Managing Work-Related Stress

Objectives

What Stress is and how to adapt to it.

Management of Stress

What is Burnout? Stages of Burnout Burnout in the Workplace What to Do If You Are Burned

Out Prevention and Recovery from

Burnout

Goal Setting as a Stress Reliever

At the end of this presentation, you will learn:

What is Stress?Stress is defined as the body’s

response to mental and physical change.

Adaptive behavior patterns we assume in response to real physical threats or emotional effects result in either:

• Eustress – positive feelings, or

• Distress – negative feelings.

Adaptation to Stress

The Sympathetic Nervous system prepared the body for flight or fight to allow humans the best chance of survival.

The body’s parasympathetic nervous system returns to normal after the stressor has been removed.

Fight or Flight

Return to Normal

Alarm

Exhaustion

The body begins to perceive and be aware of stress

The Sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for fight or flight

The parasympathetic nervous system is activated, and the body returns to normal.

The body becomes exhausted by its response to stress

Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome Theory proposes four stages involved in adapting to stress:1. Alarm

2. Fight or flight

3. Exhaustion

4. Return to normal

Management of Stress

Powerlessness: inability to control situations, workload, and duties; feelings of frustration and panic because of schedules.

Round peg in a square hole: not suited for the position you hold.

Traumatic events in the job: not emotionally prepared for trauma in the job.

Environmental: physical conditions such as noise, lightning or temperature influence work.

Management style: your manager’s style causes uproar pr instability in work demands.

Stress cannot be prevented; in fact, life would be dull without short term stress.

Long-term stressful situations are not desirable, but situations leading to them can be managed if we understand the causes:

Management of Stress

Requesting that you have written job description can control powerlessness.

Managing your lifestyle also becomes part of stress management.

Maintaining a positive mental attitude. Maintaining an active social life Maintaining a regular sleep cycle, eating a

proper diet, and getting a regular exercise contribute to your body’s tolerance to stressors.

Dressing appropriately but comfortably Adapting your work environment to your

needs Maintaining good interpersonal relationships Making positive decisions

There are things that you can do to manage stress:

What is Burnout?

Honeymoon – love your job and have unrealistic expectations; take work at home and look for all the work your can get; cannot say “no” to accepting additional work.

Reality – begin to have doubts you can meet expectations; feel frustrated with your progress; work harder to meet expectations, etc…

Dissatisfaction – loss of enthusiasm; try to escape frustration by drinking, partying, shopping, or excessive eating or sex; fatigue and exhaustion develop.

Sad state – depression, work seems pointless, lethargic with little energy, consider quitting and look on yourself as a failure; represents full burnout.

Burnout is the result of stress and frustration, principally brought about by unrealistic expectations.

Stages of Burnout:

What is Burnout?

Role conflict – feeling of being pulled in many directions when employees have conflicting responsibilities.

Role ambiguity – the employee does not know what is expected and how to accomplish it because there may not be a role model to follow or ask, or establish guidelines to follow.

Role overload – if the employee cannot say no and continues to accept more responsibility then they can handle, burnout is sure to set in.

Burnout in the workplace

Burnout happens to people who previously were enthusiastic when first hired on the job. Three characteristics associated with burnout in the workplace include:

What to Do If You Are Burnout

Have you always been a perfectionist? Have you always had a higher need than

most of your peers to do a job well? Are you irritable towards co-workers or

patients? At what point did you lose your sense of

humor? Do you always see work as a chore? Are your so intensely striving to achieve

your goals that if you do not succeed you consider yourself a failure?

Are you physically and emotionally exhausted?

When you recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout, it is time to do some analysis by asking yourself some hard questions:

What to Do If You Are Burnout

Make a list of negative words or phrases that you most often use. Now replace the negatives with more neutral words pr phrases.

Create some job diversity for yourself. Drive to work via a different route; enter the building through a different door; change your work routine slightly; change your start time.

Become creative. Redecorate your area. Establish some long and sort realistic goals

and write them down. Take care of yourself; change your eating

habits; exercise more; get more sleep. Renew friendships; go to lunch with

coworkers; laugh with them. Implement time management techniques. Delegate responsibility to others who are

capable.

The next step is to make some changes.

Prevention and Recovery from Burnout

• Get some rest and relaxation away from the job for as long as is practical.

• Develop outside interests and an active social life.

• Set realistic goals for your life and your job.

• Negotiate a job description with your manager that has achievable expectations.

• Do not take work home.

• Develop time management techniques.

• Take steps to achieve regular sleep habits, nutritious diet, and physical exercise.

• Concentrate on thinking positively regarding job success.

All of the techniques used for stress management are applicable for prevention and recovery from burnout. Following are the basic steps that need to be taken by a person who experiences burnout:

Goal Setting As A Stress Reliever

Specific – focused and have precise boundaries. Challenging – creates enthusiasm and interest in

achievement Realistic – practical and beneficial Attainable – possible to fulfill Measureable – achieves some form of progress or

success.

Outer-Directed people let events, other people, or environmental factors dictate their behavior.

Inner-Directed people, on the other hand, decide for themselves what they want for themselves and what they want to do with their lives.

GOAL – the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.

A GOAL must be:

Goal Setting As A Stress Reliever

Specific – focused and have precise boundaries. Challenging – creates enthusiasm and interest in achievement Realistic – practical and beneficial for the present and for future

self-actualization Attainable – possible to fulfill Measureable – achieves some form of progress or success.

Outer-Directed people let events, other people, or environmental factors dictate their behavior.

Inner-Directed people, on the other hand, decide for themselves what they want for themselves and what they want to do with their lives.

GOAL – the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.

A GOAL must be:

Goal Setting As A Stress Reliever

Long-terms goals are achievements that may take three to five years to accomplish.

Much discipline, perseverance, determination, and hard work will be expended in accomplishing long term goals.

The rewards of goal achievement include satisfaction, pride, a sense of accomplishment, and a job well done.

Short-term goals take apart long-range goals and reassemble the required activities into smaller, more manageable time segments.

Source:

Administrative Medical Assisting, 3rd Edition, byWilburta Q. Lindh, Marilyn S. Pooler, Carol D. Tamparo, and Barbara M

Dahl.

Greg Consulta

Instructional Design Specialist