Introduction
Managing stress at the working place is one of the underlying humanistic facets that contributes to both interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict. Constant stress at work significantly reduces labor productivity, physical and emotional health of employees (Robbins & Judge, 2016). That is why Robbins and Judge emphasize that it is necessary to keep production stress under control, and offer various ways to do this.
Article One: Managing job performance, social support and work-life conflict to reduce workplace stress
The authors of this article claim that the set of reasons that provoke stress in modern employees of the company is quite wide. Thus, it can be stated that every modern individual has stressful situations in the workplace to varying degrees, from minor to serious, which as a result lead to a number of further manifestations. In this regard, the importance of developing and regularly carrying out measures to eliminate stress among employees, its prevention in the organization is growing, which is also emphasized by Robbins & Judge (2016).
Next, scientists propose methods for eliminating organizational stress, which are diverse in modern companies and depend on the causes of stress. Among them, it is worth highlighting: the work of a full-time or external corporate psychologist, increasing the corporate spirit in the team in order to reduce the level of conflict and with the help of corporate events (Foy et al., 2019). Moreover, the authors propose the creation of comfortable working conditions, promotion of sports and an active, healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition in the company as stress management. Like Robbins & Judge, the authors of the article believe that constant feedback from the manager, regular monitoring by oral or written (including anonymous) questioning of employees about their anxiety and stress, and the causes that provoke them, can also significantly help in reducing stress levels.
Thus, from reading this article, we can conclude that professional stress is a problem not only for an employee who is under the influence of stress factors, but also for the entire organization as a whole. It becomes clear that employees who are under stress are unable to fully devote themselves to work. As a result, there is a decrease in labor productivity, the quality of work performed, or services provided, and an increase in staff turnover in the company (Foy et al., 2019). Both Foy et al. (2019) and Robbins & Judge (2016) agree that, first of all, managers, HR specialists and organizational psychologists should think about the impact of stress on the organization’s personnel and its consequences. In addition, it is easier to prevent stress in the workplace than to correct the consequences that already led to the critical situation.
Article Two: Burnout is about your workplace, not your people
This article examines the aspects of stress management at the workplace from the point of view of the position of the manager and considers collective stress. It differs from the local one in that it does not act on one particular person, but on social groups. The causes of such stresses can be a sharp deterioration in the economic and political situation, large-scale organizational changes in the campaign, or a negative background in the media.
The manager should take into account that in a situation of stress, employees may experience a different set of reactions. Workers may suffer from a decrease in cognitive functions (memory and attention) and working capacity to an increase in the level of chaotic activity. They may have a manifestation of aggression as one of the strategies for coping with a stressful situation, a feeling of helplessness may arise, anxiety increases. The same disturbing symptoms and negative emotional state of stress at the working place are highlighted by Robbins & Judge (2016). All these negative manifestations of stress reduce labor productivity, increase the risks of conflicts, complicate work planning processes, and the psychological climate may become unfavorable. The most general recommendation to the manager in these conditions, which is given by both the author of the article and Robbins & Judge (2016), is to convey to employees the idea of calm and consistent solutions to emerging problems.
In a situation of general organizational stress, the manager should demonstrate increased attention to the problems that arise in employees, quickly respond to the difficulties that have arisen. In these conditions, the author recommends to abandon the methods of punishing management, to use more often non-material incentives in the form of gratitude, appreciation of the importance of work results and social recognition (Moss, 2019). This is done because employees need to feel the presence of the manager. The feeling that the manager is in the same workflow with the employees has a calming effect on them. The most successful in this situation is a leadership strategy based on a clear structuring of the work of employees, the organization of a productive discussion of work planning, and soft control of the implementation of tasks.
Conclusion
Mental labor has become so widespread in some countries that today sociologists are talking about the era of cognitive capitalism. With mental work, the employee themselves and their personal qualities become the instrument of production. At the same time, the dependence on their intellectual abilities and emotional component is extremely high. In the era of cognitive capitalism and the knowledge economy, even a little stress can quickly undermine the work and efficiency of employees. Therefore, with well-structured work processes and a psychologically healthy atmosphere, both the staff and the organization benefit.
Serious stress does not come overnight, it accumulates gradually. Workplace stress is a diverse phenomenon, expressed in mental and somatic reactions to stressful situations in a person’s work. If the leader studies the emotional symptoms at various stages of stress described in the articles, it will become much easier to identify alarm signals. A holistic approach is needed to stress at work, since stress is a natural and most often healthy response to difficulties that arise. Therefore, it is extremely important to recognize that this is a ubiquitous phenomenon and every employee can face it.
In the studied literature, there was also the term mental burnout, which is usually understood as a syndrome that occurs as a result of prolonged professional stress. A comparison of the features of the formation and course of the burnout syndrome in different research groups showed that this phenomenon is most common and most pronounced among representatives of the professions of the man – man system. In persons of communicative professions, disability is associated with stress in almost half of cases.
The studied articles show that all factors can be influenced by the behavior and management style of a leader. The manager has enough opportunities and responsibilities to maintain emotional stability and productivity, thereby preventing stress. Therefore, companies that include the development of well-being employees and workplace stress management in the agenda of the company’s key tasks increase their competitiveness. Their employees and management team always generate breakthrough ideas, work better and more efficiently.
References
Foy, T., Dwyer, R. J., Nafarrete, R., Hammoud, M. S., & Rockett, P. (2019). Managing job performance, social support and work-life conflict to reduce workplace stress. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 113(2), 2-25.
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2016). Essentials of organizational behavior (13th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.
Moss, J. (2019). Burnout is about your workplace, not your people. Harvard Business Review, 5(7), 2-6.