Stress management training courses are an effective workplace intervention because they reduce stress and this always
The word “STRESS” is never new to us as it inevitably come into every walks of our life. ... Some people may feel little or no stress whereas others feel hard to handle on a similar matter as individual adaptation and experiences are different. When stress results in good consequences which provides us with motivation to meet our daily challenges, produces personal growth, we call it eustress. Whereas, stress which causes detrimental effect on our body, we call it distress (Ivancevich,2001:544). However, we should not allow stress to build up because it can produce tensions which are serious enough to interfere our normal daily activities. Recent studies have also shown that too much stress will impact greatly on our overall health. ... Canada’s National Occupational Health & Safety Resource (2000) defined Job stress as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. There are different signs and symptoms that can indicate a person is having difficulty in coping the level of stress. People who are at stress may experience physical impact such as headaches, insomnia, chest pain, indigestion, frequent illnesses and there are also signs of behavioural differences such as absenteeism, reckless driving, use of excessive drugs, procrastination, withdrawal / isolations from others. ... Connor & Worley (1991) state that change in work responsibilities, processes or prodcts; in the equipment or technology used; or even as a result of being relocated within the same organization will inevitably impact on employees with certain level of stress. This job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. ... In general, workplace stress exists when there is a high demand in a job and little amount of control over the situation. ... Most of us experience some interrole conflict because our work time or behaviour conflicts with non-work role expectations. ... When company reduce workforce, workload has severe impact on employees. ... Restructuring, privatization, mergers and other forms reorganization are stressful because employees face increased job insecurity, uncertain work demands and new forms of interpersonal conflict. Less commonly, work underload also cause stress to employees when they receive too little work or given tasks that do not make sufficient use of their skills or knowledge. ... They then have to deal with the stress and perhaps the guilt of not being the “perfect”wife, mother and homemaker. Workplace violence, sexual harassment and bullying are significant interpersonal stressors in some industries. ... A study reported that the greatest cause of work-related stress among British bus drivers is their perceived risk of physical assault. Australian studies estimate that almost three quarters of victims experience or seek counseling for depression, fatigue, sleep disorders and higher blood pressure after the event of workplace bullying (McShane & Travaglione, 2003 :229).