Research On Managing Stress In The Workplace/Business

Stress Management in Business and the Workplace
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Stress Management in Business and the Workplace
Introduction
Strain or tension resulting from physical or psychological factors causes stress, which acts as a response to anxiety provocation. The feeling of stress presenting itself for a short period is normally termed as acute stress; if it persists for a continuous period, then it is referred to as chronic stress. Unlike Chronic stress, acute stress may help an individual learn how to control dangerous and more critical conditions in the future. Moreover, stress may also lead to serious health complications when an individual does not learn how to manage these provocation feelings for a continuous period (Tran et al., 2020).
Importantly, in the occurrence of stress or tension, the body responds by producing hormones and as a result make the brain more vigilant, strain muscles and escalate the pulse rate. These responses are satisfactory in the management of the feelings of tension and act as mechanisms of the body towards safeguarding itself. As a result of chronic diseases, an individual may be at risk of health consequences alongside conditions such as obesity, depression, and heart diseases, among others. In the case where an individual is already diagnosed with a serious health condition, chronic stress may aggravate the situation to a more critical condition (Tran et al., 2020).
Stress symptoms
Inability or loss of concentration from time to time is an indication that an individual is experiencing some level of tension (Patro & Kumar, 2019). At times, the body seems to show the insufficiency of strength to perform a relatively simple errand at the workplace or business due to the individual's tension. The stress may also exhibit the individual to be in very deep thoughts away from the current surroundings and happenings. Reliance on drugs or alcohol to ease tension is also an indication of stress experienced in an individual. Whether temporary or continuous, some level of drug abuse may affect the brain similarly to how stress affects the brain and, hence, reduces performance at a workplace or business. Moreover, abuse of drugs or alcohol in easing tension may lead to addiction, posing a health risk for the individual experiencing the stress.
Additionally, stress may be exhibited through loss or gain of weight by a stressed individual in a work of place or in a business. People experiencing stress conditions may tend to make poor decisions when it comes to diets by either forgetting to take their food or consuming the wrong types of foods. In some cases, the stress may make an individual lose the will or interest in eating and losing weight. In the same way, having difficulty sleeping or getting enough sleep might also imply that an individual is experiencing stress. Despite a pleasant place and ample time to sleep, stressed people may have difficulty getting sleep and experience drowsiness during working hours at their businesses or workplaces. Tiredness and exhaustion may lead to poor performances in a work area or in a business place (Patro & Kumar, 2019).
Headaches caused by tension might also indicate that an individual is experiencing stress. These headaches are usually a result of stress or tension escalation for some time and are generally referred to as tension headaches. Besides, these types of headaches can be due to lack of ample sleep, alcohol consumption, and abuse of drugs, among other factors (Patro & Kumar, 2019).
Mechanisms that help reduce stress through Yoga
Mindfulness as one of the psychological mechanisms helps one pay attention to what one feels or is experiencing at the current moment without faultfinding. The process of mindfulness involves breathing practices, directed imagination, and help ease the tension from the mind and the body to reduce stress. Besides, mindfulness also helps elevate attention and reduce job fatigue at the workplace, ensuring better employee performance.
Similarly, positive affect in reducing stress involves one's tendency to associate with feelings considered positive during one-on-one interactions with other people and with day-to-day challenges. Moreover, positive affect as a psychological mechanism acts as an influential element that helps lessen the harmful effects of psychological stress for an individual experiencing tension. On the other hand, self-compassion involves one considering the challenges or suffering one is currently going through and initiating feelings of safekeeping and tenderness towards one's persona. Taking part in Yoga may help one consider placing more value in self-compassion by effectively pinpointing the needs and addressing them in order to be better (Patro & Kumar, 2019).
Organizational Behavior Management and stress in the workplace
Organizational Behavior Management analyzes the reasonable and applicable approaches that can help in behavior change. Application of Organizational behavior Management involves isolation, examination, and modification of surrounding occurrences that interfere with employees' working performance at a workplace. With the progressiveness of Organizational behavior Management, there is a focus on primary areas of specialization that include: system analysis, performance management, and behavior-based safety.
In system analysis as an area of specialization, there is an alteration of organizational procedures to benefit the in-here organization the employees work for. Both individual and group ability are considered in the completion of assigned tasks that result in the production of manufactured products or service delivery that are important for the organization's success. Contrary to system analysis, behavior-based safety focuses on adjusting the working areas for employees to reduce accidents and avoid injuries. Safe working areas encourage secure behavior performance that advocates for a good performance from employees in an organization. Unsafe working areas can bring about tension or stress to the employees at a workplace, which may lead to poor working performance from the employees (Patro & Kumar, 2019).
In the performance management approach, the workplace's alteration is done to ensure performance all-round the organization. The type of performance calls for all the dissimilar behaviors that all employees may tend to engage in and how they may tend to affect the employees' performance. The alteration is done with the main aim of progressive results for the in-here organization from the employees.
Applied Behavior Analysis
This type of therapy focuses on polishing up certain behaviors of the employees, such as reporting, interpersonal skills, analysis, and adaptive apprehension skills that all aid in job competency. Consistency in Applied behavior Analysis for employees, aids in enhancing expertise as well as advocating for good behavior in a workplace environment. Moreover, applied behavior analysis therapy helps individuals cope with lifestyle provocations that may lead to tension and hence causing mental conditions. Applied behavior Analysis employs a positive reinforcement strategy for its success in behavioral change. This strategy entails awarding an individual for being competent or accomplishing a particular task and enticing them to always want to achieve to be awarded again. Productive rewards motivate an individual always to give their best and hence advocate for change in behavior (Patro & Kumar, 2019).
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Stress
Contrary to Applied behavior Analysis therapy, this type of therapy focuses on people embracing their challenging feelings in order to achieve better consolation with those feelings and hence able to move beyond the barriers those feelings present. Also, this approach summons and encourages individuals to be open about challenging feelings in order to avoid reacting disproportionately to them. This approach's main focus is to present preferable emotions for an individual for them to understand and accept the facts as they are easy. This type of therapy employs principles such as acceptance, values, committed action, the observing self, cognitive diffusion, and contact with the present moment for its success.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The approach towards Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on the fundamental principle pointing to the role of an individual's cognition in the development and maintenance of emotional alongside behavioral responses towards various life situations (David et al., 2018). The CBT models portray cognitive processes in the form of meanings, appraisals, and assumptions related to specific life events. These are primary determinants of an individual's feelings alongside actions as a response to various events in life that eventually have the potential of hindering adaptation processes. In this case, the CBT model entails a number of approaches related to efficacy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Some assumptions underlie the cognitive-behavioral models as it pertains to treatment. One of the assumptions focuses on the fact that cognitive processes alongside content are easily identifiable and accessible. There are many instances where specific thoughts or beliefs do not reflect one's immediate awareness, including proper training and awareness of individual practices (David et al., 2018). The other key assumption focuses on the fact that the thinking level bridges our responses towards environmental cues. In this case, the reactions from other people do not reflect only emotional and behavioral life events. Instead, the CBT model focuses on the fact that thinking concerning our reality determines our reactions towards such a reality. Further, another fundamental assumption of CBT focuses on the fact that various cognitions are intentionally targeted, modified, and also changed. It is important to note that in the case where various cognitions changes towards the direction of more rational, realistic, and balanced thinking. In this case, there is relief in the balanced thought alongside the individual's symptoms, making the individual increase adaptability and functionality. Such a change results from an individual's work as per the application of self-help material or a professional practitioner's involvement within one of CBT's many approaches.
Social Learning Theory, suggested by N.E. Miller and J. Dollard in 1941, envisioned the idea that people learn by observing others. Their theory posits that humans would learn behavior through observation if motivated to do so. This theory was expanded upon by Albert Bandura in 1962 and got to be known as the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Albert Bandura uncovered a significant behavioral model in patients with phobia. He inferred that a patient's ability to observe formerly ill persons navigating and managing similar conditions as an infective therapy (Bandura, 1999). The social cognitive theory embraces a reciprocal causal model where there is a constant interaction between the environment, cognition, and behaviors. The SCT suggests that individual behavior is a product of three inter-related aspects: behavior, personal factors, and environmental factors, each of which continuously influences each other (Bandura, 2004).
Behavior explains the skills, complexity, or reaction to a certain development. Environment involves the relationship or roles that units in a given system take, and cognition explains the motive or personal perspectives (Bandura, 1999). The three elements collectively define the outcome or reaction to change. However, each factor's influence depends on the type of change where they all make different contributions to the earned reaction. In some cases, the environment is the overriding factor, and in other situations, cognition becomes the endearing aspect. The model is different from common behaviorism theories that predominantly support the idea that rewards or incentives rule behaviors. Oftentimes, conducts are just observed and transmitted without other supporting elements. Therefore, the function of the model is to transmit information and, through continued communication, ensure change without added incentives.
The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns. To improve health and prevent diseases, changes in health behavior must be maintained, which is also advocated by the SCT. Additionally, the social cognitive theory describes a modeled behavior that is communicated to the observers. The conduct mentioned above serves three key functions: initiating similar reactions, weakening the prevailing constraints against the modeled behavior, and introducing a new pattern of behaviors. The model collectively offers a smooth transition to a different school dimension of thought regarding a given situation. It does not force a change, but it develops a trail that approves the change.
Critics of SCT
According to Bandura (2004), the core determinants that influence an individual's behavior include knowledge of the risks and benefits, self-efficacy, outcome expectations about the expected costs, and benefits of performing the action. This also entails goals people set for themselves, their plans for achieving these goals, and perceived facilitators and barriers to making behavior changes (Bandura, 2004). To prevent and maintain chronic diseases, it would be imperative that people understood the risk to their health caused by the current dietary and lifestyle habits, combined with the benefits they would achieve if a behavior change was undertaken. Without this understanding, they may not be motivated towards the change in behavior.
They also need to have the confidence to make the behavior change and further sustain the new behavior by setting goals to achieve better health outcomes. Bandura (2004) calls this confidence in one's self self-efficacy. SCT shows a direct correlation between self-efficacy and behavioral change, with self-efficacy playing a central role in behavior performance. Individuals with high self-efficacy are motivated towards a behavior change while there is the belief on difficulties encountered in the quest of embracing behavior change (Bandura, 2004).
Self-efficacy comes from four bases: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states (Bandura, 2004). Self-efficacy is defined as "people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives. Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel, think, motivate themselves and behave" (Bandura, 2004). People need to ascertain the barriers or costs involved in the change of behavior and how these would be countered by the benefits achieved through improved health outcomes. They need to convince themselves that stopping their exposure to smoke would bring about long-term prevention of heart and lung diseases.
There have been positive contributions from authors towards the development of the model over the years. For instance, Albert Bandura contributed to the development of SCT from SLT. In his theory, Bandura incorporated the aspect of modeling to represent social learning. Further, he introduced other concepts such as reciprocal determinants and self-efficacy that led to the renaming of SLT to SCT (Brown, 1999). Also, Miller and Dollard supported the model by incorporating learning through the effects of individual action. Their work reinforced social modeling that interpreted models as a form of discrimination learning. This provided alternative ways through which knowledge and competencies could be acquired. Compeau and Higgins (1995) also supported the use of SCT and considered the model as a valid model of individual behavior after performing a wide empirical study on the model. They explained the existing interrelated dimensions of self-efficacy by pointing out three distinct elements: magnitude, strength, and generalizability.
However, according to Bandura (1997), individuals act habitually on their belief to perform a given task so long as they trust their abilities to undertake the task. This continues to the extent of reinforcing their belief in personal efficacy, which eventually acts as a guide under changing environments (Bandura, 1997). However, Marakas and Johnson (1998) notes that there are possibilities of self-efficacy giving varying results depending on the nature of activities, situations, as well as circumstances. This makes it difficult to measure self-efficacy by the use of the omnibus test. This is since the use of specifically domain-linked measures has better predictive capability on self-efficacy than the use of general measures. Abbasi (2011) asserts that despite Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) providing ground-breaking concepts for subjective norms such as self-efficacy, experience, study time, training, social influence, and generalization of the theory is never easy. The application part of the theory is challenging, despite the possibility of using its concepts and constructs as an extension into a specific model.
Dealing with weaknesses and criticisms
In this study, Social Cognitive Theory assumes that individual behavior is part of an inseparable triadic structure in which behavior, personal factors, and environmental factors constantly influence each other, reciprocally determining each other (Carillo, 2010). Therefore, in this study, SCT is assumed to rely on the bidirectional nature of causation in which behavior, cognitive and emotional factors, and environment constantly and mutually influence each other. Therefore, there is an assumption that self-efficacy is one of the variables that could influence behavior change in health consumers. Generally, the study considered multiple ways to change behavior change that targets both knowledge and attitude within the workplace environment.
Lee and others (2018) studied the effect of social cognition in the adoption of physical activity among students. The respondents were tested on their perceived expectations of the benefits of physical activity to determine how such perceptions influenced their adoption of the behaviors. The research revealed that despite the benefits of physical activity in the prevention of such diseases as diabetes and hypertension, only 15% of the students engaged in an average of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity (Lee et al., 2018). This figure compared poorly with their American counterparts, where 48.6% of the high school students engaged in physical activity. Self-efficacy in being physically active contributed positively to the adoption of physical activity, while those respondents who fared poorly in the activity cited perceived barriers to the activity. In addition, goal setting and perceived benefits of physical activity were positively correlated. This study demonstrated that there is a close link between the environment, cognition, and behaviors. Therefore, to achieve lasting change, the understanding of the desired change in the given domain is crucial for cognition.
Influence of environment on behavior
Behavior change is also predisposed by environmental factors (Bandura, 2004) that could be a combination of friends and family, community members, community leaders, religious leaders, community beliefs, and the like. This could have an impact on the understanding of health risks and benefits as well as self-efficacy. Any behavior change would be heavily influenced by the family, friends, community, and other social and community leaders. The people require to feel confident that their social influencers approved the behavior change before its uptake. The SCT supports this environmental influence.
Figure 1: SCT (Bandura, 1977)
A study conducted among girls in 12 secondary schools in a low-income area measured the intention to eat healthy foods. Self-efficacy was the major motivator to healthy and unhealthy eating habits (Bandura, 2004). Dietary self-efficacy here may be defined as an individual's perceived capability to make healthy food choices, in the backdrop of potential barriers like unhealthy but tasty food and peer pressure leaning towards unhealthy food preferences.
In the above study, the environment in terms of family support and (dietary) self-efficacy played a part in the individual's intention to choose healthy or unhealthy food. The physical activity behavior among the youth has also been linked to attitude and self-efficacy. A systematic review of several cognition theories conducted to ascertain physical activity among the youth revealed that self-efficacy and expectations of outcomes were critical determinants of involvement in physical activity among the youth (Bandura, 2004). Their perceived ability to take-up and maintain physical activity was the main determinant of behavior change. Borrowing from the above studies, it is necessary to conclude that self-efficacy, environmental (social) influence, and Outcome expectations form the core determinants of an individual's choice towards a specific behavior change.
Strengths of the SCT
The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) has shown positive feedback from researchers as it realizes consistent results in various studies conducted in order to understand specific behavior changes. The components of the theory, namely, reciprocal determinism, the capability to explain behaviors, individual's expectation outcomes, social (environmental) reinforcement, and one's self-efficacy, are well-defined concepts that conform to the understating of behaviors. In shaping a simple model, the theory gives a sound platform for assessing behavior and measuring the cause-effect relationship between different model elements (Bandura, 2004). Simply put, the theory reads environment influences behavior, behavior influences environment. An individual's expectations influence behavior, while behavior influences an individual's outcomes. The environment influences an individual, and in turn, the individual's choices influence the environment. The theory provides researchers with a framework for gauging the responses in the recipients. When used in a workplace scenario, for instance, the change drivers can anticipate the expected responses and incorporate intervention strategies in the work process.
The theory also articulates how behavior is formed among people and enables guardians and social institutions to engage in processes that promote desirable behavior proactively. The Social Cognitive Theory also explains how a variety of actions are formed in society. A proper understanding of the behavioral process is critical to designing appropriate strategies to bring any change in society. From the above, it is important to understand that in the case of this study, the choice of adopting appropriate behaviors by the respondents is directly influenced by several factors such as the need for knowledge on the workplace, perceived benefits from a choice of behavior, self-motivation towards the behavior, influence from their environment in terms of family, friends, social, political, and community groups, their perceived self-efficacy in undertaking and maintaining the behavior change, and the like. As it explains many of the variants that could influence our respondents' behavior change, this theory serves to be a strong model to include in this study (Bandura, 2004).
Potential limitations of the SCT
In the wake of many strong points, the theory does have has some limitations too. Firstly, it assumes that a change in the environment automatically leads to a change in behavior, which is logically inconsistent. The rate of workplace stress is statistically proven to be very high; however, this does not necessarily motivate an individual to adopt appropriate behavior, especially for the benefit of receiving necessary education. There must be other stimuli present in the decision-making equation (Bandura, 2004). Secondly, it is loosely established based on the interaction between behavior, an individual, and the environment. There is an overall assumption that all the elements affect behavior, but the impact's extent is not explained. To counter this limitation, there is the requirement that data be gathered for both qualitative as well as quantitative analysis. Statistical analysis would provide further direction on the degree of influence that each factor has on the other. Nevertheless, one needs to keep in mind that self-efficacy, behavior, and the environment cannot always remain static.
Lastly, the theory is broad-reaching, making it difficult to contextualize and apply it within certain knowledge boundaries. In the case of, say, obesity, it is not just one factor that would lead to the individual being obese. Any change that the individual chooses to make towards better health would be a combination of several other influencers such as work history, genetic make-up, the presence or lack of other associated diseases, financial environment, health literacy, and many more. Therefore, it would be foolhardy to explain individual behavior's choice relying on just the constructs that form the SCT (Bandura, 2004).
The theory also fails to account for the physical and mental processes but instead relies on the psychological aspects of the adoption of behavior. Although the theory has been hailed for promoting positive traits, it does not explain all the behavioral traits and trends among individuals. Regarding the perception of individuals on the various stimuli, the theory fails to explain how one action is perceived as punishment by one person while others view it as a reward. In this regard, the cognitive theory is insufficient in comprehensively understanding the causes of human behavior. The Social Cognitive Theory is regarded as lopsided because it emphasizes cognition at the expense of biological and hormonal factors. Apart from cognition, psychologists have linked behavioral intentions also on hormonal and physical processes. Although the Social Cognitive Theory extensively covers the personal cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence an individual to change one's behavior, it does not, however, account for how the perceived threat posed by disease could also influence an individual's health behavior (Bandura, 2004).
Learning theories
The various learning theories link to behavioral approaches that focus on behavior modification by manipulating various environmental antecedents or reinforcers. Learning theories explain how the mechanisms of fear alongside traumatic memory avoidance associated with PTSD are conditioned, activated, and reinforced. Such perspective leads towards the development of unhealthy fear especially emanating from a single traumatic episode as well as exposure towards a series of unfavorable events. There are possibilities of acquiring fear on the association platform that reflects classical conditioning or basically learned vicariously through observation processes. In this case, an individual may acquire fear by observing other fearful reactions towards specified events (Bandura, 2004).
Mowrer's (1956) two-factor theory focuses on one of the initial attempts that provides a behavioral explanation towards acquiring and maintaining various fear associated with PTSD (Cahill et al., 2009). According to Mowrer, the various emotions are always acquired or learned through a two-part process that entails both classical and operant conditioning. However, the acquisition of the aspect of anticipatory fear occurs through classical training and relief from the fear, which occurs in case of danger signal occurrence. Such a danger signal may be terminated through active avoidance of the specific object or situation that is feared, therefore, creating a secondary reinforcement of avoidance behavior. In the classical conditioning model, there is the development of the aspect of unhealthy fear in the presence of a neutral condition as it relates to an unpleasant or dangerous outcome.
The emotional-processing theory focuses on an integrated framework that analyzes as well as explaining onset alongside PTSD maintenance. Such a theoretical approach results from a combination of cognitive, learning, and behavioral theories of PTSD. This basically builds on the premise of a lack of emotional experiences that influence human behavior way beyond the original events related to emotions. Notably, emotions are a representation of information structures within memory. In the occurrence of fear, the memory-related to such an occurrence is information specific to the stimuli that cause the fear. The meaning is that the individual attaches to the stated stimuli. The general functions...