Managing

Personal Stress
Kamal Uddin Ahmed Ph.D.
NSU EMBA HRM 631 Summer14
S T R E S S
Improving the Management of
Stress and Time
One of the most crucial, yet neglected
management skills in a competent
managers repertoire.
Huge amount of money is being siphoned
off from the national economy every year
due to the growing problem of stress on the
job.
Almost half of the adult population suffers
adverse health effects due to stress;
the percentage of workers feeling highly
stressed is on an increasing trend.
Health implications of stress (wide
ranging and devastating effects)
Stress and the cardiovascular system
Stress and the respiratory system
Stress and the endocrine system
Stress and the gastrointestinal tract
Stress and the female reproductive system
Stress and reproductive hormones
Stress and male reproductive functioning
Stress and immunodepression
Stress and neurological disorders
Stress and addiction
Stress and malignancy
Stress and immune functions with HIV-1
Stress and Dental pathology
Stress and Pain
Stress and anxiety disorders
Personal consequences can range
from
Inability to concentrate
Anxiety
Depression
Stomach disorders
Low resistance to illness
Heart disease

For organizations consequences
range from

Absenteeism
Job dissatisfaction
High accident
High turnover rates

Survey reports
A 25-year study of employee surveys
revealed that incompetent management is
the largest cause of workplace stress.
Three out of four surveys listed employee
relationships with immediate supervisors
as the worst aspect of the job.
Stress not only affects workers negatively,
but it also produces less visible
consequences for managers themselves.
When managers experience stress, they tend to

Selectively perceive information and see only that
which confirms their previous biases.
Become very intolerant of ambiguity and demand
the right answers
Fixate on a single approach to a problem
Overestimate how fast time is passing (so, they
often feel rushed)
Adopt a short term perspective or crisis mentality
and cease to consider long-term implications
Have less ability to make fine distinctions in
problems, so that complexity and nuances are
missed
Consult and listen to others less
Rely on old habits to cope with current situations
Have less ability to generate creative thoughts
and unique solutions to problems
Stress drastically impedes
effective management
behaviors such as

listening
making good decisions
solving problems effectively
planning and
generating new ideas.
Developing the skill of
managing stress, therefore, can
have significant payoffs.
The ability to deal appropriately
with stress not only enhances
individual self-development
but can also have an enormous
bottom-line impact on entire
organizations.
Driving force A
Driving force B
Driving force C
Driving force D
Restraining force
A
Restraining force
B
Restraining force
C
Restraining force
D
Current level of functioning
Model of Force Field Analysis
Feelings of stress are a product of certain
stressors inside or outside the individual.
These stressors can be thought of as driving
forces in the model.
That is, they exert pressure on the individual to
change present levels of performance
physiologically, psychologically, and
interpersonally.
Unrestrained, those forces can lead to
pathological results (e.g., anxiety, heart disease,
and mental breakdown).
However, most people have developed a certain amount
of resiliency or restraining forces to counter stressors and
inhibit pathological results. These restraining forces
include behavior patterns, psychological characteristics,
and supportive social relationships.
Strong restraining forces lead to low heart rates, good
interpersonal relationships, emotional stability, and
effective stress management.
An absence of restraining forces leads to the reverse.

stress produces positive as well as negative effects.
Multiple stressors overpower the available restraining
forces and burnout occur.
Before reaching such an extreme state, however,
individuals typically progress through three stages of
reactions
Stages of reactions
an alarm stage: characterized by acute
increases in anxiety or fear if the stressor
is a threat, or by increases in sorrow or
depression if the stressor is a loss.
A feeling of shock or confusion may result
if the stressor is particularly acute.
Physiologically, the individuals energy
resources are mobilized and heart rate,
blood pressure and alertness increase.
These reactions are largely selfcorrecting
if the stressor is of brief duration.
However, if it continues, the individual enters the
resistance stage, in which defense mechanisms
predominate and the body begins to store up excess
energy.
Five types of defense mechanisms are typical of most
people who experience extended levels of stress.
aggression : involves attacking the stressor directly. It
may also involve attacking oneself, other people, or
even objects (e.g., whacking the computer).
regression : adoption of a behavior pattern or
response that was successful at some earlier time (e.g.,
responding in childish ways).
repression : involves denial of the stressor, forgetting,
or redefining the stressor (e.g., deciding that it isnt so
scary after all).
withdrawal : it may take both psychological and
physical forms. Individuals may engage in fantasy,
inattention, or purposive forgetting, or they may actually
escape from the situation itself.
fixation : which is persisting in a response regardless
of its effectiveness (e.g., pressing an elevator button
over and over when the elevator car doesnt arrive).
If these defense mechanisms reduce a
persons feeling of stress, negative effects
such as high blood pressure, anxiety, or
mental disorders are never experienced.
The primary evidence that prolonged
stress has occurred may simply be an
increase in psychological defensiveness.
However, when stress is so pronounced
as to overwhelm defenses or so enduring
as to outlast available energy for
defensiveness, exhaustion may result,
producing pathological consequences.
While each reaction stage may be
experienced as temporarily
uncomfortable, the exhaustion stage is
the most dangerous one. When
stressors overpower or outlast the
resiliency capacities of individuals, or
their ability to defend against
them,chronic stress is experienced and
negative personal and organizational
consequences generally follow.
Such pathological consequences may
be manifest physiologically (e.g., heart
disease), psychologically (e.g., severe
depression), or interpersonally (e.g.,
dissolution of relationships).
These changes result from the damage
done to an individual for which there was
no defense (e.g., psychotic reactions
among prisoners of war),

from an inability to defend continuously
against a stressor (e.g., becoming
exhausted),
from an overreaction (e.g., an ulcer
produced by excessive secretion of body
chemicals), or
from lack of self-awareness so that
stress is completely unacknowledged.
Coping with Stress
enactive strategies
proactive strategies
reactive strategies
4 main types of stressors
Time stressors
Work overload
Lack of control
Encounter stressors
Role conflicts
Issue conflicts
Action conflicts
Situational stressors
Unfavorable working condition
Rapid change
Anticipatory stressors
Unpleasant expectations
Fear
Management Strategies for Eliminating
Stressors

Type of Stressor Elimination Strategy
Time Effective time management
Efficient time management
Delegating
Encounter Collaboration and team building
Emotional intelligence
Situational Work redesign
Anticipatory Goal setting
Small wins
Effective time management
Basis for judging the importance of activities
(aligning time use with core personal principles)

What do I stand for ? What am I willing to die (or live for) ?
What do I care passionately about ?
What legacy would I like to leave ? What do I want to be
remembered for ?
What do I want to have accomplished 5 years from now ?
If I could persuade everyone in the world to follow the
basic principles, what would they be ?

Answering these questions can help one to create a
personal principles statement. Personal principles
statement is an articulation of the criteria you use for
evaluating what is important.
Efficient time management : Rules for all
(Accomplishing more by reducing wasted time)
1. Read selectively.
2. Make a list of things to accomplish today
3. Have a place for everything and keep everything in its
place.
4. Prioritize your tasks
5. Do one important thing at a time but several trivial
things simultaneously
6. Make a list of some 5 or 10 minutes discretionary
tasks
7. Divide up large projects
8. Determine the critical 20 percent of your tasks
9. Save your best time for important matters
10. Reserve some time during the day when others dont
have access to you
11 Dont procrastinate
12 Keep track of your time
13 Set deadlines
14 Do something productive while waiting
15 Do busy work at one set time during the day
16 Reach closure on at least one thing
everyday
17 Schedule some personal time
18 Dont worry about anything on a continuous
basis
19 Write down long time objectives
20 Be on the alert for ways to improve your
management of time

Efficient time management :
Rules for Managers
1. Hold routine meetings at the end of the day
2. Hold short meetings standing up
3. Set a time limit
4. Cancel meetings once in a while
5. Have agendas, stick to them and keep track of
time
6. Start meetings on time
7. Prepare minutes of the meeting and follow up
8. Insist that subordinates suggest solutions to
problems
9. Meet visitors in the doorway
10 Go to subordinates offices for brief
meetings
11 Dont overschedule the day
12 Have someone else answer telephone
calls and scan emails.
13 Have a place to work uninterrupted
14 Do something definite with every piece of
paperwork handled
15 Keep the work place clean
16 Delegate work,
17 Identify the amount of initiative recipients
should take with the tasks they are
assigned. Give others credit for their
success.
Eliminating encounter stressors through
collaboration and emotional intelligence
Collaboration : one important factor that helps eliminate
encounter stress is membership in a stable, closely knit
group or community. When people feel like part of a group,
or accepted by someone else, stress is relieved

Emotional Intelligence : Develop own emotional
intelligence as a strategy to eliminate Encounter stress.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage relationships
with others. It has five dimensions

Self knowledge
Self-control
Motivating oneself
Empathy
Interpersonal competence
Eliminating situational stressors
through work redesign
Combine task
Form identifiable work units
Establish customer relationships
Increase decision making
authority
Open feedback channels
Eliminating anticipatory stressors through
prioritizing, goal setting and small wins
Prioritizing : Identifying what is to be
accomplished in the long term, what cannot
be compromised or sacrificed, and what
lasting legacy one desires.
Goal setting establishing short term plans
helps eliminate anticipatory stressors by
focusing attention on immediate goal
accomplishment instead of fearful future.
Small wins : a tiny but definite change
made in a desired direction
1
Establish a goal
2
Specify
actions and
behavioral
requirements
3
Generate
accountability
and reporting
mechanisms
4
Identify criterion of
success and a
reward
A model for short term planning and
goal setting
Developing Resiliency
Resiliency : Moderating the Effects of Stress
Physiological
Resiliency
Psychological
Resiliency
Social Resiliency
Cardiovascular
conditioning
Balanced lifestyle Supportive social relations
Proper diet Hardy personality Mentors
High internal control
- Strong personal
commitment
- Love of challenge
Teamwork
Small-wins strategy
Deep relaxation techniques
Dietary control
Eat a variety of foods
Maintain optimal weight
Reduce fat intake
Eat more whole foods
Reduce sugar intake
Reduce sodium intake
Avoid alcohol
Restrict caffeine intake
Take vitamin and mineral supplements
Make eating a relaxing time
THANKS
WISH YOU HAVE
A PEACEFUL LIFE