How to Manage Disastrous Effects of Stress?

 'Stress Syndrome Foundation' has estimated that every year industry looses billions of dollars due to stress-related illness. It has been fast becoming major disease of our time. This is not only causing high absence rates from sickness but also leads to higher employee attrition. Worst is rising cases of early deaths.

Some occupations have inherently higher stress potential than others. The following examples are drawn from a research done by Cary Cooper, Professor of Organizational Psychology at 'Manchester Institute of Science & Technology'. The ratings are from 10(the highest stress potential) to 0.

Miner (highest Quoted) 8.3

Police 7.7

Nurse, Midwife 6.5

Salesman, Shop assistant 5.7

Civil Servant 4.4

Banker 3.7

Librarian 2.0

You may know people who thrive on pressure- produce their best results against tight deadlines. They are in their element working all hours, and preferable on several different jobs at the same time. A certain amount of pressure is good. it keeps us alert and stimulated, but for each of us there is an optimum level at which we give our best. Beyond that or below it (see the above graph) we can suffer physically and psychologically from stress and strain.

People who operate well and healthy in high pressure jobs are those with a high threshold for pressure. The danger is that this can vary with age, state of general health and other events happening in family and social life. No one is immune from effects of stress if it is not recognized and managed at an early stage. Working in an environment which is constantly below one's pressure optimum can also lead to similar results. Examples - simply not having enough to do, or doing tasks which do not fully utilize one's skills and abilities.

The basis of managing stress is maintaining this optimum pressure balance (refer to the graph above)against constant changes in biological, social and environmental factors, over many of which we do not have much control. It becomes essentially important to recognize that employees are whole people, incorporating social and psychological needs, and not just animated work stations.

Potential sources of stress - major life changes, personality/early experiences, factors inherent to job - are all inter-related and can potentiate and spill into each other.

Life changes also trigger Stress - bereavement, illness, divorce or injury and such other situations.

Supposedly Pleasant Events are also Stress Creators - Marriage of self or in family, Child birth, buying a new bigger house, a new job...

Stress could be due to anyone of the above or combination or a few of the above situations. It could be stressful even in situations like- Public speaking, sudden loss or gain of money. But whatever the reason for stress is, it is of paramount importance that Stress is timely Identified, understood and corrected. Some of the common Stress Symptoms, described by managers are:

Physical: aches and pains, especially in head, neck and back. dry mouth, sweaty palms, increased heart beat, nausea, indigestion, fatigue, agitation, insomnia, cramps, tremors, waking up tired, heart attack...

Psychological: anxiety, confusion, withdrawal, frustration, irrational fear, depression...

Behavioral: Over/under eating, irritation and erratic actions, poor judgement, mood swings, excessive smoking and drinking...

Even if you are not the source of stress in any way. There are a lot of other steps to create an environment in which you and your team can learn to identify and work within your optimum pressure levels most of the time:

• Establish a positive attitude towards work in the work place.
• Be on look out for early signs of what may be stress. Encourage others to do the same.
• Maintain active face to face contact with your team members and other stake holders.
• Arrange training sessions on Stress Management.
• Regularly review your owns and team's Time Management issues.
• Encourage Regular Exercises.
• Do not hold meetings in angry and unduly charged environment.

You may add up many other Points of Actions, post discussions with your team members. These collated points can also be displayed in your office and discussed often, to ensure well being of yourself and your teams.

Wok-Life Balance

In my consulting and speaking engagements over the past several years, about half of all managers want to work with their employees to help them achieve some form of balance.

Most bosses correctly believe that at the end of the day,  Work Life Balance is your problem to solve, and not theirs.

Only you can figure out your values and priorities. Only you know what trade-offs you are willing to make, and only you can envision their consequences. Only you can organise your schedule and your life, at work and at home, for the balance you have chosen.

There can be no question that negotiating work life balance arrangements adds layer of complexity to a manager's job. But your manager should welcome the challenge. It gives him another tool motivate and retain great performers, just like salary, bonuses, promotion,s and all other kinds of recognition.

But along the way, It is only YOU who can and should help yourself. Following is my take on the subject, basis what ever I have learnt over the period of decades coupled with my numerous interactions with various working professionals:

1). Compartmentalize: We have already established that work wants 100% of you, and so does home. To alleviate angst and distraction, and to enhance your performance no matter what you are doing, be focussed on where you are and whom you are with.

Compartmentalizing is not easy. Sometimes you must call the customer from the gymor check on your sick child between meetings. But the more you blend your life, the more mied up, distracted and overwhelmed you feel and act.

The absolute ideal is to draw crisp boundaries around your activities. However, there will always be pressures on whatever rules you set, but smaller and less frequent the interruptions are, the more balanced you will actually feel.

2). Learn to Say NO: Have the mettle to say NO to requests and demands outside your chosen work-life balance plan. Eventually, most people come up with a work life balance arrangement that works for them. The trick is - Stick to it.

That takes discipline. Saying no is hard, especially for business people who have gotten ahead precisely because they have said yes so often. Usually, however, you don't need to say no to something as big as a promotion to get the balance you want. You just need to say no to smaller stuff.

If you say yes to everything, you won,t get balance. And, though saying no is liberating but try it on anything and everything that is not part of your deliberately chosen work live plan.

Create your own fine balance of Yesses and Noes.

3). Don't leave yourself out of your Work-Life balance plan: A really killing dynamic in this work-life balance thing is the "everyone's happy, but me" syndrome. Very competent people figure out a perfect work life balance plan that allows them to deliver enough to themselves to the workplace, and enough of themselves to family. But the problem is, this perfect plan creates a kind of fun-free vaccum for the person in center ie You.

Of course, work-life balance involves making trade-offs, and decent people are obliged to deliver on their commitments to their home and work. But if if you craft a work-life balance plan where you are not having any fun, chances are you will not be able to sustain it.

You have to ensure that work-life balance plan fulfills your dreams and passion. If that means working a lot, do it. If that means being home every evening, let that happen too. Yes, you are responsible for all those around you, but you cannot live someone else's concept of your life, in the name of balance. Well, you can, but you should not.

It almost always backfires !!

The closing note....... Work-life balance is not a decision that you make alone. You have to confront - how your choices myriad of others. But if you do not fulfill your own joy with your plan, all the balance in the world will be just duty and slowly you will keep finding yourself in a special kind of hell, where everyone else is happy but you..... And that will not do any good to anyone.