involvement, plus too few actions taken to replenish the energy consumed equals burnout.

Primary prevention

seeks to correct the fundamental cause of stress by changing working conditions and the physical environment. Primary prevention strategies include occupational safety, physical work comfort, work design, and healthy workplace initiatives. Examples are wearing seat belts, good nutrition, avoiding smoking, and exercising.

Culture

reflects the behavior and assumptions that are shared by members of a group. These give the group a unique character that can enrich its members and all who are affected by the group.

State how you feel. Get it off your chest.

resistance helpful strategy

Have courage. Take action. Accept the consequences.

responsibility helpful strategy

Secondary prevention

strives to identify and treat illness early in its course. The goal is to reduce the severity of stress symptoms before they lead to serious health consequences. Stress education, health assessments, and wellness programs are examples of secondary prevention efforts.