Management Skills - Week 8 Managing Stress & Well Being
Stress related problems at work
- absenteeism - turnover - job dissatisfaction - accidents - physical health of employees
Time Stressor Elimination Strategy
- effective time management - efficient time management
Behavioral Guidelines
- address stress by first trying to eliminate stressors, then focus on developing resiliency and well-being - use proven time management practices - build collaborative relationships with individuals based on mutual trust, respect, honesty, and kindness - consciously work to improve your emotional intelligence - try redesigning your work to increase its skill variety, importance, task identity, autonomy, and feedback - reaffirm priorities and short-term goals that provide direction and focus to activities - increase psychological resiliency through life balance, especially by consciously engaging in physical, intellectual, cultural, social, family, and spiritual activities - increase hardiness by implementing a small-wins strategy - learn at least 1 relaxation technique and practice it regularly - increase social resiliency - identify meaningfulness in work that is more important to your own reward - establish contribution goals that make a difference to those around you - implement at least 1 gratitude practice
Encounter Stressor Elimination Strategy
- building community - contributing - emotional and social intelligence
Coping with Stress (hierarchy of approaches)
- enactive strategies: eliminate stressors - proactive strategies: develop resiliency strategies - reactive strategies: learn temporary coping strategies
Time Famine
- feeling that there is too much to do and not enough time to do it - prevalent in work environment that has increased employee responsibility
Anticipatory Stressor Elimination Strategy
- goal setting - small wins
Time Management Benefits
- helps prioritize and accomplish more goals - helps balance between work and personal life - increases productivity and reduces stress levels - provides more time for activities that one considers important
Gratitude
- higher physiological health, cognitive function, and substantially higher job performance - motivates others to express gratitude (self-perpetuating) frustration heart rhythms = jagged appreciation heart rhythms = smooth
Small Wins Strategy
- identify something under your control - change it in a way that leads toward desired goal - find another small thing to change and change it - keep track of changes made - maintain small gains made through change
Hint 1 of Overcoming Fear of Failure
- look at failure as an event, not a reflection on one personally - remind oneself that everyone experiences failure - look for the why and find a solution - ask oneself what one learned - associate with positive people and abolish fear and failure statements - create a new environment
Strategies for Time Management
- plan and prioritize - prepare to-do lists, and follow 80/20 rule - plan for time-specific and non-time specific activities - find one's optimal working time - control email, and prioritize tasks by level of importance - organize and delegate - differentiate between what is urgent and what is important - avoid procrastination
Encounter Stressors
- role conflicts - issue conflicts - action conflicts
Balancing Life Activities
- spiritual - family - social - intellectual - work - cultural - physical
Meaningfulness in Work Reduces
- stress - depression - turnover - absenteeism - dissatisfaction
Situational Stressors
- unfavorable working conditions - rapid change
Anticipatory Stressors
- unpleasant expectations - fear
Meaningfulness in Work Increases
- well-being - resiliency - commitment - effort - engagement
Time Stressors
- work overload - lack of control
Effective Time Management
1) spending time on important matters 2) distinguishing between important tasks vs urgent tasks 3) focus on results rather than methods 4) not feeling guilty when saying no
4 Sources of Stress
1) time 2) encounter 3) situational 4) anticipatory
Enablers of Meaningfulness in Work
1) work has important positive impact on well-being of human beings 2) work associated with important virtue or personal value 3) work has impact that extends beyond immediate time frame or creates a ripple effect 4) work builds supportive relationships and fosters generalized reciprocity
Stress Management Programs
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) = offer professional counseling services to employees Stress Management Training (SMT) = offers training in stress reduction skills Stress Reduction Intervention Programs (SRI) = attempt to change the intensity and type of stressors Health Promotion Programs (HPP) = provide education about physical and mental benefits of leading a healthier lifestyle
Types of Activities that Determine Time Use
High Importance, High Urgency: - crises - customer complaints Low Importance, High Urgency: - email or texts - ringing telephone - unscheduled interruptions High Importance, Low Urgency: - developmental opportunities - innovating - planning Low Importance, Low Urgency: - escapes - routines - arguments
Hint 2 of Overcoming Fear of Failure
access new information, and let adversity become advantage create a new perspective or mindset - develop new self-talk - ex: background throughts take one step at a time, and keep moving forward
Time Management
behaviors that aim at achieving an effective use of time while performing certain goal-directed activities
Fear
body's natural alarm system that helps one react physically and mentally to danger and threat
Resiliency
capacity to withstand or manage negative effects of stress, to bounce back from adversity, and endure difficult situations
Contribution
centers on what individuals can give compared to what they can get (assisting others, helping to make something better, foster improvement in something)
Managing Stress and Fostering Well-Being
costs US economy $500 billion annually
Fear of Failure
disposition to avoid an undertaking because of the anticipation of shame and humiliation upon failing high levels lead to health problems, reduced motivation, and poor job performance
Strategy 3 for Managing Stress
eat healthy and exercise regularly - avoid consumption of alcohol and caffeine - eat for energy throughout the day - create time for relaxation - understand fear, and don't give into it
Community
eliminating encounter stress through membership in a stable, close-knit group or community ex: emotional bank account (compares investments in relationships to deposits and withdrawals in bank accounts. more people interact positively, more deposits are made)
Anticipatory Fear
fear in anticipation of danger and threat - anxiety = preoccupation with anticipated threat - worry = internal struggle to devise strategy to escape an anticipated threat
Strategy 1 for Managing Stress
identify stressors and stress levels - stressors: situations, activities, or people that cause one to feel stressed - stress levels: degree to which one lets source of stress affect one implement time management skills learn to share and disclose keep a journal
Meaningfulness in Work - 3 Types
job = do work primarily for financial or material rewards it provides career orientation = motivated by accomplishment and success calling = driven by meaning associated with work itself
Good Fear
maintains one's alertness and vigilance keeps one away from danger or harmful situations based on knowledge, reason, and instincts can adrenalize a person
Bad Fear
misreading of a situation hold one back instead of propelling forward stifles learning and interferes with decision making prevents one from being oneself and discovering new talents and interests
Temporary Stress Reduction Techniques
physiological techniques: - muscle relaxation - deep breathing psychological techniques: - imagery and fantasy - rehearsal
Strategy 2 for Managing Stress
talk to a trusted friend, relative, co-worker, or professional helper use visualization and mental imagery try mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) - helps achieve greater sense of control, reduces day-to-day stress, helps make clear choices, and promotes healthy living
Meaningfulness in Work
well established relationship between engaging in meaningful work and positive outcomes
Situational Stressor Elimination Strategy
work redesign