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Motivation and Stress

Management
Unit 6

Meaning of Motivation
- Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in
people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or
subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.
- Motivation in simple terms may be understood as the set of forces
that cause people to behave in certain ways. (Fred Luthans)
- Motivation can be defined as the processes that account for an
individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward any
goal. (Robbins, Judge and Vohra)

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Work Motivation Theories

- Motivation theories serve as a guidelines for managers to understand
and improve employee motivation. Motivation theories can be
classified into two broad categories:
1. Content Theories: Explain what motivates the employees?
2. Process Theories: How are employees motivated?

1. Content Theories 2. Process Theories

a. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs a. Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Theory b. Porter and Lawler Expectancy
b. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory Theory
c. Alderfer’s ERG Theory c. Adam’s Equity Theory
d. McClelland’s Achievement Theory d. Locke’s Goal Setting Theory
e. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y e. Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory
f. Attribution Theory

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

• Propounded by Abraham Maslow
• The simplest and most widely discussed theory of motivation.
• According to this theory:
People have needs that influence their behavior. Only unsatisfied
needs act as motivators.
Since needs are many, they are arrange in order of importance or
hierarchy from the basic to complex.
The person advances to the next level of hierarchy only when the
lower level need is at least minimally satisfied.

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• Maslow’s need hierarchy divides human needs into five levels and
each level represents a group of needs. However, one need doesn’t
disappear once they are satisfied, but they cease to be motivators
and they lead to next level of need.

 Physiological needs: These needs are directly concerned with the

biological maintenance of the organism. They include most basic
needs such as food, water, drink, sex, sleep etc.
- In the organizational context, physiological needs are represented by
employees concern for salary and basic working conditions. It is the
duty of managers to ensure that these needs of the employees are
met so that they can be motivated to fulfill the higher order needs.
 Safety needs: related to protection from economic and physical
environment.
- Secured income, acquisition of insurance, owning one’s own house
etc.
- In the organizational context, Security needs are represented by job
security, provident fund, gratuity, pension scheme.

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 Social needs: An individual motivated on this level strives for

affectionate relationship with others. Group membership becomes a
dominant goal for the individual.
- In the organizational context, Social needs represent the need for a
compatible work group, peer acceptance, friendly supervision.

 Self-esteem needs: It includes needs such as competence,

confidence, freedom, recognition, attention, status, reputation,
appreciation etc.
- Individuals need to be appreciated for what they can do. They want
their competence to be recognized and valued by others.
- In the workplace, self-esteem needs represent job title, merit pay
increase, challenging work, publicity in company publications etc.

 Self-actualization needs: It refers to the desire to become everything

that one is capable of becoming. To self-actualize is to become the
total person that one wants to become to reach the peak of one’s
potential.
- In an organization, self-actualization needs represent the desire for
excelling oneself in one’s job, successfully managing a unit and the like.

Managers can apply this theory to understand the level of needs of

their employees and lift them from lower level needs to the higher
ones.

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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory: (also called Motivation-Hygiene Theory)

- Herzberg carried out a survey of 200 accountants and engineers. He
collected and analyzed two aspects of respondents: 1. when they feel
good about their job? 2. when they feel bad about their job?
- It was revealed that factors which made respondents feel good were
totally different from those which made them feel bad.
- Herzberg concluded that the opposite of satisfaction is not
dissatisfaction, and removing dissatisfying elements from a job does not
necessarily make the job satisfying as was traditionally believed.
- These factors are broadly classified into two categories: Motivating
factors and Hygienic factors.
- When questioned when they felt good about their work, respondents
tended to attribute these characteristics to themselves (Intrinsic factors
or motivators). On the other hand, when they were dissatisfied, they
tended to attribute the characteristics to extrinsic factors (hygiene
factors or maintenance factors).

Satisfaction No Satisfaction
Motivators

No Dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction
Hygiene Factors

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- To achieve motivation, managers should cope with both Satisfiers and

Dissatisfiers. Improve hygiene factors- dissatisfaction is removed from the
minds of employees. Provide satisfiers- motivation will then take place.
- Managers should be realistic not to expect motivation by only improving the
“hygiene” of work environment.

ERG Theory
- A modification of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy was proposed by Clay Alderfer.
He gathered data from the questionnaires he gave to over 100 employees at
several levels in a bank. Alderfer’s work led him to propose that there are
three (rather than Maslow’s five) primary categories of human needs. These
categories are:
a. Existence: The basic physiological needs (hunger and thirst) and
protection from physical danger.
b. Relatedness: Social and affiliation needs and the need for respect and
positive regard from others.
c. Growth: The need to develop and realize one’s potential.

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- Where Maslow proposed “Satisfaction-progression” model, Alderfer came

out with “frustration-regression” hypothesis.
- According to Alderfer, if fulfillment of a higher order need is blocked, an
individual’s attention will regress back towards fulfillment of needs lower in
the hierarchy.
- ERG theory is more consistent with our knowledge of individual differences
among people. The evidence shows that people in different cultures rank
the need categories differently. For instance, natives of Japan place social
needs before their physiological requirements. This would be consistent
with the ERG theory. The ERG theory, therefore, represents more valid
version of the need hierarchy.
- However, this theory has been criticized of not having clear-cut guidelines of
how to achieve or apply this concept.

Achievement Motivation Theory: Propounded by David McClelland.

This theory focuses on three needs that drive a motivation in a person. This theory
focuses on three needs- Power, Affiliation and Achievement that motivate human
behavior.

Need for Achievement: Employees with a high need for achievement derive
satisfaction from achieving goals. Succeeding a task is important to the high achiever.
High achievers prefer immediate feedback on their performance. High achievers are
primarily motivated by sense of accomplishment rather than by money.

Need for Affiliation: Individuals having this need derive satisfaction from social and
interpersonal activities. There is a need to form strong interpersonal ties and to ‘get
close’ to people psychologically.

Need for Power: The employees having need for power derive satisfaction from the
ability to control others. Actual achievement of goals is less important than the means
by which goals are achieved. Satisfaction is derived from being in positions of
influence and control.

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 The findings of McClelland highlight the importance of matching the individual

and the job.
Individuals with high achievement needs thrive on work that is challenging
and satisfying. They like to get frequent feedback from supervisors.
Employees with low achievement needs prefer situations of stability, security
and predictability.
Employees with need of power look for leadership positions.

Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X and Theory Y are the two contrasting concepts theorized by Douglas
McGregor in 1960s. Theory X takes a pessimistic view of the people and
Theory Y takes a positive or optimistic view.
Theory X Theory Y
 People dislike work and avoid it as long as  People do not inherently dislike work
possible. because is work is as natural as play or rest.
 They should be forced and threatened in  If given opportunity, people like to take
order to make them work. initiative.
 They try to avoid responsibility and seek  People have potential and they seek
direction in every step. responsibility.
 Close and continuous supervision is  Creativity, ingenuity and imagination are
required to make them productive widely distributed among the population.
 They have little or no ambition and they They are capable of using these abilities to
seek security among all the things. solve organizational problems.

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Depending on a manager's view of people, he/she may follow authoritarian

(Theory X) or participative (Theory Y) style of management.
Employees who fall under the category of Theory X can be persuaded by
reward or punishment whereas Theory Y kind of employees can be motivated
with higher order need fulfilment.

Process Theories
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory: Expectancy Theory was developed by
Victor Vroom in 1964.
This theory is based on the idea that work effort is directed towards
behavior that people believe will lead to desired outcomes.
According to this theory, an employee is motivated to put effort to
work when they believe that the effort will lead to good performance
and the good performance will lead to a valuable reward.
Employees think about what they have to do to be rewarded and
how much the rewards mean to them before they perform their jobs.

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- This theory establishes relationship between three important variables-

Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence.
a. Expectancy: The belief that particular level of effort will lead to particular
level of performance.
It is usually based on an individual's past experience, self-confidence (self
efficacy), and the perceived difficulty of the performance standard.
When individuals perceive that the outcome is beyond their ability,
expectancy, and thus motivation, is low.

b. Instrumentality: Instrumentality is the belief that a person will receive a

reward if the performance expectation is met. This reward may present
itself in the form of a pay increase, promotion, recognition or sense of
accomplishment.
The perception of the employees whether they will actually get what they
desire even if it has been promised by the manager.

c. Valence: is the importance that the individual places upon the expected
outcome. When the valence is positive, the person is motivated to attain
the outcome.
Valence is characterized by the extent to which a person values a given
outcome or reward.
Outcomes having negative valence are things that an individual wants to
avoid, such as being laid-off.

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In summary, According to the expectancy theory:

Motivation is: Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence

- If any of these variables is low, motivation is likely to be low.

- For example, if an employee thinks that a task is practically impossible for
him or her to perform, then, motivation to perform tends to be low.
Similarly, if a person does not think that outcomes are linked to
performance, or if the person does not desire the outcomes, then
motivation tends to be low.
- This theory views individuals as thinking, reasoning beings who have beliefs
and anticipations. They do not simply act impulsively. It is a model which
values human dignity.

Porter and Lawler Expectancy Theory: Lyman Porter and Edward

Lawler developed this theory in 1968. This theory is an improved
model of Vroom’s Expectancy Theory. It has added the relationship
between performance and Job satisfaction.
The main point in Porter and Lawler's model is that effort or
motivation does not lead directly to performance. It is, in fact,
supported by abilities and traits and by role perceptions.
Ultimately, performance leads to satisfaction.

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. The Porter-Lawler Model

Effort : Effort refers to the amount of energy an employee exerts on

a given task. How much effort an employee will put in a task is
determined by two factors: (i) value of reward and (ii) perception of
effort-reward probability.
Performance : One's effort leads to his/her performance. The
amount of performance is determined by the amount of effort and
the ability and role perception of the employee.
Satisfaction: Performance leads to satisfaction. The level of
satisfaction depends upon the amount of rewards achieved. If the
amount of actual rewards meet or exceed perceived equitable
rewards, the employee will feel satisfied.

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Equity Theory: Developed by James Stacy Adam in 1965.

The Equity Theory is based on the assumption that individuals are
motivated by their desire to be equitably treated in their work relationships.
When employees work for an organization, they basically exchange their
services for pay and other benefits. Thus, they seek to maintain equity
between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they
receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others.
The belief in equity theory is that people value fair treatment which causes
them to be motivated.
Inputs: Characteristics which individuals bring with them to the job-
education, skills, experience, creativity and the like. These are subjectively
perceived by a person.
Outcomes: Pay, promotion, fringe benefits, challenging assignments received
from a job. These are also subjectively perceived by a person.

- When an individual feels inequity, the person is motivated to reduce it.

- When attempting to reduce inequity, the person may try a number of alternatives
such as:
 Altering his/her inputs.
 Altering his/her outcomes.
 Leaving the situation.
 Alter perception of the self.
 Change comparison
- A person with a feeling of equity also gets motivated but to maintain
the current situation.
- The equity theory presents a realistic approach to motivation. It
recognizes the influence of social comparison processes on motivation.
Individuals are concerned not only with the absolute amounts of
rewards they receive for their efforts, but also with the relationship
between their inputs and outcomes and the inputs and outcomes of
others. Any perceived injustice motivates them to restore equity.

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Locke’s Goal Setting Theory: developed by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham in 1968.
According to this theory, the willingness to work towards attainment of
goal is main source of job motivation.
The basic idea behind the goal-setting theory is that a goal serves as a
motivator because it causes people to focus their inputs on their jobs.
Desire and commitment are two important elements in the Goal-setting
Theory:
1. Desire: Desire in an individual to attain his or her goal. When
individuals succeed in meeting a goal, they feel competent and
successful
2. Commitment: the extent to which people involve themselves in
meeting a goal. It is the individual’s acceptance of organizational
goals as their personal goals. The more strongly the individual
believes that he or she is capable of meeting a goal, the more
strongly he or she will accept it as his or her own.

The success of Goal-setting in motivating employees depends on

establishing goals that have the appropriate characteristics. In
particular, goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Realistic and Time-bound, i.e, SMART.

Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory

Reinforcement theory of motivation was proposed by BF Skinner
and his associates. It states that individual’s behavior is a function
of its consequences. It is based on “law of effect”, i.e, individual’s
behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, but
individual’s behavior with negative consequences tends not to be
repeated.

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The managers use the following methods for controlling the behavior
of the employees:
a. Positive reinforcement: This implies giving a positive response when
an individual shows positive and required behavior. For example -
Immediately praising an employee for coming early for job. This will
increase probability of outstanding behavior occurring again. If and
only if the employees’ behavior improves, reward can said to be a
positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement stimulates occurrence
of a behavior.

b. Negative reinforcement:
This implies rewarding an employee by removing negative or
undesirable consequences
For example, in the workplace a person may find it undesirable to be
monitored closely. If a person is doing their job to the highest standard,
they may not be monitored as closely anymore. This removal of the
monitoring is the reward for consistently doing their job well.

c. Punishment:
 punishment means applying undesirable consequence for showing
undesirable behavior.
For example - Suspending an employee for breaking the organizational rules.

d. Extinction:
It implies absence of reinforcements or removing reward for a particular kind
of behavior.
Example- a supervisor instructs his co-workers to ignore the non work-related
comments of a disruptive co-worker and not respond to them.
 if an employee no longer receives praise and admiration for his good work, he
may feel that his behaviour is generating no fruitful consequence.

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Motivational Application through Job Design

• Job design: means outlining the task, duties, responsibilities,
qualifications, methods and relationships required to perform the
given set of a job.
• Task is a fundamental component of a job. Various tasks when
processed together, they constitute a job.
• While designing the job, the needs of the organization and the needs
of the individual manager must be balanced. Needs of the
organization include high productivity, quality of work, etc. Needs of
the employees include job satisfaction.
• Poorly designed job may lead to lower productivity, employee
turnover, absenteeism, complaints and other problems.
• OB specialists emphasize job itself as a source of motivation.

• Major Job Design techniques that can increase work motivation

are:
1. Job Characteristics Approach to Job Design
2. Job Rotation
3. Job Enlargement
4. Job Enrichment

1.. Job Characteristics Approach to Job Design

• Developed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham
• This model suggests that five core job characteristics result in the
employee experiencing three favorable psychological states,
which in turn lead to positive outcomes.

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The five core job characteristics

i. Skill variety: The degree to which a job includes difficult activities and
involves the use of multiple skills and talents of the employees.
ii. Task identity: The degree to which the job requires completion of a whole
and identifiable piece of work that is doing a job from beginning to end
with a noticeable outcome.
iii. Task significance: The degree to which the job has a substantial impact on
the work of other people.
iv. Autonomy: The degree to which the job provides the employee with
substantial freedom and independence in scheduling the work and in
determining the procedure to be used in carrying it out.
v. Feedback: the degree to which the employee gets a clear and timely
response of actual results of his or her performance.

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Critical Psychological States

- The core job dimensions or characteristics stimulate three
psychological states:
i. Meaningfulness of the work: The extent to which employee
experiences the job as the one which is meaningful, valuable and
worthwhile.
ii. Responsibility for work outcomes: The extent to which the
employee feels accountable for the outcome of the work he or
she does.
iii. Knowledge of results: The extent to which the employee has
feedback on his or her performance on the job.

Job Rotation
- Implies moving employees among different jobs over a period of time. It
provides employees opportunity to perform variety of tasks and avoids the
boredom of routine duties. Further, it helps to create a second line of the
competent employees to meet the problems of absenteeism.
- When an activity is no longer challenging, the employee would be rotated
to another job that has similar skill requirement.
- It reduces boredom and disinterest through diversifying the employee’s
activities.
- It helps managers to develop a number of employees with wider range of
skills.
- It also has drawbacks. Training costs are increased, work is disrupted as
rotated employees take time to adjust to a new set-up. It can demotivate
employees who seek specific responsibilities in their chosen specialty.

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Job Enlargement
- Job enlargement refers to the expansion of the number of tasks performed
by an employee in a single job. It means to assign additional duties and
responsibilities in a current job description.
- An enlarged job can motivate an individual for many reasons:
Increasing the number of tasks creates task variety which reduces the level
of boredom.
Jobs are enlarged so that one worker completes a whole unit of work or a
major portion of it. This tends to increase satisfaction by having a sense of
contribution to the entire project or product.
Workers derive greater satisfaction from jobs that utilize their skills and
abilities better. Enlarged jobs tend to fulfil this condition.

Drawbacks of Job Enlargement:

oTraining costs tend to rise because workers may require additional training
for their new, enlarged tasks.
oUnions often argue for increased pay because of the increased workload.

Job Enrichment:
It refers to the practice of giving employees a high degree of control over
their work from planning to organizing through performing the tasks and
evaluating the results.
Job enrichment, when compared to job enlargement, not only includes
more duties and responsibilities, but also gives the right of decision making
and control.

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training costs tend to rise because workers may require additional training for
their new, enlarged tasks.
oUnions often argue for increased pay because of the increased workload.

Job Enrichment:
It refers to the practice of giving employees a high degree of control over
their work from planning to organizing through performing the tasks and
evaluating the results.
Job enrichment, when compared to job enlargement, not only includes
more duties and responsibilities, but also gives the right of decision making
and control.

Motivational Application through Goal Setting

• A goal is a performance target that an individual or group seeks
to accomplish at work.
• Goal setting is the process of motivating employees by
establishing effective and meaningful performance targets.
• Edwin Locke and Garry Latham are the leaders in Goal Setting
Theory, suggest that works goals have a major impact on
motivation and performance level of employees.
What Kind of Goals lead to High Motivation and Performance?
Specificity
Difficulty

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Goal Setting Theory of Motivation

Source: Moorhead and Griffin. Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition, pg.153

Goal difficulty is the extent to which a goal is challenging and requires effort. If
people work to achieve goals, it is reasonable to assume that they will work harder
to achieve more difficult goals. But a goal must not be so difficult that it is
unattainable.
• A person who is rewarded for achieving a difficult goal will be more inclined to strive
toward the next difficult. Specific goals lead to higher performance than do vague
goals or no goals.

Goal specificity is the clarity and precision of the goal.

• A goal of “increasing productivity” is not very specific, whereas a goal of “increasing
productivity by 3 percent in the next six months” is quite specific.
• Some goals, such as those involving costs, output, profitability, and growth, can
easily be stated in clear and precise terms.
• Other goals, such as improving employee job satisfaction and morale, company
image and reputation, ethical behavior, and social responsibility, are much harder to
state in specific or measurable terms.

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Goal acceptance is the extent to which a person accepts a goal as his or her
own.
Goal commitment is the extent to which he or she is personally interested in
reaching the goal.
oFactors that can foster goal acceptance and commitment include:
participating in the goal-setting process
making goals challenging but realistic and
believing that goal achievement will lead to valued rewards.

Organizational support is whatever the organization does to help or hinder

performance.
• Positive support might mean providing whatever resources are needed to
meet the goal; negative support might mean failing to provide such resources,
perhaps due to cost considerations or staff reductions.

Individual abilities and traits are the skills and other personal characteristics
necessary to do a job.
As a result of performance, a person receives various intrinsic and extrinsic
rewards that in turn influence satisfaction.
Intrinsic Rewards: Internal satisfaction a person receives such as sense
of achievement, pride in your performance.
Extrinsic Rewards: Tangible reward such as bonus and promotion.

Why do goals motivate employees?

Goals lead employees to compare their present performance with the goal.
When employees fall short of the goal, they feel dissatisfied and work harder
to achieve it.
When individuals succeed in reaching a goal, they feel competent and
successful.

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The existence of a goal clarifies what level of performance is required.

Goal setting theory indicates that goals will guide behavior only when they are
accepted by the self and by others.

Meaning and definition of Stress

• “Stress is a person’s adaptive response to a stimulus that places
excessive psychological or physical demands on him or her.” – Griffin
and Moorhead.
• “Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted
with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the
individual desires and for which outcome is perceived to be both
uncertain and important.” - Robbins, Judge and Vohra.
- Stress occurs in response to environmental pressures.
- Stress is induced by a stimulus known as stressor.
- Stressors may me physical or psychological in nature and place an
excessive demand on an individual.

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- Although stress is typically discussed in a negative context, it also has

a positive value.
- Many professionals see the pressures of heavy workloads and
deadlines as positive challenges that enhance the quality of their
work and the satisfaction they get from their job.
- However, when the situation is negative, stress is harmful and may
hinder your progress.
- Stress is typically associated with demands and resources. Demands
are responsibilities, pressures, obligations and uncertainties
individuals face in the workplace.
- Resources are things within an individual’s control that he or she can
use to resolve the demands.

Demands Ability Stress

Work Stress Model

Stressors Outcomes

 Individual Level
 Behavioral
 Group Level
Stress  Cognitive
 Organizational Level
 Physiological
 Extra-Organizational

 Moderating Variables
 Perception
 Past Experience
 Social Support
 Individual differences

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• As illustrated in the figure, stressors lead to stress, which in turn, lead to a

variety of consequences. The model also contains several variables that
help moderate the stressor-stress-outcome relationship. A moderator is a
variable that causes the relationship between stress and outcomes to be
stronger for some people and weaker for others.

Individual Level Stressors: These relate directly to person’s personality

and job responsibilities. The most common individual level stressors are:
i. Personality
ii. Role Overload
iii. Role Conflict
iv. Role Ambiguity
v. Task Characteristics

i. Personality:
a)Type A Personality: is stress-prone. It’s behavioral patterns are :
Always moves, walks and eats rapidly
Feels impatient, dislikes waiting
Does several things simultaneously
Try to schedule more and more in less and less time
Does not have time to enjoy life
b) Type B Personality: is less stress-prone. It’s behavioral patterns are:
is not concerned about time
is patient
does not brag
play to fun, not to win
relaxes without feeling guilty
has no pressing deadlines, is never in a hurry

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ii. Role Overload: Too much of work causes stress to an employee. It

arises when organization reduces its workforce leaving the remaining
employees with more tasks and less time to complete them.

iii. Role conflict: A situation in which a person is expected to play two

incompatible roles. There are two types of role conflict: Inter-role and
Personal.
- Inter-role conflict occurs when an employee has two roles that are in
conflict with each other. This is common in matrix organizations where
subordinates will be shared by matrix bosses.
- Personal conflict occurs when personal values clash with organizational
goals. For example, need to fire an employee who is also a good friend.

iv. Role ambiguity: exists when employees are uncertain about

their responsibilities, functions and performance expectations. For
example, when an employee gets incomplete instruction from a
boss to do a task.

v. Task Characteristics: Task characteristics may also be job

stressors. For example, Traffic congestion is a major stressor for
salespeople.

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 Group Level Stressors: Group level stressors are caused by group

dynamics and managerial behaviors.
Managers create stress for employees by:
exhibiting inconsistent behaviors
failing to provide support
showing lack of concern
providing inadequate direction
creating a high productivity environment
focusing on negatives while ignoring good performance

 Organizational Stressors: affect large number of employees.

A high pressure environment that places chronic demands on
employees leads to stress.

A high pressure environment that places chronic demands on employees

leads to stress. Poor lighting, loud noise, improper placement of
equipment, dirty and smelly environment also create stress.
Some chief executive officers establish unrealistic pressures to perform
in the short run, impose excessively tight controls and fire employees
who fail to meet the standards.

 Extra-Organizational Stressors: Extra-organizational stressors are caused

by factors outside the organization. For instance, conflicts associated
with one’s career and family life are stressful.
Home life certainly impacts one’s attitudes and performance at work.
Death of a relative, injury to one’s child, an unplanned pregnancy and
similar other life events can be stressful.

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 Outcomes: Stress has behavioral, cognitive and physiological

consequences. Negative outcomes of stress consists of:
i. Physical problems: heart diseases, arthritis, high blood pressure, high
level of cholesterol, Diabetes.
ii. Task performance: Even low levels of stress disrupts production.
Stressed workers are less engaged, exhibit higher absenteeism and are
generally less productive. Higher the stress, greater will be work
disruption.
iii. Alcoholism: Alcohol and drug abuse are related to high levels of stress.
iv. Burnout: is a troublesome outcome of stress. It occurs due to
prolonged exposure to stress. For example, prolonged guilt may lead to
depression.

Stress management
• Stress reduction strategies can be categorized into
1. Individual strategies
2. Organizational strategies

3. Individual Strategies:
a. Exercises: Regular exercise helps relieve oneself from stress.
Examples of exercises that reduce stress- jogging, cycling, swimming,
walking etc.
b. Relaxation: Slow and deep breathing, yoga and meditation.
c. Biofeedback: A biofeedback machine is used to train people to
detect and control stress related symptoms such as blood pressure. The
machine translates unconscious bodily signs into a recognizable cue.

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d. Time management:
- Preparing daily list of activities to be attended to.
- Prioritizing activities by importance and urgency
e. Social Support: A person need to develop and maintain a good
support group. The support group can be family members, friends,
peers etc. Individuals should keep closeness with support group.
f. Cognitive restructuring: it involves two steps: First, irrational thought
processes are identified. Second, replacing these irrational thoughts
with more rational ones.

2. Organizational Strategies:
i. Supportive organizational climate and working conditions:
ii. Enrich the design of tasks
iii. Clarity in organizational goals
iv. Providing career paths and employee development:
For example- many organizations sponsor their young employees for university
education and other trainings.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs):

- Delivering professional counselling services and other stress management programs to
employees.
- It is offered at no cost to employees.
 Wellness programs: focuses on employee’s overall physical and mental heath.
- Quit smoking programs, diabetes management program, fitness program, yoga classes etc.
 Stress Management Seminars:

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Stress and Performance:

Stress is generally negatively related to performance.
Individuals experiencing stress tend to focus on the unpleasant feelings and
emotions rather than on the task.

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