EVALUATION OF A JOURNALING PROGRAM TO REDUCE STRESS AMONG

EMPLOYEES AT A SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION 1

Evaluation of a Journaling Program to Reduce Stress among Employees at a Social Service

Organization

Savina Fischer, Grace LePretre, Lauren Snyder, Megan Vallas

Bradley University
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1 Abstract

2 The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that work-related stress is

3 highest when the responsibilities and demands of work surpass a person’s abilities and

4 knowledge, and in turn challenge their ability to cope. Workers who are stressed are more likely

5 to be unhealthy, less motivated, less productive, and less safe at work, in addition to

6 compromising their own mental and physical health (WHO, 2004). The goal of the program was

7 to reduce stress among employees at a social service organization. Employees participated in a

8 30-minute presentation about managing stress through journaling. To increase self-efficacy,

9 participants practiced journaling exercises such as daily gratitude, goal-setting, and emotional

10 release journaling. Multiple different journaling prompts were provided for the participants to

11 complete throughout the presentation. Pre- and post-test surveys measured participants’

12 knowledge of the benefits of journaling, barriers of journaling, current stress levels, confidence

13 in journaling, and the likelihood of using journaling to manage stress. After the program,

14 participants were able to list specific ways that journaling would benefit them and allow them to

15 relieve stress on a daily basis such as practicing mindfulness and changing their attitudes, as

16 related to the objectives. Overall, participants had reduced stress levels, increased confidence,

17 and an increased likelihood to journal after the program.

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18 Introduction

19 The World Health Organization has stated that work-related stress is highest when the

20 responsibilities and demands of work surpass a person’s abilities and knowledge, and in turn

21 challenge their ability to cope. The WHO further noted that workers who are stressed are more

22 likely to be unhealthy, less motivated, less productive, and less safe at work, in addition to

23 compromising their own mental and physical health (WHO, 2004). Additionally, the Global

24 Organization for Stress (GOS, 2018) recently estimated that stress levels in the workplace are

25 escalating with “6 in 10 workers experiencing increased workplace stress” and approximately

26 “80% of workers feeling stressed on the job during a typical work day” (GOS, 2018, para 6).

27 Nearly half of these workers also need help learning how to manage and cope with their stress on

28 a daily basis (GOS, 2018, para 5).

29 On a national level, the American Institute of Stress (AIS) has found that 61% of

30 Americans claim work as the main source of stress in their lives. Furthermore, 77% of people

31 regularly experience physical symptoms and 73% of people experience psychological symptoms

32 (AIS, 2017). The AIS also examined the most common symptoms that resulted from too much

33 stress. These symptoms included 51% of people feeling fatigued, 44% experiencing headaches,

34 34% with digestive issues and upset stomachs, 30% experiencing muscle tension, 50% feeling

35 irritable and angry, 45% feeling extremely nervous or panicked, and 45% lacking energy or

36 motivation (AIS, 2017).

37 Specifically, the Peoria community is not immune to stress. According to Drake (2018),

38 42% of people working at a social service organization experienced stress at work that exceeded

39 their ability to cope, and when this stress did occur, 52% of those surveyed said they did not get

40 the emotional support they needed (Drake, 2018). According to Charney, Dimoulas, Johnson,
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41 Morgan, Ozbay, and Southwick (2007), social support is a key factor for maintaining good

42 mental and physical health. It is further mentioned that receiving support from others can help to

43 increase resilience to stressful experiences and to strengthen relationships with others. However,

44 some people do not have the resources available to turn to others when they need help, so

45 teaching employees in the workforce how to properly cope with stress on their own can be very

46 beneficial for maintaining their overall physical and mental health (Charney et al., 2007).

47 When a person’s stress levels exceed the ability to cope, it can reflect negatively on the

48 people around them and is especially dangerous in a social service or school setting because of

49 the negative impact it can have on young children as well as coworkers (Demir, 2018). Social

50 service workers in particular are under a lot of stress in dealing with their own problems and

51 stressors, along with having to help other people manage their problems (Chenoweth, King, &

52 Lloyd, 2002). With all of these different factors impacting a single person’s stress, self-care may

53 be neglected and in turn, burnout and exhaustion may occur which can lead to poor performance

54 at work, anger and irritability, and other physical and emotional symptoms (Haijian, Hongbo,

55 Lie, Shuai, Yanwen, & Ziyue, 2017).

56 Having resources available to help lower rising stress levels is extremely important for

57 maintaining both mental and physical health, avoiding the point of burnout, and reducing the risk

58 of developing more serious conditions such as heart attacks and stroke (Cleveland Clinic, n.d.).

59 Examples of stress reducing techniques include self-care activities such as yoga, meditation,

60 breathing exercises, and journaling (Cleveland Clinic, n.d.). Journaling in particular offers many

61 benefits such as improved focus and attentiveness at work, as well as the willingness to put more

62 time and energy into things. Daily journaling can also contribute to the way a person looks at

63 circumstances in life by changing their perspective to have a more positive outlook in certain
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64 situations (Tams, 2013). Journaling is attainable for most and can be done on a daily basis to

65 help reduce and manage stress in everyday life to maintain a healthier physical and mental well-

66 being (University of Rochester Medical Center, 2018). The overall purpose of this study was to

67 evaluate a journaling program to reduce stress among employees at a social service organization.

68 Methods

69 Sample

70 Participants from a social service organization attended a one-time educational and

71 interactive stress management workshop. There were a total of 7 participants. Participants who

72 were 18 and older were recruited through flyers posted at the workplace (Appendix A). This

73 program was approved by an IRB with exempt review and consent was obtained.

74 Objectives

75 1. 100% of employees who participate in the program will engage in a journaling activity

76 during the program.

77 2. 80% of participants will report an increase in confidence of keeping a journal after the

78 program has ended.

79 3. 80% of participants will report a decrease in stress level after the program.

80 4. 70% of participants will report an increase in likelihood of journaling to manage stress

81 after the program has ended.

82 Procedures

83 The educational workshop discussed possible health conditions caused by stress. The

84 workshop also discussed how journaling can be an effective way to manage stress. Participants

85 had the opportunity to participate in journaling exercises. Participants were given different

86 writing prompts and journal types to choose from with relaxing music being played in the
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87 background. The examples given were writing a daily gratitude journal, goal journal, and an

88 emotional release journal. The entire duration was 30 minutes.

89 The program was developed using the Health Belief Model, specifically using perceived

90 benefits and barriers, self-efficacy, and likelihood of a behavior change. The Health Belief

91 Model is a value-expectancy theory (McKenzie, Neiger, & Thackeray, 2009). Perceived benefits

92 were addressed during the educational aspect of the workshop through a presentation. One of the

93 biggest barriers of journaling for stress management is time. This perceived barrier was

94 addressed by providing the participants with simple prompts and giving tips on journaling in

95 general in order to help save time. Self-efficacy was addressed by having the participants

96 complete the different journaling activities to make sure they were comfortable journaling on

97 their own time. Instilling self-efficacy during the program was done in order to increase the

98 likelihood of the action being adopted.

99 Instrument

100 Pre- and post-test surveys measured objectives on a hedonic scale of 1 to 5 and were used

101 during this program to identify the participants' perceptions of benefits and barriers to journaling

102 for stress management, their self-efficacy, and likelihood of using journaling as a stress

103 management technique (Appendices B-C). Demographic questions such as age, gender, and

104 race/ethnicity were asked using the pre-test survey. In both the pre-test and post-test survey,

105 participants were asked to identify potential benefits to journaling as a stress management

106 technique and potential barriers that would keep them from journaling to reduce stress.

107 Participants were asked to rate their confidence in and likelihood of journaling to manage stress

108 in both surveys as well. These questions aligned with the constructs used in our theory and
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109 objectives. Participants were also asked to rate their current stress level in both surveys to assess

110 if the program was effective.

111 Analysis

112 Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results.

113 Results

114 Throughout the planning process, facilitators participated in peer editing of the

115 presentation in order to improve the quality of the program. Before implementation, facilitators

116 also performed a rehearsal in order to receive feedback from peers to make the program more

117 interactive, in addition to including more journaling prompts.

118 The program consisted of seven participants who were 100% white, with 85.7% of those

119 being female and 14.3% being male. Ages included a total of 14.3% of people between the ages

120 of 18-24 years old, 14.3% aged 25-34, 14.3% aged 35-44, 42.8% aged 45-54, and 14.3% aged

121 55-64.

122 The mean stress level from the pre-test survey reported by the participants was 3.3, which

123 decreased to 2.6 for the post-test survey. The mean confidence in journaling from the pretest

124 survey was 2.7, which increased to 4.1 from the post-test survey. Additionally, the mean

125 likelihood to journal was 2.7 from the pre-test survey, which increased to 3.7 from the post-test

126 survey. Overall, 71.4% of participants experienced a decrease in stress by the end of the

127 program, 57.2% experienced an increase in confidence to journal by the end of the program, and

128 57.2% were more likely to journal to reduce stress by the end of the program. At pre-test,

129 participants described the benefits of journaling to be a way to clear one's mind, to get thoughts

130 and feelings out in a safe place, to reduce stress, and to review one’s day and actions. After the

131 program was implemented, participants reported that the benefits of journaling included:
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132 providing clarity, helping to reflect on what one is grateful for, to get thoughts off one’s chest, to

133 decompress, to change one’s attitude, to reduce stress, and to practice mindfulness. Before the

134 program, they also mentioned factors that would prevent them from journaling, the main barrier

135 being lack of time. Another factor was not wanting to think about their day. After the program

136 was implemented, participants reported that the factors that would keep them from journaling to

137 manage stress included time and forgetting to journal each day (Appendix E).

138 Discussion

139 The purpose of this study was to evaluate a journaling program to reduce stress among

140 employees at a social service organization. This program was effective because on average the

141 participants had a decrease in current stress levels, an increase in confidence, and an increase in

142 the likelihood of journaling to manage stress. Participants became more confident in being able

143 to journal on their own time. They also felt that there was a benefit to implement journaling as a

144 way to manage stress. The majority reported that they would continue to implement these

145 techniques on their own time.

146 Some of the limitations were a small sample size and time restrictions. A group of 7

147 individuals from the social service organization participated and there was also a 30 minute time

148 restriction. Participants also seemed to get off track and discuss with their peers during

149 journaling activities when it was intended that they focus on self-reflection during that time. The

150 program was meant to incorporate relaxing music during the journaling activities but there were

151 technical difficulties and no music was used. This would have been a way to keep participants on

152 track and focused on themselves. For a future study, it is recommended to implement this

153 program to a larger sample size. Another possible recommendation would be to provide this

154 program to a different audience to see if anyone else in the workforce would benefit from
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155 journaling to manage stress. Based off of the results found in the study showing that journaling

156 does help to reduce stress in the workplace, future research might investigate which specific type

157 of journaling is the most effective to manage stress.

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178 References

179 Charney, D., Dimoulas, E., Johnson, D., Morgan, C.A., Ozbay, F., Southwick, S. (2007). Social

180 support and resilience to stress. Psychiatry (Edgmont), 4(5), 35-40.

181 Chenoweth, L., King, R., Lloyd, C. (2002). Social work, stress, and burnout: A review. Journal

182 of Mental Health, 3(11), 255-265.

183 Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Stress: 10 ways to ease stress. Retrieved from

184 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/8133-stress-10-ways-to-ease-stress

185 Demir, S. (2018). The relationship between psychological capital and stress, anxiety, burnout,

186 job satisfaction, and job involvement. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, (75),

187 137-153. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1181447.pdf

188 Drake, T. (2018). [Health needs assessment of employees at a non-profit organization].

189 Unpublished raw data.

190 Global Organization for Stress. (2018). Stress facts. Retrieved from

191 http://www.gostress.com/stress-facts/

192 Haijian, Y., Hongbo, L., Lie, W., Shuai, C., Yanwen, W., & Ziyue, W. (2017). Associations

193 between occupational stress, burnout, and well-being among manufacturing workers:

194 Mediating roles of psychological capital and self-esteem. BMC Psychiatry, 17, 1–10.

195 McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2009). Planning, implementing, & evaluating

196 health promotion programs. (7). Pearson Education.

197 Tams, L. (2013, May 1). Journaling to reduce stress. Retrieved from

198 https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/journaling_to_reduce_stress

199 The American Institute of Stress. (2017). What is stress? Retrieved from

200 https://www.stress.org/daily-life/
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201 University of Rochester Medical Center. (2018). Journaling for mental health. Retrieved from

202 https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&ContentTy

203 peID=1

204 World Health Organization. (2004). Work organization and stress. Retrieved from

205 http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/pwh3rev.pdf
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Appendices

Appendix A………………………………………………………………………………….. Flyer

Appendix B………………………………………………………………………..Pre-Test Survey

Appendix C……………………………………………………………………… Post-Test Survey

Appendix D…………………………………………………………………………….… Handout

Appendix E…………………………………………………………………………………. Graph

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Appendix A

Flyer
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Appendix B

Pre-Test Survey
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Appendix C

Post-Test Survey

Appendix D
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Appendix D

Handout
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Appendix D

Handout Continued
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Appendix E

Graph