Stress management interventions in the workplace

1. STRESS MANAGEMENT IN THE
WORK PLACE
Anju Kuruvilla
Department of Psychiatry
Christian Medical College, Vellore
Occup stress Oct 25

2. Occupational Stress

3. Occupational Stress
• Definition:Ill-health , adverse work
performance resulting from negative reactions
to factors within the workplace.
• Significant relationship with
-ill health:physical and mental
-other consequences:job dissatisfaction,
burnout, absenteeism, labour turnover, loss of
productivity ,reduced patient satisfaction,
diagnosis and treatment errors

4. What is a healthy job?
• One where the pressures on employees are
appropriate in relation to
- their abilities and resources
- the amount of control they have over their
work
- the support they receive from people who
matter to them
PRESSURES
Abilities and
Resources
Degree of
control
Supports
available

5. What are stress-related hazards at
work?
• Job or task demands
(work load, degree of task control, clarity of role )
• Organizational factors
(interpersonal relationships, management practices,
communication styles, recognition)
• Environment and physical working conditions
• Training and career development issues
(opportunity for growth , promotion)
• Conflict between work and family roles

6. Roles
Nurses
• Work overload
• Understaffing
• Time pressure
• Lack of support from supervisors,
head nurses, higher management
• Exposure to infectious diseases
• Needle stick injuries
• Dealing with difficult, seriously ill,
violent
• Career development issues
Doctors
• Long hours
• Sleep deprivation
• Excessive workload
• Dealing with death
and dying
• Interpersonal conflicts with other
staff
• Patient expectations
• Threat of litigation
• Interpersonal conflicts (patients,
colleagues)
• Career development issues

7. Interventions for stress reduction
• Benefits
-individual
-organizational
Occup stress Oct 25

8. Interventions
• Primary prevention
-promote well-being ,prevent stress
• Secondary / tertiary prevention
-reduce the consequences of the stress
• Organizational changes
-to alter source of problem
• Individual stress management
-to cope with stress

9. Primary prevention:
Individual level
-Educational :causes ,consequences of OS
:pamphlets, posters , talks

10. Primary prevention:
Individual level
-Skills training: coping skills ,time-management
:colleagues , counselors , manuals

11. Primary prevention:
Individual level
-Target physical concomitants of stress
:relaxation, meditation techniques
,yoga, aerobic exercises

12. Primary prevention :
Individual—organizational interface level
-Worker support :share problems, give
reassurance and support, share successful
coping strategies, to listen empathetically,
-professional support to managers
-Physical and environmental constraints

13. Primary prevention :
Individual—organizational interface level
-Healthy lifestyle promotion
-Staff appraisal/
reward programme

14. Secondary / tertiary prevention:
• Identify and deal with the source of the
problem
• Individual support, guidance and counseling
by supervisor, colleague
• Counsellors,professional intervention
• Redressal processes: streamlined,
information provided as flowchart,
confidential

15. Are you feeling BULLIED at your work
place? ULLIED at your work place?
Talk to someone about it.
Approach your supervisor
Then -your Head of Unit/Department
Next -your appointing authority
If you are unhappy with the response from the above
Approach the Grievance cell(phone:…)

16. Organizational changes:
• Job allocation procedure/job description/roles
• Communication/information processes
• Decision-making , participatory management
style
• Training to improve management skills , team
building
• Employee assistance programmes
• Work-family conciliation policy

17. Occup stress Oct 25