STRESS

 Meaning
Stress refers to an individual’s reaction to a disturbing factor in an environment
 Definition
Stress is defined as an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical,
psychological and/or behavioral deviations for organizational participants

Sources of Stress:
• Environmental Stressors
• Organizational Stressors
• Group Stressors
• Individual Stressors
• Work Stress
Environmental Stressors:
• Political factors
– Political uncertainties
• Economic Factors
– Changes in business cycle – business recession
– Temporary/permanent lay offs
– Reduced pay
• Technological Factors
– Computers, robotics, automations and other technological innovations
Organizational Stressors:
• Task demands
• Role demands
• Inter-personal demands
• Organization structure
• Organizational leadership
• Organizational Life cycle
Group Stressors:
• Lack of group cohesiveness
• Lack of social support
• Inter-group conflict
• Sexual harassment
Individual stressors:
• Type of personality
• Life stage changes
• Career change
• Life trauma
Symptoms:
• Insomnia
• Loss of mental concentration
• Anxiety
• Absenteeism
• Depression
• Substance abuse
• Extreme anger and frustration
• Family conflict
• Psycho-Somatic Disorders – heart disease, migraine, headaches, stomach problems, and
back problems.
Stress Management Techniques:
• Individual Strategies
• Organizational Strategies
Individual strategies:
• Time Management
• Physical exercise
• Relaxation
• Yoga
• Social Support
• Control over the situation
• Open up to others
Organizational Strategies:
• Personal health promotion programme
• Improved communication
• Job re-design
• Selection and placement

Stress Management
Techniques

Eastern Western
Approach Approach
Eastern Approach:
• Yoga
• Tai chi
• Qigong
• Meditation
Western Practice:
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Autogenic Training
• Bio-feedback
• Humor
Bio-Feedback:

Counseling – Meaning:
 Providing assistance and support to the employees to face and sail through the thorny times
in life
Counseling – Definition:
 Counselling is defined as professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological
methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal
interview, and testing interests and aptitudes
Importance:
 Apart from their personal problems, there are various reasons which can create work stress
ᴥ Unrealistic targets or work-load
ᴥ Constant pressure to meet the deadlines
ᴥ Career problems
ᴥ Responsibility and accountability
ᴥ Conflicts
ᴥ Bad inter-personal relations with superiors and subordinates
ᴥ Problems in adjusting to the organizational culture
 Counseling helps the employee to share and look at his problems from a new perspective,
help himself and to face and deal with the problems in a better way.

Counselling - Techniques:
 Eclectic Techniques
 Classic Gestalt Techniques
 Non-verbal & Metaphorical Techniques
 Classical Behavioral Techniques
 Person centric Techniques
 Conflict Resolution Techniques
 Stress Reduction Techniques
 Psycho-dynamic Techniques
Eclectic Techniques
 Directive technique followed by non-directive technique

 Classic Gestalt Techniques

o Gestalt is a German word used to refer to the 'whole nature of something' as being the 'gestalt'
of something
 Classic Gestalt Techniques
o Focuses on gaining an awareness of emotions and behaviors in the present rather than in the past
o The counsellor does not interpret experiences of the counsellee, instead the counsellor and
counsellee work together to help the counsellee understand himself/herself

 Non-verbal Techniques
o Simple observation with
 Appropriate physical closeness
 Appropriate eye contact
 Appropriate Facial expressions
 No distracting body movement
 No distracting mannerisms -e.g., twirling hair, playing with an earring, scratching, etc,
o Metaphorical Technique
 The comparison of one thing to another
 When you speak you may use a metaphor to describe your experience.
o Example: “It feels like I’m all alone in the middle of a desert”
 A counsellor may choose to enter this metaphor and explore it more deeply
Steps in Counseling:
• Preparation
• Assessment
• Contracting
• Engaging
• Terminating

Preparation
• Pre-assessment Stage
• What should happen before the clients are seen and indeed before the counselling
service is established
 • Preparing a working model to guide the counsellor throughout the counselling
process
Assessment
• Understanding the client
• Methods of assessment
• Agreeing and assessment
• Considering interventions
• Agreeing Counselling
• Sharing Information

Contracting
o Agreeing to work together
o Contracting on
 Practicalities
 Role of client & counsellor
 Role of Organization
o Referring if appropriate

Engaging
o Managing the personal, administrative and organizational side of the counselling
o Re-entry of employees
o The task of work-place counselling

Terminating
o Agreeing a termination date
o Working towards termination
o Process of termination
o Final Session
o After Termination
 Evaluating the employee performance after counselling
 Getting feedback

Functions:
 Helping the individual to understand and help himself
 Understand the situations and look at them with a new perspective and positive outlook
 Helping in better decision making
 Alternate solutions to problems
 Coping with the situation and the stress

Types of Counselling:
• Directive Counselling
• Non-Directive Counselling
• Eclectic Counselling

Directive Counselling:
 Given by E.G. Williamson
 Counsellor Centered - Counsellor plays an important role
 It is based on the assumption that the client cannot solve his own problems for the lack of
information
 He tries to direct the thinking of counsellee by informing, explaining, interpreting and advising
 It gives more importance to intellectual aspect than emotional aspects
Non-directive Counselling:
 Given by Carl Rogers
 It is also known as permissive counselling
 Client Centered – Counsellee is the pivot of the whole counselling process
 The main function of the counsellor is to create an atmosphere in which the client can work
out his problem
 In this type, emotional elements rather than intellectual elements are stressed

Eclectic Counselling:
 Given by F.C.Thorne
 Counselor can alternate between directive and non‐directive methods
 Counselor study the personality of the client‐needs, situation, etc. selects suitable
method‐ start with directive counseling then change to non‐directive counseling
 Counsellor uses reassurance, giving, information, testing, etc. It is economical and effective
technique.