Q1.What are causes of stress?

Work Stress: Work stress is the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope. In short, work stress is a psychological state which can cause an individual to behave dysfunctionally at work and results from peoples response to an imbalance between job demands and their ability to cope. Causes of stress: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Excessively high workloads, with unrealistic deadlines making people feel rushed, under pressure and overwhelmed. Insufficient workloads, making people feel that their skills are being underused. A lack of interpersonal support or poor working relationships leading to a sense of isolation. People being asked to do a job for which they have insufficient experience or training. Difficulty settling into a new promotion, both in terms of meeting the new role's requirements and adapting to possible changes in relationships with colleagues. Concerns about job security, lack of career opportunities, or level of pay. Bullying or harassment. A blame culture where people are afraid to get things wrong or to admit to making mistakes. Weak or ineffective management which leaves employees feeling they don't have a sense of direction, or over-management, which can leave employees feeling undervalued and affect their self-esteem. Multiple reporting lines for employees, with each manager asking for their work to be prioritized.

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Failure to keep employees informed about significant changes to the business, causing them uncertainty about their future. Perception ambiguity of employee goal in between management and employee Insufficient job status: Not upto the expectation of employees society Conflicts with family demands A poor physical working environment, e.g. excessive heat, cold or noise, inadequate lighting, uncomfortable seating, malfunctioning equipment, etc. Difference in ones own needs and organizational demands

Effects of stress: Physiological Effects: 1. 2. 3. Stress affects metabolism, increases heart beats and breathing rates, causes headaches and high blood pressures. It also causes disorders of the digestive system and musculo-skeletal disorders such as lower back pain etc It also leads to hormonal imbalances, sleeping disorders, fatigue etc. which in turn reduce the performance of the employee.

Psychological Effects: 1. 2. 3. 4. Stress leads to anxiety, depression, nervousness, tension, irritation, and many other negative consequences. Employees enjoy their work less and feel less committed to it. They have difficulty in thinking logically, concentrate on work and taking decisions. Working capabilities of the employee decreases due to low morale and self esteem

Behavioral Effects: 1. A stressed individual becomes moody, lazy and irritable.

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Alcoholism, fidgeting, smoking, speculation, aloofness are few visible behavior depicted by a stressed person. Absenteeism is the main problem of stress because mentally and physically disturbed people do not attend their work which in further leads to dissatisfaction amongst the employees.

Effect on organization 1. 2. 3. 4. Stress leads to increasing number of complaints from the client side, which in turn creates client dissatisfaction It also leads to decreasing productivity and performance. It also adversely affects staff recruitment. It damages the image of the organization both amongst its workers and externally.

Q 2] Explain the dynamics of Stress.

Human bodys response to stress can be classified into: i) ii) Short term Long term

Hans Selye, the father of Stress discovered the phenomenon of General Adaptative Syndrome (GAS) i.e. the way in which human body responds to Stress. There are three stages to GAS: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. In the alarm stage an outside stressor mobilizes the internal stress system of the body. There are a number of physiological and chemical reactions, such as increased pituitary and adrenaline secretions; noticeable increases in respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure; and a heightening of the senses. If the stressor continues, then the GAS moves into the resistance stage, during which the body calls upon the needed organ or the system to deal with the stressor. However, there

may be a great deal of resistance to one stressor during this second stage, there may be little, if any, resistance to other, unrelated stressors. This helps explain why a person going through an emotional strain may be particularly vulnerable to other illness or disease. Finally, if the stressor persists over a long period of time, the reserves of the adaptive mechanisms during the second stage may become drained, and exhaustion sets in. When this happens, there may be a return to the alarm stage, and the cycle starts again with another organ or system, or the automatic shutoff valve of death occurs. This GAS process, of course, can be very hard on the person and takes its toll on the human body. Besides, the physiologically oriented approach to stress represented by the classic GAS model, which remains a vital dimension of modern stress research and stress management, attention is also being given to the psychological (for e.g. mood changes, negative emotions, and feelings of helplessness) and the behavioral (for e.g. directly confronting the stressors or attempting to obtain information about the stressors) dimensions of stress. All three dimensions (physiological, psychological, and behavioral) are important to the understanding of job stress and coping strategies in modern organizations. Q3. Describe the relationship between Stress and Performance. Ans. There is a common notion that stress affects much better in a stress free environment. Though true, it is not, in entirety. In fact, studies show that a minimum performance in a negative way, and that a person would perform amount of stress is prerequisite for optimum performance.

Fig: The Yerkes Dodson Curve Depicted above is the Yerkes Dodson Curve, explaining the relationship between stress & performance. It is commonly known as Inverted-U relationship. When you are feeling bored or lethargic, the leftmost part of the curve will likely represent your performance levels. The right side of the curve indicates potential performance levels when you feel excessive pressure and anxiety. A good image to remind us that there is an ideal amount of stress for each of us is that of the tension that exists in the strings of a piano, violin, or guitar. When a guitar string is strung too tightly (too much tension), it will sound a note higher than is desirable. The guitar string, when tightened to its maximum and beyond is likely to snap. The same string, if not tightened sufficiently, will play a note that is lower than is desirable. If it is strung without anytension, no sound will come from it at all. The right amount of tension results in a perfectly desirable sounding note. The same image can be used to depict the healthiness of ones body with too little or too much stress.

For peak performance, you want to stay at the top of the curve. It would be simple if this optimal level was the same for everyone, but it's not. For this reason, the focus of an effective stress management program is two-fold. First, a stress management program can teach you where this optimal level of stress is for you personally, so that it can be used to your advantage. Second, a stress management program can help reduce physical arousal levels using both coping skills and relaxation techniques so you can stay out of the danger zone created by too much stress.

The effects of stress on job performance Insomnia Loss of mental concentration, Anxiety, stress Absenteeism Erratic Job Performance Depression, Substance abuse Extreme anger and frustration Family conflict Physical illnesses such as heart disease, migraine, headaches, stomach problems, and back problems. Consequences for the Individual The impact of distress on individuals has subjective, cognitive, physiological, behavioural, and health facets to it. The subjective or intrapersonal effects of stress are feelings of anxiety, boredom, apathy,

nervousness, depression, fatigue, anger, irritability and sometimes aggressive behaviours on the part ofindividual experiencing the stress. The cognitive effects include poor concentration, short attentionspan, mental blocks, and inability to make decisions. The physiological effects can be seen in increasedheart and pulse rate, high blood pressure, dryness of throat, and excessive sweating. The behaviouralconsequences are manifest in such things as accident proneness, drinking, excessive eating, smoking,nervous laughter, impulsive behaviours, depressions, and withdrawal behavours. The manifest healtheffects could be stomach disorders, asthma, eczema, and other psychosomatic disorders. In addition,the mental health, i.e the ability to function effectively in ones daily life, will also decline as excessivestress is experienced. Consequence for the Family Distress, which is handled by individuals in dysfunctional ways, such as resorting to drinking or withdrawal behaviours, will have an adverse effect on their home life. Spouse abuse, child abuse, alienation from family members, and even divorce could result from dysfunctional coping mechanisms. Stressors in the steadily increasing member of dual-career families, where both spousespursue careers which demand a lot of personal commitment from them (both to their jobs and to thefamily), are varied in nature. The stresses experienced by the couple stem from role overload sinceboth partners have to manage their careers as well as help the family run on an even keel. Additionalstresses are experienced while handling the personal, social, and cultural dilemmas of balancing workand family, discharging parental responsibilities, handling competition at the workplace and within thefamily, being an involved member of the extended family etc

Consequences to the Organization The organizational effects of employee stress are many. The adverse consequences include: low

performance and productivity, high rates of absenteeism and turnover, lost customers because of poorworker attitudes, increased alienation of the worker from the job, and even destructive and aggressivebehaviours resulting in strikes and sabotage. The stresses experienced by employees who take oncritical roles and are responsible for public safety can sometimes be detrimental to the well-being of theconstituents served. For instance, the stresses experienced by a pharmacist, nurse, medical doctor, orthat of an airline pilot, navigator, or air traffic controller, can result in several hundred lost lives.Needless to say that the costs of employee stress to the organization in terms of lost profits, decliningassets, bad image projection, poor reputation, and loss of future business are enormous.

A little bit of stress, though beneficial, can prove contradictory in the long term, and failure to act on it may lead to diminished performance of employees, which in turn will prove harmful to the goals of the organization.