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Managing Stress at Workplace
Article in Journal of Management Research and Analysis · January 2017
DOI: 10.18231/2394-2770.2016.0001
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Review Article
DOI: 10.18231/2394-2770.2016.0001
Managing stress at workplace
Ashok Panigrahi
Associate Professor, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, NMIMS University, Shirpur
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Stress is generally indicated as a deviation from normal functioning of body and mind. Stress can approach in an
organization due to many reasons such as control over work, managerial style of manager etc. Stress in limited quantity is
beneficial to organization and employee as well. It helps to achieve personal as well as goals of organization. But stress in excess
quantity can cause harmful effects on the body, mind and psychology of employees. Stress can be measured by using
psychological methods involving use of questionnaires. Physical measurement involve measuring of various physical constants
of body such as blood pressure. Physiological measures include measurements of various hormonal levels etc. And the measures
to relieve this stress include sports, music, dancing, hobbies etc. Excessive stress can be reduced by help of professional
counsellors. But the stress at workplace is an important issue must be dealt with to achieve progress. Day by day challenges for
human is increasing in many different fields as if progress in turn creates new problems. Slowly the nature of working has been
changed and still these changes are in progress. Because of these changes, number of illnesses has been increased, morality and
human aspects are faded and new problems are occurred every day, so that we are facing job stress which called “illness of the
century”. As a measure to minimize stress, delegating some work, share burden with colleagues, leave and time off work with
family and love ones, as well as reducing work overtime ranked highest as strategies for stress management. Findings of a
number of studies on this aspect says that stress has a great impact on the professionals and thereby affects the level of
productivity. Thus it is recommended that professionals should exhibit self-control and good self-esteem; engage in continuous
professional development on skills for better organization, integration of work within specified project constraints and delegation
of assignment, authority and breaking work into manageable parts so as to be able to cope with stress.
Keywords: Stress, Stress management, Causes, Measures, Effects.
Introduction
In our everyday lives we get to hear the word
‘stress’ from our peers, colleagues, teachers and
doctors. Even the word ‘stress’ can be heard now a days
in the news, in the magazines and on other social media
too. But exactly what is stress?? In the layman’s
language stress is’ frustration or anxiety or nervousness
or change in regular function of mind or body due to
negative or positive influences around us’. So the
definitions of stress by different experts are as followsArnod (1960) thinks that “Stress is any condition that
disturbs normal functioning”.
Selye (1974) defines stress as “Stress is a non-specific
response of the body to any demand”.
According to Beehr & Newman (1978) “Stress is a
condition arising from the interaction of people and
their jobs and characterized by changes within people
that force them to deviate from their normal
functioning”.
A recent report by the National Association of
Mental Health distinguishes stress from pressure, where
pressure can be defined as a subjective feeling of
tension or arousal that is triggered by a potentially
stressful situation. But, where pressure exceeds an
individual’s ability to cope, the result is stress.
Most stressful jobs
Sr. No.
Job
1
Fire-fighter
2
Military personnel
3
Military general
4
Airplane pilot
5
Police officer
6
Actor
7
Broadcaster
8
Event coordinator
9
Photojournalist
10
Newspaper reporter
Stress score
71.59
70.78
63.11
60.46
50.82
50.33
50.30
49.33
49.22
48.76
Types of stress
Based on its impact on body mind and
performance, stress can be categorized into two types1. Eu-stress- Eu-stress is just a reasonable amount of
stress that an individual can take. This stress has
positive after effects. Eu-stress can create passion
for work. It may be able to provoke hidden abilities
and talents. It inspires humans to take on new
activities. Such well quantified stress can lead to
success.
2. Distress- Distress is an excessive quantity of
stress. This amount of stress is harmful to the
individual. Distress can cause negative effects on
body and mind of individual. Such stress causes
effects as depression, heart attack etc.
Journal of Management Research and Analysis, October-December,2016;3(4):154-160
154
Ashok Panigrahi
Managing stress at workplace
Source: Towers Watson’s 2013/14 Staying@Work survey
Causes of stress at workplace
Causes of stress can be divided into two categories
based upon the source of the cause. Two major
classifications areInternal causes- These causes involve an individual’s
mind-set, way of thinking etc. These causes are
originated from within the individual and lead to stress.
These internal causes are based on perception of an
individual. Even if no threat exists in the surrounding a
person may feel a person or a situation threatening and
may get stressed.
External causes- These causes include many external
factors within an organization which affect an
individual’s performance in organization which are1. Job insecurity- When an employee works in an
organization, fear of losing his/her job leads to
chronic stress which causes reduced work quality.
2. Working hours- Very odd working hours may
lead to many physiological problems in employees
which may lead to stress during work.
3. Control at work- This refers to extent of control
an employee has over his/her work. If employee
has no or very little control over the work then
he/she loses interest in the work and feels stressed
to meet expectations of superiors.
4. Managerial style- The controlling style of
managers effects stress of the employees.
Managers with autocratic style of control give very
little freedom to the employees in decision making
5.
6.
and planning. So, employees working under such
managers are stressed due to very less control over
their work and very high restrictions.
Over load & under load- Overload of work
means performing a large amount of work in a very
short time. Such heightened expectations from any
individual may lead to stress. Elsewhere under load
is very short amount of work to do and time
available is too much. Here employee questions
his/her capacity and feels stressed.
Sometimes situations requesting behavioural
changes may put an employee under stress due to
need of behaving in a way which is not natural for
the employee.
Top causes of work-related stress: When quizzed on
sources of stress, Indian employees rank unclear or
conflicting job expectations (40%), inadequate staffing
(lack of support, uneven workload or performance in
group) (38%) and lack of work/life balance (38%) as
the top three reasons according to Towers Watson’s
Global Benefit Attitudes Survey that polled 22,347
global workers out of which 7,094 workers are in Asia
Pacific (2006 workers are based in India).
In Asia Pacific, the top contributors were
inadequate staffing, low pay (or low increase in pay)
and lack of work/life balance. Globally, inadequate
staffing is common as the single most important
contributor to work-related stress.
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Ashok Panigrahi
Managing stress at workplace
Top causes of work-related stress for employees
India
Asia
Pacific
29%
41%
United
States
36%
52%
Unclear or conflicting job expectations
40%
Inadequate staffing (lack of support, 38%
uneven workload or performance in
group)
Lack of work/life balance (excessive 38%
32%
24%
workloads and/or long hours)
Organizational culture, including lack of 32%
31%
33%
teamwork,
tendency
to
avoid
accountability and assign blame to others
Low pay (or low increases in pay)
29%
37%
38%
Technologies that expand availability 27%
16%
8%
during nonworking hours (e.g., mobiles,
notebooks)
Lack of supervisor support, feedback and 26%
23%
23%
not living up to their word
Lack of technology, equipment and tools 18%
18%
13%
to do the job
Fears about job loss, too much change
16%
16%
20%
Fears about benefit reduction/loss (e.g., 12%
16%
11%
lower value or loss of health care
coverage, reduction in retirement
benefits)
Source: Towers Watson’s 2013/14 Staying@Work survey
How to measure stress?
There are many methods to measure stress.
Measuring stress is quantifying the response by the
body responds to a stressful situation. These indicators
for stress involve measurement of an array of properties
of body which are changed during stress.
1. Psychological
measurementsThese
measurements measure stress based upon
psychological observations. Each person has a
different psychology and way of reacting towards
any stressor. Hence to gather those responses in
stress many questionnaires were prepared which
contain questions which measure response to
stress.
2. Physiological measurements- When someone
comes across any situation which induces stress,
the HPA axis of the person is activated which
contains Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Adrenal glands
of endocrine system. On stimulation, these glands
produce their hormones i.e. Cortisol and
catecholamines. Elevated levels of those hormones
are found in blood, urine and plasma of the person
undergoing through stress.
3.
EMEA
33%
49%
28%
31%
28%
9%
22%
15%
22%
7%
Autonomic measures- These include changes in
various constants of body and concentration of
various enzymes.
 Blood pressure- When a person is undergoing
through stress, blood pressure is elevated from
its normal 120/80 values.
 Vagal tone- Vagal tone is a parasympathetic
response which leads to prevention of reducing
heart rate during sleep or rest. Which means that
during sleep, the person’s heart beats with the
same force as it beats when he is awake.

Salivary alpha amylase- This enzyme in saliva
is major indication for stress. The levels of this
enzyme are elevated during exercise. And the
link between level of catecholamines and
salivary alpha amylase is proven. Also this
enzyme can be used to measure action of
parasympathetic nervous system.
 Salivary Cortisol- Salivary Cortisol represents
amount of Cortisol not bound with any receptor.
This concentration can pass through blood brain
barrier and alter high order cognitive functions
such as learning, memory, emotional processing.
Journal of Management Research and Analysis, October-December,2016;3(4):154-160
156
Ashok Panigrahi
Managing stress at workplace
Performance curve of employees
Explanation of performance curve: When pressure on
an employee to perform a task is low then employee
gets bored due to lack of enough motivation due to
pressure from superiors. At optimum pressure,
employee is highly motivated to do his work and shows
best performance. But when levels of stress exceed the
optimum level, employee is unable to cope up with
such a high stress and employee faces various disorders
like anxiety. Hence according to above curve, in an
organization, optimum pressure must be put on
employees so that they give their best performance.
Effects of stress
Humans are most intelligent animals on earth. But
still they fall prey to stress created by their own
organizations and companies. This situation is equally
dangerous for companies because excessive stress in
employees cause employee turnover. Highly stressed
employees choose to remain absent to avoid stressful
environment in organization. Employees who are
highly stressed lack motivation.
When body encounters any threatening or stressful
situation, body shows three distinct phases to combat
the stress1. Alarming stage- Here body prepares to execute
fight/flight action. Here blood pressure increases,
blood vessels are dilated, process of digestion
slows down, and breathing is faster and deeper.
Body stores energy for upcoming response.
2. Resistance- Here the stimulus of threat persists.
The body adjusts towards the stimulus and tries to
reduce the effects of stress. Body uses its capability
of adaption as a shield to fight against the threat.
Body becomes habituated towards the stimulus of
stress and is able to tolerate it.
3. Exhaustion stage- In this stage, the body cannot
cope up further with stressing stimulus. The
adaptation power of body decreases and body is
susceptible to symptoms of stress.
Physical consequences: Stress can manifest itself into
various physical observations in the form of altered
functioning of system. Altered functioning of
cardiovascular system causes high blood pressure.
Stress on muscoskeletal system causes headaches and
tension. Stress causes change in motility of GIT hence
causing constipation or diarrhoea. Stress may affect
CNS of employees to cause light headedness, fainting
or dizziness. It also causes sudden ringing in ears.
Stressors can increase sweating and cause clammy
souls and palms. Even the respiratory system is affected
by stress causing difficulties in breathing and sighing.
Stress also affects our immune system which makes us
susceptible for infections such as common cold etc.
Unexplained and/or frequent allergy attacks are
common in stressful condition due to sensitized body.
Stuttering or stammering while talking is commonly
seen in stressed individuals. Belching or flatulence is
seen. Grinding and gritting teeth are present in stressed
individuals.
Psychological problems: Constant stress causes altered
psychology of individual. A chronic stress may present
itself into varieties of observations. Stress causes
decreased confidence of an individual hence it creates
nervousness. Stress causes excessive anxiety where
person always worries over minute things. Stressed
person always shows guiltiness due to his reduced work
capacity. Stress causes insomnia. Stress gives a person
his worst nightmares. Stress makes a person devoid of
sleep. Stress causes occurrence of disturbing dreams.
Stress causes disturbed concentration. Stress causes
racing thoughts through the mind. Stress increases
forgetfulness. Stress makes you more emotional. Stress
causes fear and anxiety. Stress for a long time causes
Journal of Management Research and Analysis, October-December,2016;3(4):154-160
157
Ashok Panigrahi
depression. Capacity to take decision is hampered.
Stressed people are susceptible to dementia and
Alzheimer more than healthy individuals.
Behavioural problems: Stress causes induced
behavioural changes which can be directly seen into
stressed individuals. Stress causes short temperedness
of an individual. Stress causes frustration in stressed
individuals. Such frustrated individuals become more
hostile due to feeling of depression. Stressed
Managing stress at workplace
individuals seem to be more forgetful in remembering
small details. People suffering through stress are
disorganized. These people are more confusing in
taking even a small decision. Stressed people cannot
learn new things very easily. Stressed people often feel
lonelier than other people. They often show feeling of
worthlessness. These people show suicidal tendencies.
People undergoing stress are more confused. Stressed
people show more possibility of obsessive/compulsive
behaviour.
How can you combat stress?
There are many effective ways which help an individual to combat stress and live a happy and healthy life.
These methods include• Get more sleep- which provides proper rest to body and helps combat the effect of stress.
• Enter in physical activities- physical activities boost the mind and body and help to regain the confidence
which is lost due to stress.
• Relaxation techniques- such as arts, dance, music help people to get more creative and relieves the stress.
• Talking to a close one- talking to a close one helps to relieve stress and provides comfort.
• Time management- allows efficient usage of time. And which helps persons to organize his/her activities. And
which helps to maintain daily course of activities and it reduces stress.
• Say ‘NO’ to additional unimportant request- taking additional, unimportant requests which are not necessary,
increases the workload and causes additional stress.
• Take adequate rest if you are ill- taking adequate rest helps people recover from the symbols of stress and
helps to improve the mood.
• Avoid habits such as smoking, alcohol etc. – these products cause dependence and further induce stress by need
of continuous consumption of these products.
• Facing the cause- facing the cause of stress is one of the major solutions to reduce the stress. When you face
the stressor, the reason of stress is no more and the person is free from stress.
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Ashok Panigrahi
Organisational Measures to Combat Stress
The following measures can be taken by organisations
to combat stress:
A. Reducing Long working hours: Organisations
should see that long working hours of employees
should be reduced and proper time management
techniques are taught to them.
B. Teaching Employees to do Work-Life balance:
Required trainings should be given to employees to
maintain the work-life balance.
C. Use of Technology: The organizations should use
the available technology and provide specialized
training courses on any topic required for work
advancement.
D. Communication – The organizations should
encourage communication and always asks for
feedback, where the HR manager should always
directly accessible to any employee to listen to.
The organization always try to follow up with all
corporate and business news, in addition to new
Managing stress at workplace
studies published regarding work stress, how to
spot it and solve it.
E. Security Fears – The Organizations should take
efforts in making employees and people feel safe
by applying laws for security checks, checking
identities of visitors to the firm and not allowing
unauthorized people to enter.
F. Introduction of Retirement Plans – Applying
Social Security system and pension funds, which is
a great insurance and relief for employees in order
not to worry about their retirement any more.
G. Job stability and fear of downsizing – The
Economic Crisis is very complex. Unfortunately,
layoffs and downsizing are forced on many
organizations, and there is nothing that
management can do internally to stop this issue.
H. Workplace Diversity -The firms should hire all
kinds of experiences from all ages, genders, and
from all levels of educations.
Top 10 steps taken by employers to manage stress
India Asia Pacific United States
Flexible working options
50%
40%
51%
Stress mgmt interventions 43%
38%
39%
(e.g., workshops, yoga, tai
chi)
Education and awareness 41%
41%
40%
campaigns
Promotion
of
employee 40%
24%
85%
assistance program (EAP)
Specialised
training
for 30%
26%
23%
employees
Training for managers
23%
24%
34%
External resources used to 16%
12%
23%
design and deliver program(s)
Expanding EAP and other 15%
10%
46%
services to dependents
Anti-stress space
12%
10%
10%
Written guidelines on stress
10%
9%
7%
Journal of Management Research and Analysis, October-December,2016;3(4):154-160
EMEA
50%
16%
26%
29%
39%
41%
18%
25%
4%
9%
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Ashok Panigrahi
Conclusion
Now we can conclude that stress is an important
factor for the employees in any organization. Stress
within a specific limit helps to achieve necessary
objectives. But if stress exceeds any particular limit
then it shows its harmful effects on the body, mind and
behaviour. Now the ways to cope with the stress
include adequate sleep, sports, talking to a close one,
relaxation habits and quitting of addictive products.
These all must be used to get relief from stress.
Workplace stress plays a significant role in
physiological and psychological well-being of
employees. It also affects the productivity and
performance of organisations. The various results of
workplace stress like physical problems, mental
disturbances,
emotional
imbalance,
lifestyle
disturbances and behavioural problems lead to disturb
the climate of the organisation. These issues create
interpersonal conflicts, decreased productivity, low
organisational commitment, increased absenteeism and
more attrition etc. By facilitating the employees with
effective training, the management can provide them
with platform to solve their stress related problems.
Yoga, meditation, exercise and recreational activities
can provide better environment to control stress. Even
time management skills help to manage stress in an
effective manner. These simple but useful steps can
pave the path for improved efficiency of employees and
increased productivity of organisation.
Managing stress at workplace
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Journal of Management Research and Analysis, October-December,2016;3(4):154-160
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Topic: Identify five ways to manage workplace stress.
Introduction:
A. Importance of managing stress.
a. Managing workplace stress can make a substantial difference
in the lives of workers across all industries.
b. “It can improve morale and lead to increased productivity and
better focus, fewer workplace injuries, fewer sick days, and
improved physical health (e.g., lower blood pressure, stronger
immune system). All these factors can also lead to reduced
turnover among an employer’s workforce.” – osha
B. Understanding and managing stress requires that you directly engage
your body, emotions, behavior, and mind.
C. Achieving a lower stress level can be possible by implementing at
least five easy stress management strategies.
Body 1: Body
A. Get more sleep.
B. Physical activity
C. Avoid habits.
a. Smoking, alcohol, etc.
Body 2: Emotions/Behavior
A. Relaxation techniques
a. Music, arts, dance
B. Face the cause
Body 3: Mind
A. Talking to a close one.
a. There are times when those who are closest to you can be a
listening ear to help navigate a stressful time. It could be a
coworker or mentor who may have been in a similar situation.
There may also be a pastor or friend who can provide a comforting
word. We as a community have a very unique way of supporting
each other and it can start just be talking and feeling heard.
B. Mental Health Resources
a. Employer Sponsored
i. A 2021 survey completed by the American Psychological
Association found that 85% reported that resources put in
place by employers helped with managing mental health. –
osha.gov
b. Health insurance
C. Create a self-care regimen.
Conclusion
A. Using these tips to manage stress is effective.
B. The importance of work life balance
Links to resources
https://www.osha.gov/workplace-stress/employerguidance#:~:text=It%20can%20improve%20morale%20and,turnover%20among%20an%20empl
oyer%27s%20workforce.

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