103When internals and externals con-
front a similar stressful situation, the
internals are likely to believe that
they can have a significant effect on
the results. They therefore act to take
control of events. Externals are more
likely to experience stress because
they frequently act helpless, often by
being passive and defensive, while
feeling helpless.
- Hostility.Some people’s person-
ality includes a high degree of
hostility and anger. These people
are chronically suspicious and
mistrustful of others. Recent evi-
dence indicates that such hostility
significantly increases a person’s
stress and risk for heart
disease.^33 More specifically, peo-
ple who are quick to anger,
maintain a persistently hostile
outlook, and project a cynical
mistrust of others are more likely
to experience stress in situations.
How Do We Manage
Stress?
Both the individual and the organi-
zation can take steps to help the indi-
vidual manage stress. Below we
discuss ways that individuals can
manage stress, and then we examine
programs that organizations use to
help employees manage stress.
Individual Approaches
An employee can take personal
responsibility for reducing his or her
stress level. Individual strategies that
have proven effective include time
management techniques, physical
exercise, relaxation training, and a
close social support network.
- Time management. Many people
manage their time poorly. The
things we have to accomplish in
any given day or week are not
necessarily beyond completion
if we manage our time properly.
The well-organized employee,
like the well-organized student,
can often accomplish twice as
much as the person who is
poorly organized. So under-
standing and using basic time
management principles can help
individuals cope better with ten-
sions created by job demands.^34
A few of the more well-known
time management principles
are: (1) making daily lists of
activities to be accomplished;
(2) prioritizing activities by
importance and urgency; (3)
scheduling activities according
to the priorities set; and (4)
knowing your daily cycle and
handling the most demanding
parts of your job during the high
part of your cycle, when you are
most alert and productive.^35- Physical activity.Noncompetitive
physical exercise, such as aero-
bics, walking, jogging, swim-
ming, and riding a bicycle, has
long been recommended by
physicians as a way to deal with
excessive stress levels. These
forms of physical exerciseincrease
heart capacity, lower at-rest heart
rate, provide a mental diversion
from work pressures, and offer a
means to “let off steam.”^36 - Relaxation techniques.Individuals
can teach themselves to reduce
tension through relaxation tech-
niquessuch as meditation, hyp-
nosis, and biofeedback. The
objective is to reach a state of
deep relaxation, where you feel
physically relaxed, somewhat
detached from the immediate
environment, and detached
from body sensations.^37 Fifteen
or 20 minutes a day of deep
relaxation releases tension and
provides a person with a pro-
nounced sense of peacefulness.
Importantly, significant changes
in heart rate, blood pressure,
and other physiological factors
result from achieving the deep
relaxation condition.- Building social supports.Having
friends, family, or colleagues to
talk to provides an outlet when
stress levels become excessive.
Expanding your social support
network,therefore, can be a
means for tension reduction. It
provides you with someone to
listen to your problems and to
offer a more objective perspec-
tive on the situation. Research
also demonstrates that social
support moderates the stress-
burnout relationship.^39 That is,
high support reduces the likeli-
hood that heavy work stress will
result in job burnout.
FactBox
38- One in three Canadians
between the ages of 25 and
44 claims to be a workaholic. - 38% of people in management
report being workaholics. - 85% of married women who
are employed full-time and have
at least one child at home, and
75% of similarly situated men,
say that weekdays are too short
to accomplish what needs to get
done. - The financial cost to companies
because employees are trying to
balance work and family obliga-
tions is estimated to be at least
$2.7 billion a year. - 1/3 of Canadians don’t take all
of their vacation days, saving
their employers $8 billion a year. - When Canadians do go on holi-
day, 36% of them take work,
and check their office voice mail
and email.