208 . V:ipul's™ Psycho_logy at Work .

. . I·<;hapter 8· I .
. ' . '

.. .·

Org pni zat~ ona l_Cha ,ige

.. . . :_. ·.·.: . an
·- :._ d ·..-.·.. .·.. .·-·-._. . ..
. . . -..
. . .. ...
. . ..
..

stress Jf,1crilageme~t. I •

. . ,

•!• Introdu ction

•!• Forces for Change .
. . •!• · Organ ization al s·tress · ~ · . · ..
•!• Definit ion --
•!• Sources/Causes of Stress
(a) . Enviro nment [Link]
(b) Organ ization al Stressor · ·
(c;:) Persqnal Stressor -
•!• Effects/C9nsequences of Stress
(a) ._Physio l~git~I_Effects . · ·_·
. (b) Psychological Effects
(c)_ Behav·ioral Effects
•!• Coping With Stre~s - . .
(a) lndivid ual _Approaches to [Link]~agement .. · . .
. ·(b) Organ ization al Approaches to Stress Management

• I • •
 210
Vlpul'I ™Psychology at Wort

GURU MANTRA
CHANGE ENJOYMENT
. "If you want to benefit from change ou
en1oys change. The word that usually Y hove to be someone Who
mono . . comes to us aft h
ge'!'ent. Risk managem ent. Uncertaio m er c ange is
soy change enjoyment. We don't ty .anagement. We don't
Why?" use words like that ofter change.

As told by
Dhiraj Rajaram ·
Founder of Mu Sigma
To Suveen Sinha
In his book
The Tip Of The Iceberg: The Unknown Truth Behind Ind' ' S
ta s tart-Ups

.t__________ iiiii\-"fiiiiiOiiiiiRiiiiiCiiiiiEiiiiiSiiiiiFO~R~C~H~A~N~G~Eiiiiiiiiiii_.J, . .

Modem organiza tions [Link] continuously facing a number of

forces that are compell ing it to change. Some of these forces are:
vtf) Changi ng nature of the workforce: The employees of
modem . organiza tions are very different from those in the
past. They differ from each other with regard to nationalities,
gender, age, educatio n, race, talent/ ability, ethnicity, sexual
orientat ion, lifestyle and values. Organizations need to learn
to adapt to such a ~ulticul tural environment.
\)1) Changi ng technolo gy: Technology is changing at a rapid
rate. What is an in thing becomes an out thing sometimes in a
matter of weeks. Thanks to the rapid advances in
·con1n1unication technology, the very idea ·of an office ha~
become outdate d. . •
\,{a) · EconomiC shocks: The economic meltdown and the financia!
. . crisis that followed led to the decline and bankruptcy of som
·
. atiO,,a
,chang
.
e and Stress'Management IP
·• ■ r ~-
&&&

1'!'ow·n organiz ations. They were later acquired

,~ell·. ation5- Thousa nds of employees lost their~=
orgafliZ. c shocks have hurt organizations badly and ,.'"iOI....Cid ...
J'{}t\oJlll
~:rll to change .
d
t1t~· 0 . ti"
otPetiti on: rgaruza ons to ay face competition from
. and across the. borders.
covitftill ti h
With the world ham-:-_ ·
-wuuug a
\ village, orgaruz a ons ave to face global [Link] Jn.
trioba 1 . ti" hich r .......
o those orgaruz a ons w can continuously innova~
~ ; a flexible workfo rce which can develop new products
d et to the market fast can survive this fierce competition.
an g d . ..
aesides, merger ~ an acqws1tions can change market
equations dramati cally.
(hangin g social trends: The society has undergone a major
change. Consum ers :who earlier could not COMect are now
able· to connec t and share ideas and product information
because of biogs and chat rooms. on the
internet. Due to this,
both employ ees and consumer have become more
demanding. They have also become more concerned about
the environ ment and expect organizations to adopt green
practices.
World politics : Political events.i n different parts of the world
can have a profoun d impact on organizations. Changes in
governm ents can pose new .challenges. New economic
i>o~ers have risen and the influence of hithe~ powerful
· nations has decline d. Organizations need to adapt to this
emerging new world order.
E~ployeeS are experie ncing a lot of s ~ on ac:count of these
enge a~d change s that they face every day in the wo~lace.
ce, it is import ant that we develop a good understanding of
~ 5 anct ·
learn hQw to cope ,vith it.
 214 Vipul's™ Psychology at Work

Pressure to ·complete work on time or extra workload are

examples of challenge stressors. Hindrance stressors are
stressors that prevent a person from · reaching his goal.
Research has found that hindrance stressors cause more strain
than challenge stressors.·
The performanc e of employees increase when they receive ·
high levels .of organization al support in the face of challenge
· stressors.
(3) Commitme nt and stress: The performance of employees with
high levels of affective commitmen t (positive feelings) for
their organizatio ns improves in the face of stress. _They
convert their psychologic al stress in to greater_focus and
commitmen t to achieve organization al goals. ·
(4) . Demands and resources: Demands on the job may take the
form of responsibili ties, duties., obligations, pressures,
expectation s or uncertaintie s. The demands may be emotional
or cog~.itive in na~re. Resources refer to those things that are .
under an individual's control and which he can use them to
meet the demands·.
STRESS = DEMANDS > RESOURCES
Whether an individual experiences stress or not depends
on the resources he has available to cope•with the demands. If
the individual has adequate resources -then stress caused by
the demands will be reduced.

11
CiouRC ES/CAU SES OF. STRESS
Stress ·at work is on account of many different factors. The ·
I
various potenti~l causes of stress can broadly be divided ht to .
· three ca tegorie_s:
(1) Environmen tal Stressors • ,
r
I •

'~ nization~I C~ange and St_r ess Managem~nt fflf\T 215

(2) Organizational Stressors ·

(3) Personal Stressors
- .

{NvIRONM:ENTAL ST~ESSORS
Environmental ,uncertainty is . a major cause · of stress.
Unce~ai~ty due ,to environment may be of three types:
(1) Economic . uncertainty: downturns affect
. Economic
businesses. Employees ·experience high levels of anxiety and
stress when the econo~y is in bad shape. This is mainly on
account of Job insecurity. . Employees are not certain whether
they will_keep or l?se their jobs.
(2) Political uncertainty: Employees experi~ce less stress when
they have a stab!~ po_litical climate . and ~anges are
implemented in ·the· nation in a systematic · and orderly
.manner. However, employees expepence great stress when
there is great a degree of political uncertainty. For example,
Pakistan has ·high political uncertainty as it keeps moving
from a democratic to milit':1-IY system of governance every few
years. ~ese frequent changes create chaos and confusion and
adverse!y affeet the working of organizations.
. The danger of terrorism has become a cause o·f stress even
in nations that have stable political system~.
. .

{3) Technological uncertainty: Rapid advances ~d changes in

technology pose a threat to employees. This is because such
. frequent changes make employ~e · skills and experience
outdated. They are under constant pressure to learn and
update themse_lves quickly. · ·
 ·1
,1
I

. al Change and Stress Mariagemen_t 217

nizat1on ~-
orga .
/[Link]~L STRESSORS . ·

· :n; ide variety of organizational· factors can cause stress .

the emplo~ees. The varid~s_ organizational factors can
~ dly be divided 1n to three categories: . :
broa . .
' (l) Task demands: A number of f~ctors rel~ting to th~ task p~
work to be performed can cause stress among employees. The
ievel of autonomy, degree of task vari~tyr ·working
conditions, physical layout [Link] of the factors relating to
the task that can cause stress.
Assembly line pressures, overc~owded w:orking
co~ditions, excessiv~ heat or cold, poor lightipg, unpleasant
smells, ·excessive humidity, distracting noise, ·demanding
customer service, inadequate safety measures are some 'task
. related factors _that caueye stress. .
(2) Role demands: Every employee has a particuiar role to play
or a particular function to carry out in t4e organization. The
pres~ures of the~e roles _~an ~a~se _stress in the empl?yees.
Some specific r9le demands
.
_th~t' cause~s~ress..are~ · . · .
. . ~

(a) Role conflict: Employees ·often 'experien~e· role co~ct

when different people have different expectations from : .
them . . For example, th.e ·_··supervisor .who · is the - link
between the manageme~t and the worker is often the
victim of ro~e conflict. If he supports the management on
certain issues, theri ' the w·orkers win· label him as a
management -stooge or a 'chamcha'. At the same time if .
he is seen supporting the workers then the· ma~agement
will• not like it. Hence
•
supervisors
r ·.
very ofteJJ. [Link]
stress as they are caught-b~twee~ ·the management ~nd
the workers. ,.
(b) Role overload:· Role overl0ad . :o~curs when the
individ_uals are· asked to do more work than .they can
complete in a specific period of time..
218
.. .. .. .
~ ~ ~
(c) R· . -- . . Vipul'1™ Psychology at Work
ole ambi •ty E , ·
gui : mployees e · ·
are not provided with xp~nence stress whe~ they
.
d Uties a dear picture ab t th .
and respons 'b .[Link]. · ou eir work,
I 11 es. The emplo . .
what he is·expected t d Th' yee is not sure
[Link] the Worker a~d ~~suit;::;tes confusion in the
(3) 1 ess.
e:e{erson~l demands: Pressures and demands of others
p ~yees m the workplace can cause stress Thi .
-especially_ true when the employee does n·ot h . . s is
rel ti hi ·· ave a good
. ha ons p with co-workers, superiors and subordinates o
. w en they do [Link] any social support Bully· r
har h . · mg, sexual
assment! p ys1cal fights, racial discriminations can cause a
lot of stress to the employees.

\PERSONAL s·TRESSORS
The .whole person goes to work .a nd the whole person goes
back home. ~at happens in an employee's personai 1ife affects
his work life and vice-versa. Some of the different p·ersonal factors
that can cause stress to an employee are:
(1) Family problems: Fa~ily stressors may be in the form of a
. quarrel between the husband and wife or .the temporary
illness of a member of the family. It can _also J:,e something
inore · serious such as strained relationship between the
spouses or between the parents and the children. Another
serious family stressor could be indisciplined children, a·
handicapped child; menlally retarded children etc.
(2) Financial pr~blems: Financial hardships ~re common in a
' city like Mumbai where accommodation is expens~ve and the ~
cost of living is high. A person has. to do addi~io~al work or 1t
the wife has to' take a job. This ~educes time for ~omestic
family ·life a~d reduces the feelings of well-being . and
increases the potential for stress. Besides, s01ne people ,are
po.o r. at money management and their_ expenses al~ays
exceed their earning, thus causing stress.
r
. ~anizational Change and Stress Management Ill
O) Personality: Th~ personality of some individ~ makes them
: rnore _.-prone · to s h'~ss than other individuals. For example,
some individuals t~~d .to focus more on the negative aspects
of the W'Orld. :.
T}le differ~nt sources -~f
stress ·cenviroruilental, organizational
',nd personal) may all add up together andcause considerable
'stre5s. A particular stres~or:by its~lf may not be very powerful but
,hen added to other already ~xis ting stressors may prove to be
,k>O . much . and may' lead to a complete breakdown of the
individ~al. The level of stress experienced by an individual is the
sum of the different stressors. ·

. IN~IVIDUAL AND CULTURAL

[Link]~ES
.. .
IN -THE EXPERIENCE-OF
- STRESS ·
There . a~e wide differences in how individuals respond to
stress.·· Whether _a p ·otential s!re~s~r wiU actually result in the
experienc_e · of stress · _d epends on both ·individual and cultural
factors . .. : . .' .. ' . '
'
INJ?IVIDUAL ~IFFERENCES .
. -
There are large di(f erenc~· be~een people with regard to ~
causes of stres~ as w~ll as their [Link] cope with stress. What is
stressful to one perso~ may not b~ stressful to another person. ~r .
example, a desk jo~ m~y be -~~ressful to one employee but another
~ployee may enjoy it. · -~---
So~e people can ha~d~e hig~ levels of stress while others b ~
dow1:l· For ex~_m ple, India's cric~et. _cap~ -~endra Singh
I

Dhoni' ·can _. handle stre.s s well and in fact thrives in a crisis

situation. -~- · ·
' --
I
I 228 Vipul's™ Psychology at Work

Exhibit 8.3

VacatioD
. deficit_
·
d isorder
uthor William D Chalmers [Link] a pactontheir.b ehavtourandlmpactedbwiness.
f •

A book titled America's Vacation DeflcU

Dlsorder= Who Stale Your Vacatlon7' His ar-
gument was that while we strive for every pos-
sible therapy, regunen or drug to strike the right
1aJcing a cue from these theories, manywork-
places felt putting in Jong work houn day after ·
day was having a negative effect on the work-
force. More organisations since then started en-
worJc-Ufe balance, what we [Link] not doing ls tak- couraging their employees to take their allotted
Ing time off and ~veiling. He argued that a lot vacation rather than encash those leavesorcar-
of people were be- ~--~~ · · ry them for.
having in an un- ward. Various
healthy and de- ~ ._,,....~ health studies ·
structi ve manner _.:._<:,.;- showed how
and that was al- ;!~~~ ~__,..a-.,; chronic ' stress
fecting their per- faced by the
sonaJ health, hap-- workforce . re-
piness; relation- duced thelrabiJ-
. ships, family life ity to resist in- '
and their profes- fection, ham-
sionaJ p~uctJvi- pered their pro-
ty and their teams. -..- ductivity and
Project: 11me impacted their
Off, an 0 rgarusatJon dedicated to transEonning sleep patterns. Business psychologist and lecturer ·
attitudes towards taking time off from work at London School of [Link] Rebecca New-
came out with a SUIV~ wh~ they [Link] ton asserted in a paper that it is actually bqs.,es
who skip v,acations and, at tunes, report to work who should thank their staff for taking a vaca-
even on their off days as 'Work Martyrs'. It stat- tion, as vacati~n deficit badly affects perform-
ed that such a regime usually had a negative im- · ance and energy at the workplace. -AmlnAII

Source: The Tin1es of India, Sunday, October 8 2017.

[Link]
11-I
[ NiiiiiiGiiiiii_
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____ iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillll
SiiiiiiTRiiiiiiEiiiiiiiSiiiiiiiS

Stress can have both P?sitive and negative effects. However,

management$ and employees often <lifter in their perception of ·
· stress. Stress that is seen by the management as positive and
conducive (favorable) to better performance may_be seen as
excessive or too much stress by employees.
Stress may be m~naged both at th~ individual and at the
organizational level.
 organizational Change and Stress Management 229
0

JNVIVl DUAL APPROA~HES T~ ~TRESS ·

~ANAGEMENT . . .. i. . .;

An employee . may tak_ ~ pe~so~al respo1:15ibility ~or reducing

stress in his life. Some strategies that an _employee may adopt to
reduce stress in hi~ life are:
• • • I '• o

(1) Better time ma~agell!_ent: _M a~y employees ~xperience stress

because they manage their time poqrly. Better time
management will not only help the employee redu~e ·stress
more~ - . .
I , • •

· but alsq help him to acco~plish 'm tich

I • • ''

. The following are some well~known time management

. p.r in_c iples that can
help 'e [Link] stress:
(a) Prepare a [Link] of activities to be ~ompleted.
(~) Prioritizing activities in terms of their importance and
urge~cy.
(c) · Scheduling activities based on their prioritizing.
. .

TIME MANAGEMENT :
Indra Nooyi (the form_er Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo), had .a boss who
had an idea . a minute, when she worked as a chief strategist at
Motorola ..This had proved too much for the earlier four chief strategists
who had all quit within 18 months. The boss would stop by her office
every morning with new ideas. In order to cope with the continuous flow
of ideas from _her boss, Indra Nooyi started putting each of the ideas into
one of three buckets:
'
{1) · W9rth working on it right away
(2} ·Fine to take a few weeks to get in to it.
{3) Not worth pursuing
Extracted from,
My Ufe in Full
Work, FamJly, And Our Future
by
Indra Nooyl

l
230 ·
e'M. e:rr
~
Vf
,u s
•• ™
rsvchology at Work
-

. doing the
(d) -Aw are nes s <?f olle 's . d~ily ,schedule an!f
. .is mOst
dem and ing activities at a · time' wh en on~
pro duc tive and alert. ·

(e) A voi d· dist rac tion suc h as those

caused by'· frequent
che cki ng·of ·e-mails and SM~es. · ! •1 , • . • 1

• •I :

'an empl~yee
. · The se tim e management.. principles help
ls· and reduce .
focu~ his atte ntio n and efforts on imm edi ate ·goa
. 11 , ,. ,_.
dis trac tion: · · ·
,
. .
ging, C}' c~g are
(2) Phy~ical Eixerclses: Aerobics, SWimming, jog
reduce ·stress.
exa mp les of phy sica l exercises th~t can hel p to.
. capacity,
Exercises ) ow er the hea rt tate ,_ increase l~g
.stamina and
imp rov e ove rall hea lth, bui ld gre ater ene rgy and
provides a
lea d to imp rov ed wo rk performance. If also
confidence of a·
wel com e div ers ion from wo rk. It increases the
·. stressors fo_r · .
per son , it tak es the per son 's ~in d off the
.
som etim e and it me nta lly relaxes a person.
· (3) · Relaxation training: Me dita tion
, . hyp nos is · and deep
p . to r~~uce 1
bre ath ing are · relaxation techniques tha t ~el
ten sio n by hel pin g the ind ivid ual rea~h a
's tate . of_jde~p
rel~ase ~us~l~
phy sica l [Link]. !he se techniques helps to
, .~:.. •• , •.
ten sio n and exp erie nce peace.
. ' - ·'
GURU MANTRA
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
nce... there .~re-work-life
- "There is no such thing as wOrk-life bala
es. - , .
choices, and you make them, and they have consequ~nc
Jack Welch
Fo,;,,e, CEO, General Electric_
s of . quite
Res ear ch has fou nd tha t . fifteen min ute
.. . . dual.,s oxygen consum ptio n' low
. ~rs
d
me dita tion red uce s 1nd1v1
the skin an
. t. . . inc rea ses the electrical resistance ofxation. They
resp1ra 10n, 1 1~ t and
shi fts the bra in . wav es _tow ard s a ca m . rehea rt ra e
. . ch in the . .
pro duc e sign ific ant pos1hv~ ang es .
Organi zationa l Chan ge a"!d Stress ~anag emen t · 231

bloo d pres s~e. Med i~ati on help s in psych ologi cal ~ve ry, It_
thus redu c_e s stres s and in:ipr oves job perfo rman ce.
(4) Exp a~di ng s _ocia l supp ort netw orks: :The ~al s~pp o~
~yste m of ~ : indiv idua l usua lly co~p rises (?f frien~ s, _famil y
an<:! clos e co-w orke rs. They help la perso ~ - in . copin g with
stres s by serv ing as an outle t for his tensi on and frustr ation.
Wh~ n ther e ·is soci~ l supp ort th~ stres~ ed in~iv Jdual know s
that" he is not _alon e and th~t he can get help in dealing with-
.
his prob lems . -· ... ·. 1
.

Frie nds and fami ly mem b~rs are majo r sourc ~s 'o·f ~UPP!lrt , .
·. beca use 'W"e can conf ide "[Link] em •with out the fear of being
•
• critic ized and . misu nder stoo d. Clos e friend s betw een whom .
•
• . ~ • ¥
.J

.ther e are '~o wall s' of any kind s are extre mely helpf ul.
E_x pand ing the socia l supp ort . syste m not only gives an
' ~div idua l m _o re peop le to talk [Link] t also offers a dif~er ent
. ?nd mor e (?bje ctive per~ pecti ve to a sqess ful situat ion . or
, . prob lem -~at an indiv idua l is facin g. _How~ ver, these
relat ions hips mus [Link] co~p letel y'fre e and open to be helpf ul.
:- - - . ... . CO~ ING WITH STRESS
"So' on days that I was mad that peop le, both inside and outside the
comp any didn 't quite g·et -what 1. was· trying to do, I'd go into the little
bathr oom ~ttac hed to . my office , look at myse lf in the mirror, a~d jus~
let it all out. And when the .mom ent ·had · passed, . I'd . wipe my tears,
reapp ly a little mak eup, squa re my shoul ders, arid walk backout into the
fray, ready , agai n, to
'be it." . ', 11

Indra Nooyl
, · Form er Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo
in her book
My life In Full
Work , Family, And Our Future
232
· Vipul's™ psychology at Work

·
Some 0 ther measu re th·
indivi dual level tor d s at an employee can take at
e uce stress are: . an
(1 ) Tak·mg a break from work h ·
compl etely exhaus ted and drai::'eden a p~rson feels .·he is
the menta l strain. o~t. l~s helps to _r~duce

(2) By telling the . superi·or. that one is stressed 0th .

on y w he th kn . . · . ers can help
l · · n ey ow that you need help.
(3) Detach
. · onesel f mental ly from work when
ing · ph.y·s· ' 11
from w k Thi · . ica y away
. or . s helps in the recov~ ry .proces s. .. ..

. ·• HUM [Link]! {ICICI Bank Combats Stress)

-.
/CIC/ 8 ank has taken a number of steps to reduce· the levels of .stress
. ,.
~"!~ng its employees. .Some of the·unique and ·noteworthy measures.
1n1t1ated at /CIC/ are: .
.

{l} A ~amera-linked creche tho_t allows parerts to keep an ey~ on·their

ch,ldren through their computers.: · ·· ·: ., . . ··
(2) Given the long hours at work, /CIC/ Bank has started a Saturday Kids
, club for children between the age of 5 and 12 years on the first
floor at /CIC/ tow_ers. Here kids are taught crafts, computer
educatioTJ and other things, while the parents are at the desk.
(3) · The /CIC/ towers boasts of a host of convenient services such as
swimming pool, sleeping rooms, gymnasium, steam and sauna
rooms, personal travel services to subsidize~ cafeterias.
An onsite dietician advises employees on their diet Ond monitors
(4) cafeteria food to ensure healthy eating habits. Other health re!Oted
benefits include dental coverage, mandatory annual health check
ups, hospital tie-ups and stress reduction programs. ·
/CIC/ is also in the Process of short-listing an organization to run
(5) creches near its residential quarters in Mumbai. · ·
source: Adaptedfrom Business Today, Anniversary Issue, January 21, 2/)(/l.
.
r
organizational ChangE; and Stress _M anagement 233

vf'[Link] - ·APPROACI:IE~ TO STRESS

MANA~EMEN~ .
Managements of orgaiµzations can · also take a number
measures to reduce stress experienced by their employees. They
can especially war k on those factors· tha·t are _w ithin their control
such ~s role and task demmds. Though suitable strategies the task
and r?le demands can be ·modified or changed. . ·=·· _ ·
The. following are some strategies that· an · organization may
adopt ·to reduce _employee stress: ·. · ·
(1) Proper Selection. and Plac·e ment:- · Careful selection and .
pl~cement of ernploy~es can ,. ~eatly- reduc~ ~tress.
Organizations should _s trive ·to place the right man on the
right job by. matching ·the abilities .and skills of the employee
with the requirements of the job~ This ~ill lead· to greater job
satisfaction~ · ·
The stress levels of. different jobs are different. Selecting
. _indiv.i duals "W~O have experience and an ·i nternal locus of
control for high stress jobs will not ·only re~uce stress but also
~elp them to perform the job better_. -
. .

(2) Trai~ing: Tr<:1inirtg .of n~w .employees

current employees
whose performance is unsatisfa~tory ·can also help to reduce
stress. Training increases : self-efficacy and leads. to . better
performance ..· · ·
. .

(3) Goal setting: Goals which . are specific, challenging and

pro'{ide feedback not only reduce stress_but also inotiv:ate
employees to work · harder. Well defined , goals · give
employees greater clarity e:1nd purpose· of their work. They
will also · see stressors at work·:as challenges rather than
hindrances. Well defined .'goals· ~ith ,regular feedback reduce
uricertainty and frustration lead~ng to lower levels of stress.

...
I ••
234 Vipul's™ Psychology at Work
. .

Corpo rates Offer flexi hours ·

to ease·sta-" s comm ute_ w~
NO MORE RISKING LIVES TO PUNCH IN ON TIME
THE [Link] · Corporat~ houses where
Mahlndraand tlexi-timings area reafrty •
MdemalJonal Advertising Mahindra (M&M) ~ E,q,I~ . . expecting
Assodation"s India eml)lofeeshave the . _ . , pamrts. women with
Chapter has VlidelC:::. 111
flexibllty ID come~ . young chlct,a1 and those who ·
a soda.I Initiative
..!~=.::::.=.:w~ve.=..;iTi;.;;.OWOlk~;._·:-:--- \
~
w:=::=-=:slng
and leaveearty or._
J
an tempcnrlr lnca,adtated for
physlcalmcw e:but~~ftt

a~on~
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9
Source: The Times of India, Sunday, February 18, 2018.
. .

(4) Job redesign: Jobs may be redesigned to provide employees

with greater control ovet their work. Giving employees more
responsibili ty, autonomy and feedback will make work more
meaningful and reduce stress. Job . enlargement and .
· enrichment can play a:rt important role in reducing stress.
However, it is very important to keep individual
differences in mind while redesigning the job. Thu~, ~hile the
right jo~ design for an employee who_has low growth need
may be l_o w respons'ibility and increased specialization, this
r ·
•o,ianizational Change and Stress Management · 235

may not be . the right design for an employee with hl:gh

growth need. '
(S) Reduction of Role . Conflict and [Link]:
Role
Organizations can greatly reduce stress due to role ambiguity.
and role conflict by providing employees with a clear -
description of the duties they have to perform so that there is
no uncertainty or co~fusion regarding what one is expected
~d~ .
(6) . Greater e~ployee ' . participation: Increasing employee
pa_rticipation in the decision making process can also greatly
red~ce employee stress as· it m~kes them feel empowered. It
· also increases employee involvement and co·n uni~ent to the · ·
decision. ·
(7) . Effective communication: Open communication· can reduce
stress as stress is very often an - outcQme of employee
perceptions. Proper communication · will ensure that
' · e!Tlployees . view situations as opportunities· rather tha:n as
~eats. Besides, it removes role ambiguity and leaves little
room for role conflict. ·
(S) Sabbaticals: Everyone needs a break from work or wishes for
time to pu.r sue some personal interests. Such einployees may
be sent on a · 1ong vacation or sabbaticals. Such 'breaks'
enhance the individual's ability to cope. ~ith stress. ___
,Employees come back to work refreshed, keen, more creative
and en~rgetic. Employees when sent ori" paid sabbaticals .feel·
rewa~ded and valued by their employers.
(9) Wellness programs: Workshops that help employees quit
. smoking, reduce_ alcohol consumption, develop a
fitness
(exercise) schedule, eat better, develop ·c!- healthier life style..;
. all contribute to the over~ll improvement of the employee's
·physical and mental health. S1:1ch programs serve as active
strategies for reducing employee stress.