Introduction
“Stress is defined as a feeling of emotional or physical tension” Williams (2000).
Emotional stress usually occurs when situations are considered difficult or unmanageable. Therefore, different people consider different situations as stressful.
Physical stress is when the body reacts to a new feeling, for example, pain after operation leading to emotional stress which is experienced as physical discomfort, for example, stomach cramps.
Stress management refers to various efforts to control and reduce the tension that occurs in stressfull situations. Organizational psychology is the making of the workforce to feel confidant and ready to do something difficult task by the management.” (Paul Ballas, 2006)
Stress reduces org psych hence employees may not be willing to perform efficiently and effectively resulting in a lack of professional growth and development. Stress can be due to overwork with no good remuneration to match with. Employees need to teach on how to deal with this.
The following can be used to determine the presence of stress
A negative attitude will be experienced in case the employees are not satisfied. Negative attitude people report stress than positive attitude people.
Physical well-being; Poor diet results in physical stress and a weakened immune system. Infections occur. This is due to unhealthy feeding and lack of enlightenment. This can solve by the food guide pyramid and food schedule. In case of stress brain processes information poorly in case of stress leading to emotional stress.
- Physical activity; Low physical activity may be depressing and adds to well-being.
- Support systems; In case of trouble, people need others to talk to. Lack of such people to consult worsens the situation.
- Relaxation; people need hobbies, other interests to outlet stress. Relaxation techniques. One should also listen to his body. People affected should also take a retreat.
Mental health specialists include licensed social workers, Psychologists, Psychiatrists.
Low levels of income
Low levels of income to the middle management can be stressing especially if they don’t match those of colleagues in other companies. This implies that someone won’t have enough to spend, invest and save.
Middle managers will therefore have a negative attitude. Managers will not understand why they are earning little compared to what they do for the company. They may decide to make production delays or have poor performance to make up for the low salaries. Low salaries and wages demoralize someone especially if they are negative attitude people as compared to positive attitude people. Employees need to learn how to cope with stress. Stress at the workplace is unavoidable so the best thing is to understand issues better. Everybody expects his efforts and level in the organization to be matched with high salary, incomparable salary makes employees not have psyched and they may not be strong enough to undertake heavy duties. Employees should therefore be encouraged to focus to be productive even with low salaries because they are undergoing professional growth and development due to the experience being gained.
Low salaries and wages lead to low physical well-being. The middle management staff is expected to be healthy-looking people to improve the company’s image. Lack of a good budget for the diet will lead to malnutrition. At work, people get extremely tired and this calls for good energy. If the amount paid by the company is not sufficient, People may ignore proper feeding and end up being emaciated. This is because all the money is spent on other basic needs which include rent, shelter, and clothing. Poor diet leads to physical stress and a weakened immune system. Therefore the body is not strong enough to deal with disease-causing agents. Employees will not go for proper medication due to the expenditure involved and will visit quarks for treatment. This will result in health deterioration. When people fall sick they can not perform at work hence effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity are reduced. This leads to reduced Profits, Earnings per share, market value, and goodwill of the company. Physical well-being is due to unhealthy feeding and lack of enough meals which are all due to lack of adequate income. This reduces the rate at which information is being processed by the mind and low response rate to stimuli and results in emotional stress. Employees will therefore not have the courage to perform well at work because their self-confidence and self-esteem are reduced. A low rate of thinking will also mean poor handling of duties at work due to the low response rate. This leads to delays in the production line causing losses and lack of full capacity utilization. The staff should be taught about the food guide pyramid and food schedule. This will make them know how to balance their diets and feed regularly to avoid poor health status.
Low physical activity
Low physical activity will result from low income. The body needs to be exercised from time to time for blood to be circulated fast. Employees with poor health due to low salaries may not be able to go for exercises and their self-confidence is reduced. Body fitness increases reception at places; this can be a case where someone has been sent to represent the company at a function or meeting. With poor reception, self-esteem is affected, and self-expression too. This weakness of the body may be discouraging because someone loses his pride and may not be willing to do good for the company. The company should have fitness activities, which include sports, gym facility or even swimming lessons. The company should be organizing inter-departmental competitions, which will also boost the morale of the staff. Jogging or walking is adequate physical exercise and should be done regularly. This helps the mind and brain to relax and someone can think fast and have to psych for work.
The training sessions on stress management
Support systems should also be incorporated in the training sessions on stress management. Employees should be made to understand that talking and telling other people about your issues helps in reducing stress levels. That relieved enough is good because a problem shared is a problem half solved. This releases the mind and someone can think fast and act immediately. This reduces emotional stress however it might not be good for physical stress. Trainees are encouraged to join social groups of people with the same kind of problems and this makes it easy for them to talk to one another. In case of low salary, during the training session, the staff may be advised to form a labor force whereby they will be able to have collective bargaining power and persuade the company to give them a pay increase. If stress levels are increased due to lack of support systems, org psych will be low and easy tasks may be a problem to the workforce. This leads to a lack of professional development and may not be healthy for the company.
Relaxation is healthy for stressed people. The training session on stress management should make the trainees understand the need to be relaxed. This improves patience and composure at the workplace which is necessary for efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity at the workplace. The need for hobbies and creating time for other interests should be stressed. These help in mental relaxation and reduces stress levels. Emotional stress is therefore avoided. Due to low incomes, trainees should engage in hobbies and interests that are not expensive as per their budget.
Relaxation techniques include guided imagery and listening to music and the media. Such relaxing activities will also improve the employee’s know and growth of the brain capacity. Trainees should also have time to listen to their bodies. The body at times may be having requests that have not been fulfilled and may trouble and result in a lack of concentration. Lack of concentration has an impact on the quality and quantity of output. This is a danger to the organization because most organizations are evaluated on their output. Lack of relaxation during stress worsens the situation; in the case of low income, the employee will be thinking about how to make up for the deficit on their budget, and they do not have time to think with a sober mind which is dangerous. People may become insane due to the excess thoughts that they have.
Trainees are also encouraged to take a retreat and take time to do what they rarely do due to their busy schedules at work. This gives them time to think and focus. They, therefore, come back with unleaded minds and ready to perform. Relaxation improves org psych during stress times and should be part of the session, normally the last activity after theoretical classes.
The following questions should be discussed at the end of the training session on stress man agent to provide an evaluation of its success:
Has your attitude changed?
Yes; Positive thinking is necessary because without it is not easy to succeed at high-stress levels. Only those who believe in something can make it. No matter how low the salary is people should believe in themselves for them to be productive and maybe through this the management may decide to review their pay package. Those who take time to think about their strengths can also have time for their interests which may be income-generating and hence boost their monthly disposable income.
Do you think of refocusing the negative to the positive?
Yes, the low-income state should help someone to understand how much they need experience and have both professional growth and development. This may yield later after exposure and lead to better job opportunities. Instead of wasting so much time thinking about the stress factor focus should be on the future where hardship leads to strong character and perseverance. It is also believed that someone should focus on his strengths and let the weaknesses sort himself or herself out. In this case, the employees may not have control over the salary standards of the company but they can determine their future through experience and professional development.
Are you making an effort to stop negative thoughts?
Yes; Negative thinking can be harmful to an individual especially when stressed (Galiciatore, 2000). It worsens the situation and one may not have time to think about focusing and looking at life like in five years from now. Negative thinking may hinder prosperity because someone doesn’t think about his capabilities and it discourages someone from working on his weaknesses or areas that need improvement.
Are you planning to have fun or take a break?
Yes; This should help someone to relax and clear his mind for fast thinking. Keeping grudges is also avoided because after fun someone realizes that life is not all about working but more education puts someone at a better place in the job market. Relaxation also improves the capability of the mind to think fast (Williams, 2000). This helps in fast decisions and fast actions leading to good results at the workplace. Emotional stress is avoided and tension within the body is reduced (Kapp, 2000). Org psych is therefore improved and the staff gets the courage to undertake difficult tasks which yield knowledge and more skills which are all necessary for the profitability and goodwill of the company.
Do you consider physical activity to be necessary?
Yes; Working out not necessarily in the gym is good for fitness. This will include jogging and few sit-ups and simple workouts. All these help in blood circulation and mental stability. This will improve self-confidence, self-esteem, self-expression, and reception at official functions. Physical activity improves org psych and this enables employees to undertake hard tasks that may not be easy (Delahaye,1998). Professional growth and development will be effective and such will be determined by the efficiency in production which may result in reviewed salary packages.
References
Anne Maric. (2000). A learning Requirements Planning Approach.
Brian L. Delahaye. (1998). To be an Effective Trainer. New York.
David Galiciatore. (2000). Introduction to Mechatronics &Measurement Systems.
Delahaye, B. & Smith. (1998). How to an Effective Trainer 3rd Edition.
James R. Williams. (2000). Developing Performance support for Computer Systems.
Karl M. Kapp. (2000). A learning Requirements Planning Approach.