http://spot.pcc.edu/~rjacobs/career/managing_job_stress.

htm#What is Job Stress According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress is often linked or equated with challenge, but the two are very different. Challenge motivates and energizes us psychologically and physically to learn new skills and master given tasks. When a challenge is met, we feel a great sense of accomplishment. We feel relaxed and satisfied. Challenge is beneficial in the work environment as it helps increase productivity. This is what people are referring to when they say - "a little bit of stress is good for you." It might be more accurate to say - "a little challenge is good for you." Stress, on the other hand, is when job demands can't be met, relaxation has turned to exhaustion, and a sense of satisfaction has turned into feelings of tension. In short, the worker feels overly taxed both psychologically and physically, and the stage is set for illness, injury, and job failure.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/furtheradvice/whatisstre ss.htm Definition of stress

Stress can hit anyone at any level of the business and recent research shows that work related stress is widespread and is not confined to particular sectors, jobs or industries. HSE's formal definition of work related stress is: "The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work." Stress is not an illness it is a state. However, if stress becomes too excessive and prolonged, mental and physical illness may develop. Well-designed, organised and managed work is generally good for us but when insufficient attention to job design, work organisation and management has taken place, it can result in Work related stress. Work related stress develops because a person is unable to cope with the demands being placed on them. Stress, including work related stress, can be a significant cause of illness and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other issues such as more errors. There is a difference between pressure and stress. Pressure can be positive and a motivating factor, and is often essential in a job. It can help us achieve our goals and perform better. Stress occurs when this pressure becomes excessive. Stress is a natural reaction to too much pressure.

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Employee's performance is a rating system used in most corporations to determine the abilities and output of an employee

employee performance

Definition

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The job related activities expected of a worker and how well those activities were executed. Many business personnel directors assess the employee performance of each staff member on an annual or quarterly basis in order to help them identify suggested areas for improvement.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/employee-performance.html#ixzz2HgbVb9b6

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Definition

Employee performance management is a process that companies use to ensure their employees are contributing to producing a high quality product or service. Employee performance management encourages the employee to get involved in the planning for the company, and therefore anticipates by having a role in the process the employee will be motivated to perform at a high level.
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ost : Gaurav Akrani Date : 3/29/2011 10:10:00 AM IST No Comme

Stress can be either helpful or harmful to job performance, depending upon its level. When stress is absent, it limits job challenges and performance becomes low. As stress increases gradually, job performance also tends to increase, because stress helps a person to gather and use resources to meet job requirements. Constructive stress inculcates encouragement among employees and helps them to tackle various job challenges. Eventually, a time comes when stress reaches its maximum saturation point that corresponds approximately to the employee's day to day performance capability. Beyond this point, stress shows no signs of improvement in job performance. Finally, if stress is too high, it turns into a damaging force. Job performance begins to decline at the same point because excessive stress interferes with performance. An employee lose the ability to cope, fails to make a decision and displays inconsistent behaviour. If stress continues to increase even further it reaches a breaking point. At this breaking stage, an employee is very upset and mentally devastated. Soon he/she completely breaks down. Performance becomes zero, no longer feels like working for their employer, absenteeism increases, eventually resulting into quitting of a job or getting fired. Stress should not be very high nor too low. It must be within the range and limits of employee's capacity to tolerate and his performance level. A controlled stress which is within limits is always beneficial and productive than an uncontrolled one.

Management of every organisation must always consider their employees as assets of their firm and not work slaves. Efforts should be made regularly to monitor and study stress levels in working environment. Necessary adjustments and arrangements should be made to control stress and its causes. Co-operation, Kindness, Respect, Good Manners and Discipline among members of an organisation always create a stress free, healthy, friendly and productive environment in a workplace. Understanding emotional aspect of a human factor also plays a key role in determining the success prospect of an organisation. No matter how intelligent a work force is, it is emotions and not logic that drives them to give their best. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/employee-stress.htm

What is Employee Stress ?

Employees stress is a growing concern for organizations today. Stress can be defined as a lively circumstance in which people face constraints, opportunities, or loss of something they desire and for which the consequence is both unpredictable as well as crucial. Stress is the response of people to the unreasonable/excessive pressure or demands placed on them. Stress is not always negative. It may also bring out the best in individuals at times. It may induce an individual to discover innovative and smarter way of doing things. This positive dimension of stress is called as enstress. But usually, the term stress has a negative implication and this negative aspect of stress is termed as distress. For instance - When a subordinate is harassed or warned by his superior, unhappiness of unsuitable job, etc. We can say that Stress causes some people to break, and other to break records.

Symptoms of Stress
Some of the symptoms of stress at workplace are as follows-

Absenteeism, escaping from work responsibilities, arriving late, leaving early, etc. Deterioration in work performance, more of error prone work, memory loss, etc. Cribbing, over-reacting, arguing, getting irritated, anxiety, etc. Deteriorating health, more of accidents, etc. Improper eating habits (over-eating or under-eating), excessive smoking and drinking, sleeplessness, etc.

It is thus very essential to have effective stress management strategies in an organization so that the detrimental repercussions of stress on the employees as well as their performance can be reduced and controlled.

Sources/Causes of Stress
The factors leading to stress among individual are called as stressors. Some of the factors/stressors acting on employees are1. Organizational factors- With the growth in organizational stress and complexity, there is increase in organizational factors also which cause stress among employees. Some of such factors area. Discrimination in pay/salary structure b. Strict rules and regulations c. Ineffective communication

2.

3.

4.

d. Peer pressure e. Goals conflicts/goals ambiguity f. More of centralized and formal organization structure g. Less promotional opportunities h. Lack of employees participation in decision-making i. Excessive control over the employees by the managers Individual factors- There are various expectations which the family members, peer, superior and subordinates have from the employee. Failure to understand such expectations or to convey such expectations lead to role ambiguity/role conflict which in turn causes employee stress. Other individual factors causing stress among employees are inherent personality traits such as being impatient, aggressive, rigid, feeling time pressure always, etc. Similarly, the family issues, personal financial problems, sudden career changes all lead to stress. Job concerning factors- Certain factors related to job which cause stress among employees are as followsa. Monotonous nature of job b. Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions c. Lack of confidentiality d. Crowding Extra-organizational factors- There are certain issues outside the organization which lead to stress among employees. In todays modern and technology savvy world, stress has increased. Inflation, technological change, social responsibilities and rapid social changes are other extra-organizational factors causing stress.

Strategies for Managing Stress

Stress experienced by the employees in their job has negative impact on their health, performance and their behaviour in the organization. Thus, stress needs to be managed effectively so as to set off these harmful consequences. Strategies for managing stress are as follows-

Organizational strategies for managing stress

1. Encouraging more of organizational communication with the employees so that there is no role ambiguity/conflict. Effective communication can also change employee views. Managers can use better signs and symbols which are not misinterpreted by the employees. 2. Encourage employees participation in decision-making. This will reduce role stress. 3. Grant the employees greater independence, meaningful and timely feedback, and greater responsibility. 4. The organizational goals should be realistic, stimulating and particular. The employees must be given feedback on how well they are heading towards these goals. 5. Encourage decentralization. 6. Have a fair and just distribution of incentives and salary structure. 7. Promote job rotation and job enrichment. 8. Create a just and safe working environment. 9. Have effective hiring and orientation procedure. 10. Appreciate the employees on accomplishing and over-exceeding their targets.

Individual strategies for managing stress

The employees should make a to-do list daily, prioritize the acts in the list and plan the acts accordingly. Take regular breaks during work to relax you. By effective time management, the employees can achieve their targets timely and can meet work pressures and, thus, avoid stress. 2. Do hard work. Strive to achieve your goals but do not do it to the harm of family, health, or peer. 3. Indulge in physical exercises. It helps in effective blood circulation, keeps you fit, diverts mind from work pressures. 4. Encourage a healthy lifestyle. Take a regular sleep, have plenty of water, have healthy eating habits. Promote relaxation techniques such as yoga, listening music and meditation. 5. The employees should have optimistic approach about their work. They should avoid connections with negative approach employees. 6. The employees should have emotional intelligence at workplace. They should have self-awareness, self-confidence and selfcontrol at workplace. 7. The employees should build social support. They should have close connections with trustworthy peer who can listen to their problems and boost their confidence level. This social network will help the employees to overcome stress. 8. Employee counselling is a very good strategy to overcome employee stress. Through counselling, employees can become aware of their strengths and how to develop those strengths; their weaknesses and how to eliminate them; and they can develop strategies for changing their behaviour. Employees are also given career counselling which helps in reducing their ambiguities with regard to career. 9. Find a fun way to release stress, such as, cracking jokes, playing tennis, golf, etc. 10. Do not remain pre-occupied with yourself. Turn your focus outwards. Help others. This will release some stres 1.

11. Workplace stress derives from many sources. It can be a demanding boss, annoying co-workers, rebellious students, angry customers, hazardous conditions, long commutes and a never-ending workload. Your work performance is also affected by stressors such as family relationships, finances and a lack of sleep stemming from fears and anxieties about the future. How you handle the effects of stress depends on whether it is easier to change the situation or change your attitude toward it.
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16. Time Management

17. The positive side of stress is that it can jump-start your adrenalin and motivate you to perform your tasks more quickly in response to impending deadlines. An overwhelming workload, lack of peer support and too many demands at once, however, contribute to a sense of frustration and panic that there isn't enough time to complete the work. According to the authors of "Performance Under Pressure: Managing Stress in the Workplace," if these conditions routinely result in overtime or having to take work home, the stress of being unable to manage time efficiently can fuel employees' resentment toward the company as well as negatively influence their commitment and loyalty.

18. Relationships
19. Stress is a major contributor to job burn-out and strained interactions with peers and supervisors, says Bob Losvyk, author of "Get a Grip!: Overcoming Stress and Thriving in the Workplace." The combined feelings of helplessness and hopelessness generate heightened sensitivities to any and all forms of criticism, defensiveness, depression, paranoia about job security, jealousy and resentment toward co-workers who seem to have everything under control, short-fuse tempers, diminished self-esteem and withdrawal.

20. Focus
21. Stress affects your ability to remember things you already know, to process new information you are learning and to apply both to analytical situations and physical tasks that require concentration. When you are mentally exhausted from all of the worries, anxieties and tension brought on by a stressful environment or lifestyle, you are more easily distracted and prone to make costly, harmful or even fatal mistakes on the job.

22. Health
23. In addition to headaches, sleep disorders, vision problems, weight loss/gain and blood pressure, stress affects cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems, says Richard Weinstein, author of "The Stress Effect." If you're not feeling well, you're not going to do your best work. Further, the amount of sick leave taken to rest and recuperate from stress-related illnesses often means that the work only accumulates during your absence and, thus, generates even more stress about how to catch up once you return.
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http://smallbusiness.chron.com/stress-affects-work-performance-18040.html
Workplace stress derives from many sources. It can be a demanding boss, annoying co-workers, rebellious students, angry customers, hazardous conditions, long commutes and a never-ending workload. Your work performance is also affected by stressors such as family relationships, finances and a lack of sleep stemming from fears and anxieties about the future. How you handle the effects of stress depends on whether it is easier to change the situation or change your attitude toward it.
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Consulting firm?
Sell E-Learning to your clients 14-day unlimited Trial, Start now! docebo.com/elearning_platform

Time Management
The positive side of stress is that it can jump-start your adrenalin and motivate you to perform your tasks more quickly in response to impending deadlines. An overwhelming workload, lack of peer support and too many demands at once, however, contribute to a sense of frustration and panic that there isn't enough time to complete the work. According to the authors of "Performance Under Pressure: Managing Stress in the Workplace," if these conditions routinely result in overtime or having to take work home, the stress of being unable to manage time efficiently can fuel employees' resentment toward the company as well as negatively influence their commitment and loyalty.

Relationships
Stress is a major contributor to job burn-out and strained interactions with peers and supervisors, says Bob Losvyk, author of "Get a Grip!: Overcoming Stress and Thriving in the Workplace." The combined feelings of helplessness and hopelessness generate heightened sensitivities to any and all forms of criticism, defensiveness, depression, paranoia about job security, jealousy and resentment toward co-workers who seem to have everything under control, short-fuse tempers, diminished selfesteem and withdrawal.

Focus
Stress affects your ability to remember things you already know, to process new information you are learning and to apply both to analytical situations and physical tasks that require concentration. When you are mentally exhausted from all of the worries,

anxieties and tension brought on by a stressful environment or lifestyle, you are more easily distracted and prone to make costly, harmful or even fatal mistakes on the job.

Health
In addition to headaches, sleep disorders, vision problems, weight loss/gain and blood pressure, stress affects cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems, says Richard Weinstein, author of "The Stress Effect." If you're not feeling well, you're not going to do your best work. Further, the amount of sick leave taken to rest and recuperate from stress-related illnesses often means that the work only accumulates during your absence and, thus, generates even more stress about how to catch up once you return.
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