INTRODUCTION

Stress is emerging as global phenomenon affecting all countries, professions and all categories of workers. Technology turmoil, information revolution, fast changing and materialistic life style, innovations and growing competition have generated in man a feeling of powerlessness, helplessness, and in turn a source of consequent stress. Presently man experiences unprecedented turmoil, traumas and physical and mental disorders. Several studies have shown that individuals experiencing excessive stress make errors, fail to achieve targets, absent frequently, shift jobs,. indulge in chain smoking, drinking, or illicit relationships in the work place and even collapse. Therefore it is benefit to all to know stress including occupational by identifying causes and its coping mechanism.

MEANING OF STRESS
Stress' word has been borrowed from physics and mechanics where it means the physical pressure exerted upon, and between parts of a body; when deformation occurs as result it is called strain. The stresses and strains of life mean something, which distorts our comfortable way of living. In common language Stress is associated with distress, meaning any kind of burden, pressure or hardship. The stress of modern living usually means any conditions that give rise to worry, tension and frustration. Stress is basically an adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to the person's well-being. It is person's reaction to a situation, not the situation itself.

Stress has been a negative consequence of modern living. People are stressed from poor health, individualism, materialism, overwork, speed, insecurity, information overload, and the increasing competition in life. These events produce distress; the degree of physiological, psychological, and behavioural deviation from healthy functioning. There is also a positive side of stress, called eustress that refers to the healthy, positive, constructive outcome of stressful events and the stress response. Eustress is the stress experience in moderation, enough to activate and motivate people so that they can achieve goals, change their environments, and succeed in life's challenges. In other words, we need some stress to survive grow and compete. However, most research focuses on distress, because it is a significant concern in organizational settings. Employees frequently experience enough stress to hamper their job performance and increase their risk of mental and physical health problems. Therefore, this chapter will focus more on distress. It is of course, important to note that stress is not the only factor involved in these disorders, nor is it necessarily the main one, but there is now plenty of evidence to show that it may play a significant part in promoting, or triggering off many illnesses. So it is important to understand and detect early this phenomena.

ADAPTATION STAGES
Stress is a normal development in life and adaptation is a natural reaction. Selye determined that people have a fairly consistent physiological response to stressful situations. The three stages of the general adaptation pattern are : alarm, resistance, and exhaustion, shows the individual's energy and ability to cope with the stressful situation. Alarm reaction : Challenging situation causes the brain to send a

biochemical message to various parts of the body, resulting in increased respiration rate, blood pressure, heartbeat, muscle tension, and other physiological responses. The individual's energy level and coping effectiveness immediately decreases in response to the initial shock. The alarm reaction alerts the person to the environmental condition and prepares the body for the resistance stage. Resistance : The person's ability to cope with the environment demand has activated various biochemical, psychological, and behavioural mechanisms. Exhaustion : People have a limited resistance capacity and, if the source of stress persists, they will eventually move into the exhaustion stage as this capacity diminishes. In most work situations, the general adaptation syndrome process ends long before total exhaustion. The general adaptation syndrome describes the stress experience, but this is only part of the picture. To effectively manage stress, one must note symptoms to understand its causes and consequences.

SYMPTOMS OF STRESS
Stress is a universal phenomenon, people may differ in degree and level of its experience. Thus it is of utmost importance to identify and determine the victims. To point out people experiencing stress, some of the signs are as follows : Always fearing Changes in eating and sleeping habits Crediting failures to destiny

 Drug or alcohol abuse Easily looses temper Extra risk-taking attitude Failure to achieve targets Forgetfulness Frequent accidents, faulty decisions Frequent physical complaints like headaches or

stomachaches Guilt feeling Heart diseases, ulcers, high blood pressure Higher absenteeism Highly competitive Illicit relationships Impatient with idleness Increased irritability or agitation Indecisiveness Indulge in chain smoking, drinking Indulge in hot dialogs with colleagues and subordinates in particular

 Interrupts others Job dissatisfaction, depression, exhaustion, moodiness, burn out Lack of concentration Making errors Poor performance Negative attitude Non-attentive to wearing and hairstyle Over speeding machine or driving Persistent sadness and hopelessness Poor or over confidence Poor self-esteem Repeating dialogs and statements again and again Shift jobs frequently Shouting loudly Silence loving or over talkative Simultaneous performing several tasks

 Strong sense of time urgency Sweating and palm sweating in normal condition Talks rapidly Thoughts of death or suicide Uncommon behaviour and disagreeing attitude in general Upset stomache Violating social norms or law Wilful disobedience Withdrawal from friends and activities once enjoyed Work place aggression These symptoms hint at stress prone development and make it essential to find out causes contributing.

CAUSES OF STRESS
The causes of stress, include any environmental conditions that place a physical or emotional demand on the person. Some of the typical changes are listed below : Death of a spouse 100

Divorce Personal injury or illness Fired at work Retirement Sex difficulties Gain of a new family member Change in responsibilities in work Outstanding personal achievement Change in living conditions Change in work hours or conditions Change in sleeping habits Celebrating festival Minor violations of the law

73 53 47 45 39 39 29 29 25 20 16 12 11

Let's make it clear that this is not the complete list and some points will not be relevant to every one. For people react differently and it is not the situation itself that produces illness, it is the continual arousal that causes the trouble. It is wise therefore, to avoid having more than one major change at a time. For example, if one is about to retire, it is better not to shift house at the same time; get one change over with first; if one take on a new job it will not be the best time to start slimming and getting married all at once. It is needed to space a change as much as one can, but if to meet several major changes simultaneously one can adjust the

reaction to them and relax, thereby lowering the level or arousal of stress the causes of stress found to be are as follows : Over Ambition Work Pressure Unrealistic Time Frame Inadequate Rise and Growth Opportunities Poor Inter-Personal Relationship Political Cliques Insecurity Change in Environment Excessive Commuting Time Noise Pollution Environment Pollution Disturb Marital Life Dual Career Constraints High Cost of Living Poor Hygiene and Civic Consciousness Poor Employment Opportunities Privatization Spread

Illusions Greed, Impede and Speed Factors leading to stress may vary from faulty learning, conflicting

objectives, unclear philosophy of life, false ego and fast changing values of society. It hampers productivity and interpersonal relationships. With the rapid pace of advancement of science and technology and the advent of modernization, human life has become very complex, resulting in social tensions and psychological disorders. The present miserable conditions of society and its mental health are alarming. Tension, stress, anxiety and depression have become a part of life, thus in order to overcome these coping strategies could be as under.

COPING WITH STRESS

Stress is the essence of life. It is the noblest of nature's gift to man. Man should, therefore, learn to use stress to their advantage so as to lead a healthy and well-balanced life. There are, ways of diminishing the effects of stress if one take an extensive look at self and take action before cracking point. Some important measures for coping with stress are as follows:
1)

Fit Know Thyself Find some Time only for you Every day Escape for a While Ensure Physical Examination

2) 3) 4) 5)

6)

Exercise Massage Put on Desired Weight Form and Maintain Sensible Eating Habits

7) 8)
9)

10) Association 11) Healthy Company

12)

Have Trusted Relation

13) Help other 14) Do Something for Others 15) Open yourself to new Experiences Thus above mentioned suggestions may help man to control stress. No doubt, it is emerging a big threat to the well-being of man equally affecting working life.

JOB STRESS
Occupational stress is a reality today and one cannot avoid it but have to deal with it. Stress has become a universal phenomenon affecting all countries, professions and all categories of workers. Today man experiences unprecedented turmoil, traumas, personality disorders and psychological conflicts. Stress is being labeled as one of the major factors of lagging productivity and performance of individuals and organisations. Numerous studies have shown that individuals experiencing excessive stress make errors, abstain frequently, fall sick, complain more and shift jobs. Job stress or organizational role stress is an adaptive response

mediated by individual differences or psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation or event that places excessive psychological or physical demands upon person.

TYPES OF JOB STRESS

There could be numerous conditions in which people may feel stress. The conditions that tend to cause stress are called stressors. It could be physical, role-related, interpersonal and organizational stressors. There are briefly described as follows : 1. Physical Environment Stressors These some stressors are found in the physical work environment, such as excessive noise, poor lighting, and safety hazards, etc. But it is more important to know their consequences. It is the stress that comes from a direct disturbance to one's body by the immediate environment. It affects the human body. Stressed people are more susceptible to diseases. JOB STRESS

Physical Psychological Environment Stressors Stressors

Behavioural Stressors

Organisational Stressors

Job Stressor Types

2.

Psychological Stressors These are also called role-related and work-related stressors. Psychological stressors are caused by a person's own thought processes, ideas perception, values and attitudes disturbing their well-being.

Psychological symptoms of work-related stress are lower job satisfaction; tend to be moody and depressed. Emotional fatigue is another psychological consequence of stress and is related to job burnout. Job burnout:

Emotional exhaustion Depersonalization.

Reduced Personal Accomplishment: 3. Behavioural Stressors These stressors are caused by either physiological or psychological stresses disturbing person's normal behaviour may be with regard to interpersonal or organisational expectations. Low job performance, more workplace accidents, absenteeism, quits, disobedience, shouting at subordinates, irritation, overspeeding machine, unexpected response are more common. High stress levels results impair in ability to remember information, make effective decisions, and take appropriate action. 4. Organizational Stressors These stressors encompasses physical environment, psychological and behavioural aspects as causes as well consequences of stress in the organisation and adversely affecting its functioning, efficiency, effectiveness and moreover profitability. Corporate India is waking up to the fact that a lot of human potential is being drained away because of stress and burnout.

JOB STRESS COPING STRATEGIES

Everyone needs to manage stress. Unfortunately, many deny the stress until it is too late. This avoidance strategy creates a vicious cycle because the failure to cope with stress becomes another stressor. The solution is to discover the toolkit of effective stress management strategies and to determine which ones are best for the situation. It can be at two levels like; individual and organisational initiatives.

CONCLUSION
Stress is the spice of life and an optimum level of stress is necessary to live happily. Stress is not always dysfunctional. Some stresses like stress for creative work, entrepreneurial activities and keen competition, etc. stimulate better productivity. To quote 'the purpose of our life is to be happy'. Our mythology speaks volumes on 'be happy and let others be happy. No doubt, relaxation any way can help to better manage stress, tension and anxiety, help perform better at work and remain calmer in any situation as controlled breathing, reducing anxiety and helping to keep calm. These and other methods share a focus on the four distinct phases of the breathing cycle : inhalation, pause, exhalation, and pause. It has been observed that many of the stressors are work related directly or indirectly affecting life. Thus people can enrich their life by practicing the yoga and meditation in order to improve their internal capacities and health.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION MEANING OF STRESS ADAPTATION STAGES SYMPTOMS OF STRESS CAUSES OF STRESS COPING WITH STRESS JOB STRESS TYPES OF JOB STRESS JOB STRESS COPING STRATEGIES CONCLUSION