A management perspective on stress at workplace

Abstract
Purpose – Stress management is a continuous process of monitoring, diagnosing, and prevention of
excessive stressors that adversely affects employees, managers, and productivity. The main purpose of this
study is to examine the complexity of the problem of stress, as it cuts across work and non-work domains.
This problem has been approached from a multidisciplinary perspective, to produce an accurate picture of
the nature of stress and how it should be managed. Furthermore we explore the factors influencing stress
management, stressors, diagnosis, and preventative measures with a cross level approach.

Design/methodology/approach – Major empirical studies and reviews are critically reviewed and placed
within a theoretical framework derived from both early and more recent work in the field of stress
management. Certain issues of stress management in the form of research questions has been explored in
this study.

Findings –This study has some interesting findings and results obtained from the literature review and
shows that the most difficult stressors to manage are “bureaucracy”, “lack of opportunity to learn new
skills”, “work-family conflicts” and “different view from superiors”. This paper provides a critical review
of the major empirical studies regarding the effectiveness of current stress management interventions.
Finally, a crucial element of any stress intervention process is employee involvement.

Research limitations/implications –Future research could be directed towards diagnosis and analyzing the
effect of stress management practices on performance, using training as a moderating variable.

Practical/social implications – The results of this study will be of interest to managers and constitutes a
significant step towards the understanding and management of potentially stressful situations and their
influence on the efficiency and effectiveness of employees. The approach described in this paper will
provide a framework for addressing the problem of job stress and creating healthier work organizations.

Originality/value–This paper provides a review and framework for interpreting/ understanding the
research on the effectiveness of stress management interventions and makes recommendations relevant to
practitioners in the field.

Keywords: Stress Management, Stressors, Diagnosis, HRM, Job Stress.