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Softpanorama
(slightly skeptical)
Open Source Software Educational Society |
May the
source be with you,
but remember the KISS principle ;-)
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Coping with the toxic stress in IT environment
| "The problem is never the problem — the coping is the problem."
— Virginia Satir
|
The focus of this page is harmful stress that arises from corporate
psychopath including stress from bulling and micromanaging. People
who are micromanaged live under tremendous amount of stress and often have acute
symptoms evident in their health. The most common is sleep disorders, but elevated
blood pressure and skin rushes are pretty common too. Stress becomes dramatically
more harmful when it is accompanied by blocking of your activities by micromanager.
This phenomenon is connected to so called
Learned helplessness, the phenomenon studied
mainly during rather cruel experiments on animals.
Note: Paranoid incompetent micromanagers (PIMM),
who successfully combine tight control of minute details/procedures used in performing
assignments with compete incompetence are often called "control freaks" (CF). This
category of micromanagers represents really nasty beasts of IT jungles. In
this set of pages that include
we will mainly address this menace.
Micromanagement produces tremendous amount of stress from at least two sources:
- Micromanager demand a lot from the employees while allowing them little
control over how the job is performed,
- It encourage red tape including useless reports activities as well as necessity
of documenting everything that consume a large part of employee working
hours.
Implementing successful workplace stress-management measures depends on: Valuing
your employees' well-being while they are at work, Being flexible when tackling
any workplace stress problem, and Creating and maintaining open lines of communication
betweenyou and your employees.
By fostering two-way conversations with your employees about stress issues, employers
can encourage employees to suggest solutions to the problems they experience on
the job.
Your employees' knowledge of the workplace should be considered in evaluating
any suggested solution to workplace stress problems. Just as workplace activities
can produce stress in an employee's life, personal factors can do the same, because
an employee's personal stress can magnify the effect of harmful workplace stress.
It is difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. While this brochure
offers employers a practical approach to identifying and reducing harmful workplace
stress, it also recognizes that employees must take responsibility for reducing
harmful stress that arises from their personal lives.
This brochure also assists employers by focusing on the workplace factors they
can control, an approach that can lead to a reduction in the influence of factors
that employers cannot control.
Consider using the following three-step approach to managing workplace stress:
- Try to improve you "work-life balance". US work culture supports
longer working hours, and a culture of "workaholism" all of which in combination
with micromanagement produce dangerous amount of workplace stress. Micromanagement
is actually the leading causes of workplace stress in the USA. There are two
contributing factors:
- Poorly defined and designed work roles. Clearly defined
work roles, and variation in work tasks within work roles, are likely to
alleviate stress.
- Irregular work schedules. Unpredictable work schedules, particularly
caused by frequent changes in project direction typical for micromanagement.
- Maintain your sense of humor: This includes the ability
to laugh at yourself. Watch a funny movie: the sillier the plot the better.
The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways
- Find a partner to share the worry outside your work environment.
Talk to someone you trust—a friend, partner, colleague, mentor—about your concerns.
Just talking can be a relief, and your listener may even provide some reassurance
and guidance.
- Get the facts. Often worry is a small problem blown out of
proportion by your imagination.
- Before you let worry consume you, check if the fact that you operate
are correct. Don't let work rumors, which are usually false, fuel your worry.
A co-worker may just be thinking out loud about worst-case scenarios.
- Find out what and how big the real problem is.
- Make a plan B. Don’t become a passive victim of toxic worry;
attack the worry by intencified seraching for other job. Even if you never find
a decent substiitute the activity itself have high therapevtic value. Just make
a plan and take it one step at a time, solving one part of the problem first
and then the next. Bit by bit you’ll overcome the problem and dissolve your
worry. Don't expect wonders; assume that you need to lose something to preserve
your health.
- Get yourself involved in regular exercise. That is vital therapeutic
technique for any micromanaged employee. Get a year subscription to a gym ASAP.
practice brain maintenance. Maintaining your body helps to maintain
your brain. Exercise every second day (even a short walk will help invigorate
your brain as well as your body), and practice relaxation techniques (tune out
your critical voice). Yoga provides good relaxation techniques. Buy a massaging
machine. A massage provides some relaxation too.
- Fight micromanagement induced speed disorders. Sleep deprivation
increases irritability. Use slow walking for an hour before
sleep and taking a 15-min warm bath after. A grass of warm milk or red wine
might telp too. What is more effective depends on your metabolism. People with
slow oxidation of alcohol react better to milk. For people with high oxidation
of alcohol wine helps better but the problem can be to limit its consumption
to a healthy level and avoid becoming another alcoholic. Valerian is a
herb that is widely used for such cases in Eastern Europe and it is availed
in the USA too. Get enough sleep: Adequate sleep fuels your
mind, as well as your body.
- Change your eating habit. you need to understand that your body is
under severe pressure and you just need to switch to a healthy diet (cut
down on fats, sugar, caffeine). Some alcohol, especially red wine, can be your
friend, especially a grass just before going to bed.
- Buy boxing gloves and punching bag. Punching the bag with the face of
your boss on it for many people helps relieve micromanagement induced
stress. This is a proved Japanese approach.
- Let it go. When you can’t do anything more about the problem,
then let the worry go. Give it up to your past and forget about it. This may
be difficult to do, but it is worth the conscious effort.
- Say no to any work on Sundays. Take time out from
the hustle and bustle of life for leisure time. Too much work is actually inefficient
and can lead to burnout. Recognize when you are most stressed and allow yourself
some reasonable breaks. When things feel especially difficult, take a walk or
change your scenery. Most importantly, try to do things that make you happy.
- Keep a journal: One strategy that many people have found
effective in coping with stress is keeping a journal, sometimes referred as
a “stress diary.”
The time you spend at the office may be the most stressful part of your day,
but it doesn't have to be.
- Consider buying a mascot for your office. A toy can do wonders for
your morale.
- Take breaks throughout the day. It will help clear your mind and
relieve pressure. Something as simple as going to the water cooler for a drink
may do the trick.
- Try to improve pacing of your activities: Do more demanding work
in the morning, when your energy level is higher, and easier work (documentation)
later in the day, when you may be tired. Or vise versa if your level of
activity is higher in the second half of the day.
- Try listening to relaxing music recordings for five minutes at
least twice daily on the work.
- If you feel stressed and after each talk with your boss walk the stars.
Stars are a great stress reliever.
- In case of overload get to work early or stay late; but do it just
once or twice a week, no more frequently. You may be able to accomplish
more when you vary your routine but avoid Workagolism.
If your stress additionally increases due to job insecurity,
take stock of yourself. Update your resume, and remind yourself of your skills and
strengths. Also, make sure you keep up with new developments in your field. This
will make you valuable on the marketplace.
Notes:
- This is a Spartan WHYFF (We Help
You For Free) site written by people for whom English
is not a native language.
Some amount of grammar and spelling errors should be
expected.
- The site contain some broken links
as it develops like a living tree...
Please try to use Google, Open directory,
etc. to find a replacement link (see
HOWTO search the WEB for details). We would appreciate
if you can
mail us a correct link.
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April 17, 2007 (Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com
)
Whether it’s a school shooting, natural disaster, war or accident,
most people
respond to a horrible event with a combination of grief, surprise, anger or
shock. “These emotions are completely normal,” says Lawrence H. Bergmann, a
certified trauma specialist and founder of Post Trauma Resources in South Carolina.
“They are appropriate responses, but they will go away in time. In the past
we believed that everyone needed to be treated like they would suffer severe
psychological difficulties, but now we know it’s only a few people who are at
high risk.”
People in the high-risk category
are those who were immediately present during the actual event and may have
felt their own life was at risk, or witnessed others’ deaths firsthand. It also
includes people who have suffered a prior trauma, work in a profession where
they are routinely exposed to life or death situations, (such as EMT and rescue
squad workers) or who have a history of problems with anxiety or depression.
“Basically their body chemistry is primed to experience overload,” says Chris
Dunning, a leading trauma expert and professor of governmental affairs at University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “Chronic stress already predisposes them to depression
and the new event can trigger a response [that freezes them there].”
Another common cause of long-term
problems is feeling a sense of responsibility for preventing the attack. “I
would say that 50 percent of that campus will believe ‘if only they had been
there, if only they had done something,’ they could have prevented this,” says
Dunning. “It’s cognitive restructuring-a way of trying to achieve mastery over
the event by looking back and trying to find an omen that should have told us
this was going to happen. But it’s not rational.” Dunning says hostage negotiators
who had no reason to be at the crime scene often chastise themselves for not
being there and not being able to talk down the perpetrator.
Also at risk are those who
lack support. “People who have support systems and feel able to communicate
with [loved ones] about their experiences tend to be more resilient to the effects
of traumatic stress,” says Bergmann. “People without an adequate support system
are at more risk for developing psychological problems or difficulties.”
When adults who are at risk
are traumatized by a new event, they suffer from what psychologists call a “mental
injury.” Dangerous situations trigger a stress response that includes releasing
adrenaline and cortisol to speed the heart and increase oxygen absorption while
slowing nonessential tasks like tissue repair and digestion.
The brains of people
at high risk get stuck in this “fight or flight” position and so are strained
by the hyper-vigilant biological state. “If you maintain a hyper-vigilant state
over time, it’s going to upset your whole system,” says Elaine Leader, a psychologist
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “This is what you see in children
who grow up in homes where there’s violence. These kids are repeatedly traumatized
so they grow up hyper vigilant and it causes changes in the way the brain develops.”
Dunning says once the brain
gets “stuck in terror” it feels terror all the time, making victims constantly
aware of their environment, their emotions constantly on edge. “It comes out
in anger, conflict, people develop attention deficits because they’re so invested
in environmentally scanning, they lose abstract reasoning, act irrational checking
doors, checking locks over and over,” says Dunning. “We’re talking about the
point where it interferes with someone’s life. That’s when it’s time to get
help. ”
As a result of these fresh
insights into how many people are severely affected, trauma counselors have
revised the way they respond to events like school shootings. One change: they
no longer encourage everyone in the community to attend a “debriefing” where
the event is discussed and examined in detail. Instead, trauma counselors affiliated
with groups like FEMA, the National Institute for Mental Health and the International
Society for Traumatic Stress Studies follow a protocol called Psychological
First Aid, which focuses less on pushing everyone in the community to talk at
length about the trauma (which increases their exposure) and instead focuses
on identifying at-risk people, and lending support for whatever recovery systems
they already have in place. “All the things grandma used to say-go back to work,
get with your family, all those things turned out to be more effective than
pushing mental health services,” says Bergmann. “All this counseling and rushing
to the scene turned out not to be so helpful. Turns out not everyone needs to
discuss the situation and everyone has their own way to process, find support
from family or friends.” The fact that the shootings took place at a college
rather than a school may also help to reduce the extent of long-term psychological
damage. Psychologists expect college-age students to respond more like adults
than adolescents to a traumatic event like this. In addition, they say, students
are already aware that their campus is a less sheltered environment than a high
school and may experience less of a sense of violation than younger witnesses
of school shootings.
...“People have mental injuries and they need to be attended
to, but we are a nation that has resources and experts knows how to deal with
what comes up. If they suffer this type of mental injury, they should go get
treatment. They will recover.” Bergmann agrees. “We’re a fairly resilient
country. Most people will do pretty darn good recovering emotionally even without
professional help.”
Paul J. Rosch, president of the American Institute of
Stress, said “most job stress has to do with workers’
impressions that they have little control over their
work.”
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY “The most popular class
at
Harvard isn’t Intro to Econ or Survey of Dead White
Poets,” Lauren Bradshaw writes in Glamour. It’s the
Positive Psychology seminar taught by Tal Ben-Shahar
who gives students research-based ways to live a more
satisfying life. “In other words, it’s a course on how
to be happier.”
Among the teachings:
- Find what makes you happy. “Make three lists of activities: ones
you’re good at; ones that feel pleasurable, and ones that are meaningful
to you.” Look for any item that appears on all three lists. “An hour of
that activity can boost your outlook for a week,” Mr. Ben-Shahar said.
- Failure is O.K. The most successful people are also the ones
who have failed the most, so stop trying to be perfect.
- Don’t fake it. If you are anxious or unhappy don’t pretend otherwise.
“Always saying ‘I’m fine’ when you are not is a harmful habit,” Mr. Ben-Shahar
said. “Only two types of people don’t experience sadness or fear: psychopaths
and dead people.”
July 8, 2003 (upliftprogram.com) Recent research has shown
that workplace bullying is one of the most significant causes of stress, is
on the increase and costs industry billions of dollars annually.
Much has been done to try to eradicate bullying at school however, relatively
few people are aware of the seriousness of bullying within the workplace. Surveys
have been highlighting this point for a long time but now at last it seems that
some companies and organizations are beginning to realize the hidden costs of
bullying, and attempting to wipe it out.
Among some recent headlines:
- 53% of employees felt they had been bullied at work.
- 72% of teachers experienced bullying by colleagues, not pupils.
- The journal Nursing Times reports a new breed of "macho-managers"
who under the pressure of restructuring were passing on stress factors to
staff.
- According to Ronin research services, 50% of respondents had received
abusive or critical messages by email.
- One in eight of all workers complained of being bullied at work (but
only one in three actually complain).
According to a recent report ("Key Facts on Harassment at Work") issued by
the Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD), which represents personnel
and human resources managers, in the past bullying at work was always regarded
as being due to over-zealous management or awkward workers that needed a firm
line taken with them. The report says that bullying is bad for business because
staff become too stressed to do their jobs, and some even cease to turn up for
work.
The IPD advises that "any persistent behavior which a person finds intimidating,
upsetting, humiliating or offensive should be investigated."
A new type of bullying is via the use of the computer, which has become known
as "flame mail". A recent survey by Ronin research services found that staff
regularly receive abusive messages via the use of internal electronic mail systems.
Men were found to be the victims as well as the perpetrators, being five more
times likely than women to send this type of mail and twice as likely to receive
them. One in 70 people said that they had left their jobs because of these messages.
More worrying was the fact that the survey found that the most common response
was to reply similarly with another abusive message. A third of the respondents
said that they actually stopped communicating with colleagues.
The whole area of bullying is fraught with difficulties. There are different
kinds of bullies and different kinds of bullying. A recent article in the journal
of the Association of First Division Civil Servants (FDA), which represents
UK civil service and NHS managers sought to highlight the different types of
bullying, as follows:
- Pathological: They simply get pleasure from hurting people.
- Situational: They threaten and intimidate their staff when under
pressure themselves. So-called "cascade bullying."
- Role-playing: They follow the authoritarian model of management
used in their organization.
- Punishing: They believe that the "stick" is more effective than
the "carrot."
- Psychopathic Manager: A variant of the pathological bully. Psychologists
say they have a history of school truancy and develop a cold disregard for
the feelings of others.
"If you work for an office bully, verbal abuse and humiliation may be the
least of your problems. They may set you impossible deadlines and unattainable
targets, remove your responsibility, take credit for your work or spread rumors
and lie to senior management about you," states the article.
"Cascade bullying" seems to be the most common form of bullying, especially
in areas which have been exposed to the pressures of restructuring. The "downsizing"
and "delayering" culture brings with it a feeling of job insecurity which in
turn puts much more pressure on managers as they become overworked. They in
turn then tend to transfer this pressure onto their staff.
The FDA article states that as many as 40 million days per year in the UK
may be lost through absence caused by bullying--at a cost of at least GBP 4
billion.
The FDA advises that the following check-list should be used:
- Do not explode. The bully will use this against you, but at the
same time do not simply accept the situation.
- Keep a record of the incidences.
- Talk to your workplace representative or welfare officer.
- Remember that senior managers may have a different view about the
bully.
- Do not resign--the bully has then won.
- And stand up for yourself and get the bully out of the workplace.
Read more on the FDA site
Read more on the IPD site
High rates of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found among corporate employees
September 1, 2004 (BBC) Soldiers under fire in Iraq and workers
at some of our largest corporations are at risk. They are both in a battleground
and both face enormous stress according to research carried out by a leading
British psychologist.Dr Noreen Tehrani has counselled victims of the troubles
in Northern Ireland, soldiers returning from combat overseas and victims of
workplace bullying. According to her "The symptoms displayed by people who have
been in conflict situations and workplaces where bullying happens are strikingly
similar."
Her findings tie in closely with my own experience of working both with veterans
and corporate managers and executives.
According to Dr Tehrani, who was interviewed by the BBC News Online,
"Both groups suffer nightmares, are jumpy and seem fuelled by too much adrenaline.
In addition, they show greater susceptibility to illnesses, heart disease and
alcoholism."
Psychologists define corporate bullying as persistent devaluing demeaning
or harassing of someone at work.
To back up her years of experience, Dr Tehrani conducted a study of 165 professionals
in the caring sector such as nurses and social workers. Bullying managers grab
the headlines but it also occurs between people on the same grade or even on
occasions subordinates can intimidate their boss. Again this accords with our
own experience of working with the nursing and support staff in some of our
major hospitals in Australia and the US.
Dr Tehrani found that 36% of the men and 42% of the women reported having
experienced bullying. Overall, one in five people exhibited the main symptoms
of PTSD.
The three most obvious signs of PTSD are hyper-arousal, a feeling of
constant anxiety and over-vigilance; avoidance of anything to do with the traumatizing
event; and re-experiencing, in which subjects suffer flashbacks or obsessive
thoughts concerning the trauma.
Early signs of workplace bullying are sickness and absenteeism, Dr Tehrani
added.
Bullying can take many forms from malicious gossiping to overt physical violence.
"Generally, male bullies indulge in quite physical and loud verbal bullying,"
Dr Tehrani told the BBC. "Female bullies favour
a strictly psychological approach to inflicting pain on others such as gossip
and persistent criticism."
However the image of the bullying boss terrorizing staff doesn't paint the
whole picture. Bullying managers grab the headlines, but it also occurs between
people on the same grade or even on occasions subordinates can intimidate their
boss. A manager or boss who is a bully gives the green light for bullying to
occur throughout the organization. Firms tend to take on the psychological profiles
of their CEOs, and other research as estimated that between 5 and 15% of all
CEOs are psychopaths.
Read
more in BBC News Online
According to a study, 40% of the American employees feel that their job is
very stressful. As the issue of job and related factors causing stress is a
persistent one, workplace stress needs to be dealt in a proper way. Otherwise
there are chances of stress becoming a chronic problem. Moreover stress at work
impairs the job activities and also causes physical problems like head ache,
back ache and later on heart problems. At the extreme chances of death is also
there due stressful work. Japanese even have a term for it -karoushi. Work related
stress results in decreased productivity, increased management problems and
increased incidence of illnesses among employees. Stress related problems are
the most common causes of sickness absenteeism all over the world. In one study
it was found that 13 million work days are lost every year in UK due to stress
and related problems. The other side of the problem involves the employers,
who suffer production loss, get bad reputation and are prone to litigations
resulting in liabilities. The cost of stress related problems is to the tune
of 700 million pounds per year to the employers according to a study conducted
in UK and about 150 billion dollars according to a study conducted in US.
Work Related Stress
The common causes of work place stress are
- The common causes of work place stress are
- Unreasonable demands for performance
- Lack of interpersonal communication between the employer and the employees
- Lack of interpersonal relationship among the employees
- The fear of losing one's job.
- Long working hours
- Less time to spend with the family
- Under utilization of skills
- Underpaid jobs
- A promotion that did not materialize
In a survey conducted to find out the most stressful jobs the following were
found to be in the top four professions which caused more stress.
- Nursing
- Teaching
- Managers
- Professionals
Unlike stress in general, the work related stress affects men and women equally.
Older employees are affected more than their younger counterparts. Stress at
workplace could be due to
- External cause like dangerous working condition or poor interpersonal
relationship with the colleague.
- Internal causes like physical or psychological illnesses
- Acute cause
- Long term cause
But in the long run the stress becomes chronic problem causing serious health
problems.
Stress Management at Workplace
If an employer finds that his staff is under stress, he should not ignore it.
He should take steps to help them. If he finds it difficult to provide a solution
for it, he should get the help of another capable person. If the employee is
suffering from non work related stress, even then it should be looked into as
it may later lead on to work related stress. There is no single stress relief
method. The stress management at workplace thus has to combine steps to eliminate
the source of stress and provide relief for the short and long term effects
by utilizing popular stress relievers. Also identify the best candidate for
work by assessing his emotional intelligence and not just his qualification.
... ... ...
The above mentioned methods are for stress relieving methods which act by
correcting the stress inducing problems. In addition work stress can also be
relieved by other stress relief methods like
- Consuming a healthy, balanced nutritious diet
- Do deep breathing exercises
- Squeeze stress balls
- Listen to music
- Practice Yoga, meditation or tai chi
- Go for a walk
- Talk to a close friend and try to find his view of the problem
- Play games
- Play with kids
- Play with pets
There are no “one size fits all” solutions to managing stress. Every individual
has a unique response to stress, so experiment with a variety of approaches
to manage and reduce stress to learn what works best for you.
How can I change my lifestyle habits to manage stress better?
- Get enough sleep: Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as
well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress
because it may cause you to think irrationally. See
Getting
the sleep you need
- Connect with others: Develop a support system and share
your feelings. Perhaps a friend, family member, teacher, clergy person or
counselor can help you see your problem in a different light. Talking with
someone else can help clear your mind of confusion so that you can focus
on problem solving.
- Exercise regularly: Find at least 30 minutes, three
times per week to do something physical. Nothing beats aerobic exercise
to dissipate the excess energy. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing
and preventing the effects of stress. During times of high stress, choose
things you like to do. It also is beneficial to have a variety of
exercise outlets. Be physically fit in ways appropriate for your age,
rather than being sedentary.
- Eat a balanced, nutritious diet: Be mindful of what
you put in your body. Healthy eating fuels your mind, as well as your body.
Take time to eat breakfast in the morning, it will help keep you going throughout
the day. Eating several balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day will
give you the energy to think rationally and clearly. Well-nourished bodies
are better prepared to cope with stress. See
Healthy Diet / Healthy Eating.
- Reduce caffeine and sugar: Avoid consuming too much
caffeine and sugar. In excessive amounts, the temporary "highs" they provide
often end in fatigue or a "crash" later. You’ll feel more relaxed, less
jittery or nervous, and you’ll sleep better. In addition, you’ll have more
energy, less heartburn and fewer muscle aches.
- Don’t self-medicate with alcohol or drugs: While consuming
alcohol or drugs may appear to alleviate stress, it is only temporary. When
sober, the problems and stress will still be there. Don’t mask the issue
at hand; deal with it head on and with a clear mind.
- Do something for yourself everyday: Take time out from
the hustle and bustle of life for leisure time. Too much work is actually
inefficient and can lead to burnout. Recognize when you are most stressed
and allow yourself some reasonable breaks. When things feel especially difficult,
take a walk or change your scenery. Most importantly, have fun. Do things
that make you happy.
How can I change my thinking and emotional responses to handle stress
better?
- Have realistic expectations: Know your limits. Whether
personally or professionally, be realistic about how much you can do. Set
limits for yourself and learn to say “no” to more work and commitments.
- Reframe problems: See problems as opportunities. As
a result of positive thinking, you will be able to handle whatever is causing
your stress. Refute negative thoughts and try to see the glass as half full.
It is easy to fall into the rut of seeing only the negative when you are
stressed. Your thoughts can become like a pair of dark glasses, allowing
little light or joy into your life.
- Maintain your sense of humor: This includes the ability
to laugh at yourself. Watch a funny movie: the sillier the plot the better.
The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways. See
Humor, laughter and health.
- Express your feelings instead of bottling them up:
In order to live a less stressful life, learn to calm your emotions. A good
cry during periods of stress, or sharing your concerns with someone you
trust can be healthy ways to bring relief to your anxiety.
- Don’t try to control events or other people: Many circumstances
in life are beyond your control, particularly the behavior of others. Consider
that we live in an imperfect world. Learn to accept what is, for now, until
the time comes when perhaps you can change things.
- Ask yourself “Is this my problem?” If it isn't, leave
it alone. If it is, can you resolve it now? Once the problem is settled,
leave it alone. Don't agonize over the decision, and try to accept situations
you cannot change.
How can I meet the challenges of stressful situations?
- Manage time: One of the greatest sources of stress
is over-commitment or poor time management. Plan ahead. Make a reasonable
schedule for yourself and include time for stress reduction as a regular
part of your schedule. When you try to take care of everything at once it
can seem overwhelming and as a result, you may not accomplish anything.
Instead, make a list of what tasks you have to do, and then complete them
one at a time, checking them off as they're completed.
- Give priority to the most important tasks and do those first:
If a particularly unpleasant task faces you, tackle it early in the day
and get it over with. You will experience less anxiety the rest of the day
as a result. Most importantly, do not overwork yourself. Resist the temptation
to schedule things back-to-back. All too often, we underestimate how long
things will take.
- Schedule time for both work and recreation: Too much
studying or working is actually inefficient and can lead to burnout.
- Delegate tasks and break up big projects: Being efficient
and effective means you must delegate tasks and prioritize, schedule, budget
and plan your precious time. Aim to work in short, intensive periods, which
allow you to rest in between. Break big projects into smaller, more manageable
tasks so you don’t feel overwhelmed and nothing gets done as a result.
In case of broken links
please try to use Google search. If you find the page please notify
us about new location
NASA Safety page/Stress management
Bullied Workers Suffer "Battle Stress" High rates of post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found among corporate employees
Links
to Stress Related Resources
The management of workplace stress
Managing Workplace Stress: A Best Practice Blueprint (Except)
Healthy
Work Managing Stress in the Workplace
The Latest
News and Research into Work and Workplace Issues
http://www.usenix.org/events/usenix99/
Big Data and the Next Wave of InfraStress Problems, Solutions, Opportunities
John R. Mashey, Chief Scientist, SGI Summary by Art Mulder
John Mashey, current custodian of the California "UNIX" license plate, presented
an overview of where computer technology appears to be heading and outlined
areas where we need to be concerned and prepared. A key opening thought was
that if we don't understand the upcoming technology trends, then watch out,
we'll be like people standing on the shore when a large wave comes rushing in
to crash over us.
Mashey began with a definition of the term "infrastress," a word that
he made up by combining "infrastructure" and "stress." You experience infrastress
when computing subsystems and usage change more quickly than the underlying
infrastructure can change to keep up. The symptoms include bottlenecks, workarounds,
and instability.
We all know that computer technology is growing: disk capacities, CPU speeds,
RAM capacity constantly increase. But we need to understand how those technologies
interact, especially if the growth rates are not parallel. The audience looked
at a lot of log charts to understand this. For instance, on a log chart we could
clearly see that CPU speed was increasing at a rate far larger than DRAM access
times.
Most (all?) computer textbooks teach that a memory access is roughly equivalent
to a CPU instruction. But with new technologies the reality is that a memory
operation, like a cache miss, may cost you 1000 CPU instructions. We need to
be aware of this and change our programming practices accordingly. The gap between
CPU and disk latency is even worse. Avoid disk access at all costs. For instance,
how can I change my program to use more memory and avoid going to disk? Or,
similarly, minimize going to the network, since network latency is another concern?
Disk capacity and latency is another area where two technologies are growing
at different rates. Disk capacity is growing at a faster rate than disk-access
time. We are packing in a lot more data, but our ability to read it back is
not speeding up at the same rate. This is a big concern for backups. Mashey
suggested that we may need to move from tape backups to other techniques — RAIDs,
mirrors, or maybe backup on cartridge disks. We also need to change our disk
filesystems and algorithmic practices to deal with the changing technology.
One interesting side comment had to do with digital cameras and backups.
Virtually everyone in attendance probably has to deal with backups at work.
Yet how many people bother with backups at home? Probably very few, since most
people don't generate that much data on their home systems. A few letters or
spreadsheets, but for the rest the average home system these days is most likely
full of games and other purchased software, all of which are easily restored
from CD-ROM after a system crash. Yet very soon, with the proliferation of digital
cameras, we can expect that home computer systems are going to become filled
with many gigabytes of irreplaceable data in the form of family snapshots
and photo albums. Easy and reliable backup systems are going to be needed to
handle this.
Mashey's technology summary: On the good side, CPU is growing in MHz, and
RAM, disk and tape are all growing in capacity. On the bad side, all those technologies
have problems with latency. This means that there is lots of work to be done
in software and exciting times for system administrators.
The slides for this talk are available at <http://www.usenix.org/events/usenix99/>.
March 22, 2004 (humanresourcesmagazine.com.au)
In Cerebos (Australia) Ltd v Koehler, the employee was unsuccessful in
that she was unable to establish that her injury had been reasonably foreseeable
albeit she had complained to her employer about her ever-increasing workload
and the intensification of her work duties that caused her to suffer a psychological
injury. While in Hart v Comcare, the employee who twice failed to get
a promotion was awarded compensation because of a disappointing promotion process
that she had been involved in – particularly, the application and interview
process.
These decisions serve as a wake up call to employers that they need to be proactive
when managing risk at the workplace. It would be prudent for employers after
consulting with employees to develop and implement policies and procedures to
reduce exposure to occupational stress.
They should also initiate and support programs to inform, educate and train
employees about preventing occupational stress, the policies and procedures
which have been put into place and about the support mechanisms for those suffering
from stress.
Assessing the risk of occupational stress and ongoing evaluation of the measures
put in place to reduce stress should be an ongoing process to ensure effectiveness.
Employees should review (and, where appropriate, take action with respect to)
working hours, job design, communication effectiveness, work practices, improving
the way in which new technology is introduced, improving the physical work environment
and workplace design and general; and focusing on well being and fitness at
work.
Where employers do not manage stress well, they will find themselves subject
to a workers compensation claim for stress which is now a recognised disability.
Increasing numbers of claims and consequential rises in premiums has, for example,
resulted in amendments to limit the scope of claims by excluding stress disabilities
caused by dismissal, retrenchment, demotion, discipline, transfer or re-development
or situations where a worker was not promoted, reclassified, transferred or
granted leave of absence. Even a worker’s expectation of one of these factors
is excluded from the scheme of compensation for disability. In those States
and Territories where such limitations have not yet been included, it is only
a matter of time before exclusion in an attempt to close the floodgates.
If a worker can show that an employer has acted in a harsh and unreasonable
manner, then the worker has a good chance of successfully rebutting the employer’s
attempt to rely on one of the exclusions in defending a stress claim. Any action
by the employer that denies a worker procedural fairness or a ‘fair go all round’
would constitute harsh and unreasonable conduct.
Short of this, the employer may rely on the statutory exemptions. To succeed,
the employer must be capable of producing convincing evidence in support of
its position, where an employer’s own policies and procedures have not been
followed in dealing with a worker claiming stress, usually in a well meaning
but useless attempt not to rock the boat, then the employer has no-one to blame
but itself.
Stress in IT Jobs
Rapid growth brought the curses of management by
crisis, inconsistent systems, and micro-management, causing a high level of
stress.
Stress is a major observable symptom of suffering.
In this paper we will address stress at the workplace caused by fast-paced changes
and two ways to mediate that stress.
The five basic emotions seen at less than three months
of age (Lewis, 2000) are:
- Joy
- Interest
- Anger
- Sadness
- Disgust
Add to them...
- Fear [develops around 7-8 months]
- Guilt [is taught and learned behavior.]
-- and we get seven basic emotions.
It has also been established that babies react to facial expressions that
express these emotions. As adults, we inherit a lot of the tendencies
we exhibit from our childhood years. This is important in recognizing
negative consequences of behaviors and environments, and taking step to ameliorate
these situations.
I posit that any perturbation in any of the seven above emotions
can cause stress. This is significant in thinking about how to reduce
stress in a work environment, i.e., find ways to stop “rocking the cradle”.
We will look at some ways to reduce stress by addressing these root causes,
but limit our suggestions to those factors that might be influenced externally.
Stress At Work: As Simple as Reducing Perturbation of Our Basic Emotions?
Fear and Stress
Fear causes stress. It is not the only cause, but a major one. The
“flight or fright” adrenergic reaction is commonly known in human biology as
the normal case of the operation of the adrenal glands and sympathetic nervous
system (Hendon, 2005). It is one of the more potent physical responses
and has been linked to survival and evolution theory. There are six other
emotions, and one learned behavior that can be related to stress [e.g., guilt
and cognitive dissonance (Robbins, 2005)]
To limit the scope of this discussion, let us address stress
related to fear in this paper.
In Part One: Dealing With Uncertainty we recognize that fear-based
stress partially is caused by ignorance and doubt. So we provide information
to dispel ignorance and doubt, and the ensuing, related stress by providing
access to clear, accurate information to the employees about the current situation
in one technique.
In Part Two: Dealing with Threats to Environment we recognize
that fear-based stress can also arise from a perceived threat. Lowering
the perception of negative consequences (“threats”) in a high-stress environment
can lead to better attitudes and higher productivity.
In Part Three: Solutions, we look at what positive actions
we can take to reduce stress at the workplace.
Part One:
Dealing with Uncertainty: Dispelling Ignorance
One element contributing to the fear-based stress is the uncertainty of what
is going to happen next. Keeping an open channel of communications can
help to minimize this type of perception. Dispel ignorance by letting
employees know what truth one knows related to what they are doing. Do
not over-inform them with irrelevant information. This can help an employee
feel informed but not experience “information overload”, a stress symptom of
micromanagement. This connotes allowing the employee more independent
control over the minutia of the task to which s/he is assigned. This also
allows for creative input and innovation to arise within the organization. This
may create better opportunities not only for the originator, but for all involved.
Increasing employee involvement in decision-making can help to create a sense
of more control over the environment in which the employee finds him/herself,
and increases the quality of the decision (Yukl, 2002) and the understanding
of the employee’s role in the situation. This may not be applicable in
all situations, but in things like establishing reasonable deadlines, the input
from the worker may be key in obtaining accurate metrics and understanding of
the work and establishing realistic project deadlines and goals. In this
discussion with the employee, elements of the job that are particularly difficult
and that may deserve further investigation as in how to facilitate the execution
of these tasks, may be revealed.
· Tell me and I'll forget. Show me,
and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. - Tribe Unknown
(©Native American Proverbs, 2003-2005)
Part Two: Dealing with Threats to Environment
“Environmental stressors such as:
- Crowding and invasion of personal space
- Insufficient working and living space
- Noise
- Dirty or untidy conditions
- Pollution
- A badly organized or run down environment” (“Sources
of Stress”, n.d.)
-- can contribute to increased distress.
What About Modifying the Work Environment to Reduce Stress?
These environmental factors can be addressed by making improvements to the
working conditions (), but realistically these changes may be constrained by
restricted company resources and policy.
Such modifications to the work environment might not be changed without the
proper authority and resources. Since they represent an expense to the
company, such changes often must be “cost justified” before they are allowed,
and many executives are leery of “experimental” employee “improvement programs”
due to experience with past failures. Good managers will not make promises
to make changes here unless they have the charter to do so, otherwise the employees
will lose confidence and respect in their manager/leader (Yukl, 2002).
What We Can’t Change, We Can Only Attempt to Influence
Since some stress is inherently characteristic of the personality type of
the individual, there are some limits on mollifying intrinsic stress due to
personality. It is healthy to recognize that personal values and models
for reality are difficult to change. Knowing this helps us to understand
the scope of where we can begin to limit the stress in a changing organization.
What this fundamentally means is to start with ourselves (Pirsig, 1984).
“Significant change begins with leaders” (Sparks, 2003)
Being an insensitive and demanding boss can induce fear and resentment, increasing
others’ stress. Choosing instead to cultivate an “Ocean of Calm” in a
stressful environment that can be comfortably sought out to listen and understand
issues as they arise can be beneficial not only to the employee, but also to
the manager in providing him/her with ongoing operations information.
Tenzin Gyatsu has the title of “Ocean of Compassion”, so that job is already
taken. However, the relevant precepts of the Dalai Lama have been translated
into the book, “The Art of Happiness at Work”, and may provide guidance to a
so motivated reader. Being a pool of calm oneself in a changing, hectic
environment can lend itself to a sense of calmness in others and extend into
the surrounding environment.
The Endless List of Environmental Stressors?
Other stressors more than likely exist. In an article on Stress Management
(“Sources of Stress”, n.d.) the author details what we can reasonably expect
as potential stressors. Better informing ourselves as a manager and a
leader about the potential sources can help us to be aware of conditions of
the work environment, and seize the moment to prepare and act to improve upon
these when the time and resources is right.
“Thus a comprehensive list of the stresses we experience
from our job may include the following:
- too much or too little work
- having to perform beyond our experience or perceived
abilities
- having to overcome unnecessary obstacles
- time pressures and deadlines
- keeping up with new developments
- changes in procedures and policies
- lack of relevant information, support and advice
- lack of clear objectives
- unclear expectations of our role from our boss or
colleagues
- responsibility for people, budgets or equipment
- career development stress:
- under-promotion, frustration and boredom with
current role
- over-promotion beyond abilities
- lack of a clear plan for career development
- lack of opportunity
- lack of job security
- Stress from our organization or our clients:
- pressures from our boss or from above in our organization
- interference in our work
- demands from clients
- disruptions to work plans
- the telephone!” (“Sources of Stress”, n.d.)
Part Three: Solutions:
The Advantages Provided By Empathy
Trying to see the environment through the employees’ eyes,
and identify with their feelings, also known as empathy, or compassion, will
also help one to understand what can be done to maintain and create a lower-stress
environment from a high-stress one. Again (“Sources of Stress”, n.d.)
provides us with some questions and employee perhaps could ask in assessing
their situation.
- “Do you have a difficult boss?
- Are your talents under-used?
- Are you constantly asked to put in overtime, particularly
at the last minute?
- Do you face role ambiguity, that is, you don't have
a clear definition of what's expected of you?
- Do you face conflicting demands? If you have one of
your bosses, and many people do, sometimes to please one you have to displease
the other.
- Do you deal with excessive job requirements - tasks
and assignments that clearly exceed your ability or training?
- Do you lack job security?
- Do you have an inflexible work environment? Do you
have to be in by 9 O' clock on the button?
- Is there a healthy career progression? Does hard work
earn reward?
- Do you have responsibility for the performance of
others? Have you ever had to fire someone?” (“Sources of Stress”, n.d.)
In as much as a manager and effective leader, one can keep these valid concerns
and questions in consideration and act positively with respect to them. One
then can make positive contributions that foster a better working environment,
lowering stress.
Elucidate Options
Making employees aware of employee assistance programs for counseling for
out of work issues can be beneficial to the organization as well as the individual,
and their community outside of the workplace. Taking actions such as improving
money management, and (as mentioned above) time management skills can help in
both the home and work environments (Robbins, 2005).
[Emotional] Strength in Numbers
Forming a collegial atmosphere and fostering its growth can help employees
reduce stress by providing the communications and social connections on the
job that help to resolve conflict (Robbins, 2005). Reducing on the job
conflict can markedly reduce stress. Embodying and exemplifying those
principles in one’s own actions sets the tone for that type of environment to
develop, as led by example (Pirsig, 1984).
Summary – To Reduce Stress: My “Big Five”
- Treat others kindly. [1]
- Listen like the other person is the only one else
in the world. Embrace better communication within the organization/community.
- Take action and use initiative to change what one
can, and wisdom to not waste efforts in changing what one can’t. Keep
promises. Reward good behavior.
- Lead by example, but be willing to follow and change
direction when circumstances or new information indicate that is a better
course of action. Be flexible.
- Actively involve others in decisions and learning
activities that will help to teach them the coping skills that they need
to handle stress. Foster community.
Take Action to effect change in the
level of stress.
"You will never plough a field if
you only turn it over in your mind."
Irish Proverb
[1]
"The need for simple human-to-human relationships is becoming increasingly urgent
. . . Today the world is smaller and more interdependent. One nation's problems
can no longer be solved by itself completely. Thus, without a sense of universal
responsibility, our very survival becomes threatened. Basically, universal responsibility
is feeling for other people's suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realization
that even our enemy is entirely motivated by the quest for happiness. We must recognize
that all beings want the same thing that we want. This is the way to achieve a true
understanding, unfettered by artificial consideration." (Dalai Lama, 1990)
References
“Insight”,
2006. Cool Boredom. Retrieved March 16, 2006 from
http://www.reiki.co.nz/insight5.htm
Dalai Lama [Tenzin Gyatsu], Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1989,
Editor Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1990
Dalai Lama;
Cutler, Nicholas, M.D., “The Art of Happiness at Work”, Riverhead Hardcover
(August 25, 2003), 224 pages, ISBN: 1573222615
Hendon,
Leslie, 2005. “Chapter 15: The Autonomic Nervous System and Visceral Sensory
Neurons”, Part I, Human Anatomy, fourth edition. PowerPoint® Presentation,
Slide 8. ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc., published by Benjamin Cummings. Retrieved
March 16, 2006 from
www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth/biomedical/311Anatomy/Chapter15.ppt
Hofstadter,
Douglas R., 1979, Göedel, Escher, and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid,
Basic Books, Inc., New York, 1980 ed.
Lewis,
M. (2000). The emergence of human emotions. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones
(Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed., pp. 265-280). New York: Guilford
Press.
Native
American Proverbs. 2003-2005. Retrieved March 6, 2006 from
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NA-Proverbs.html
Pirsig,
Robert M., 1984, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Gothenberg,
Sweden. Retrieved March 3, 2006 from
http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Quality/PirsigZen/
Robbins,
Stephen P., Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition. Pearson, Prentice-Hall.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2005.
Skrzypczak,
Peter. August 15, 2005. Notes on Leadership Models. Colorado Technical
University
Sparks,
Dennis, 2003, October, “Significant change begins with leaders”. National
Staff Development Council. Retrieved March 16, 2006 from
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/results/res10-03spar.cfm
“Sources
of Stress”, n.d.; Twilight Bridge. Retrieved March 15, 2006 from
http://www.twilightbridge.com/stress/complete/3bpossiblesources.htm
Yukl, 2002,
Leadership in Organizations, Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA
Big Data and the Next Wave of InfraStress Problems, Solutions, Opportunities
John R. Mashey, Chief Scientist, SGI
Summary by Art Mulder
John Mashey, current custodian of the California "UNIX" license plate, presented
an overview of where computer technology appears to be heading and outlined
areas where we need to be concerned and prepared. A key opening thought was
that if we don't understand the upcoming technology trends, then watch out,
we'll be like people standing on the shore when a large wave comes rushing in
to crash over us.
Mashey began with a definition of the term "infrastress," a word that
he made up by combining "infrastructure" and "stress." You experience infrastress
when computing subsystems and usage change more quickly than the underlying
infrastructure can change to keep up. The symptoms include bottlenecks, workarounds,
and instability.
We all know that computer technology is growing: disk capacities, CPU speeds,
RAM capacity constantly increase. But we need to understand how those technologies
interact, especially if the growth rates are not parallel. The audience looked
at a lot of log charts to understand this. For instance, on a log chart we could
clearly see that CPU speed was increasing at a rate far larger than DRAM access
times.
Most (all?) computer textbooks teach that a memory access is roughly equivalent
to a CPU instruction. But with new technologies the reality is that a memory
operation, like a cache miss, may cost you 1000 CPU instructions. We need to
be aware of this and change our programming practices accordingly. The gap between
CPU and disk latency is even worse. Avoid disk access at all costs. For instance,
how can I change my program to use more memory and avoid going to disk? Or,
similarly, minimize going to the network, since network latency is another concern?
Disk capacity and latency is another area where two technologies are growing
at different rates. Disk capacity is growing at a faster rate than disk-access
time. We are packing in a lot more data, but our ability to read it back is
not speeding up at the same rate. This is a big concern for backups. Mashey
suggested that we may need to move from tape backups to other techniques — RAIDs,
mirrors, or maybe backup on cartridge disks. We also need to change our disk
filesystems and algorithmic practices to deal with the changing technology.
One interesting side comment had to do with digital cameras and backups.
Virtually everyone in attendance probably has to deal with backups at work.
Yet how many people bother with backups at home? Probably very few, since most
people don't generate that much data on their home systems. A few letters or
spreadsheets, but for the rest the average home system these days is most likely
full of games and other purchased software, all of which are easily restored
from CD-ROM after a system crash. Yet very soon, with the proliferation of digital
cameras, we can expect that home computer systems are going to become filled
with many gigabytes of irreplaceable data in the form of family snapshots
and photo albums. Easy and reliable backup systems are going to be needed to
handle this.
Mashey's technology summary: On the good side, CPU is growing in MHz, and
RAM, disk and tape are all growing in capacity. On the bad side, all those technologies
have problems with latency. This means that there is lots of work to be done
in software and exciting times for system administrators.
The slides for this talk are available at <http://www.usenix.org/events/usenix99/>.
Incestuous
Workplace Stress and Distress in the Organizational Family
- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Hazelden; 2nd edition (September 29, 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1568381549
- ISBN-13: 978-1568381541
Amazon.com Workplace stress Books
Last updated:
August 15, 2009
