Litrature review

LITERATURE REVIEW
Topic : stress management
Submitted to, Mr: Isacc George Department of management scince MESCE Submitted by, Riyaz A P Roll no: 37

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Litrature review
Stress, Cognition, and Human Performance by Mark A. Staal Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
Stokes and Kite (2001) suggest that the terms versatility (its range of application), is its undoing as a useful scientific term or concept, and they are not alone in this assertion (Tepas & Price, 2001). Accordingly, stress can be viewed as, an agent, circumstance, situation, or variable that disturbs the normal functioning of the individualstress [is also] seen as an effectthat is the disturbed state itselfthis bifurcation of meaning is arguably the most fundamental source of the confusion surrounding the stress concept. (p. 109). Stokes and Kite contend that there are no psychologicalstressors in any absolute, objective sense

Stress Melissa Conrad Stppler, MD

Stress is simply a fact of nature -- forces from the inside or outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Because of the overabundance of stress in our modern lives, we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative, or positive experience. In general, stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors include the physical environment, including your job, your relationships with others, your home, and all the situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations you're confronted with on a daily basis. Internal factors determine your body's ability to respond to, and deal with, the external stress-inducing factors. Internal factors which influence your ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional wellbeing, and the amount of sleep and rest you get stress

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Litrature review
Stress at wrking conditon Thomas Jefferson
The word `stress` is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy". A condition or circumstance (not always adverse), which can disturb the normal physiological and psychological functioning of an individual. In medical parlance `stress` is defined as a perturbation of the body`s homeostasis. This demand on mind-body occurs when it tries to cope with incessant changes in life. A `stress` condition seems `relative` in nature. Extreme stress conditions, psychologists say, are detrimental to human health but in moderation stress is normal and, in many cases, proves useful. Stress, nonetheless, is synonymous with negative conditions. Today, with the rapid diversification of human activity, we come face to face with numerous causes of stress and the symptomsof anxiety and depression

Stress management by Melinda Smith, M.A., Robert Segal, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger whether its real or imagined the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the fight-or-flight reaction, or the stress response. The stress response is the bodys way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident. The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when youre attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.

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Litrature review
Stress at Work by Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Robert Segal, M.A.

In this difficult economy, many of us are finding it harder than ever to cope with stress in the workplace. Regardless of occupation, seniority, or salary level, were spending more and more of our work days feeling frazzled and out of control, instead of alert and relaxed. While some stress is a normal part of the workplace, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and reduce your physical and emotional health. Finding ways to manage workplace stress is not about making huge changes to every aspect of your work life or rethinking career ambitions. Rather, stress management requires focus on the one thing thats always within your control In this difficult economy, many of us are finding it harder than ever to cope with stress in the workplace. Regardless of occupation, seniority, or salary level, were spending more and more of our work days feeling frazzled and out of control, instead of alert and relaxed. While some stress is a normal part of the workplace, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and reduce your physical and emotional health. Finding ways to manage workplace stress is not about making huge changes to every aspect of your work life or rethinking career ambitions. Rather, stress management requires focus on the one thing thats always within your control: you There are a variety of steps you can take to reduce both your overall stress levels and the stress you find on the job and in the workplace. These include:

Taking responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being. Avoiding pitfalls by identifying knee jerk habits and negative attitudes that add to the stress you experience at work. Learning better communication skills to ease and improve your relationships with management and coworkers

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Stress Levels of Business Owners and Employees by Victoria Duff, Demand Media
March 2010 study conducted by Grant Thornton International revealed that 56 percent of business owners feel their stress levels have increased over the past year. Topping the stress list is China where the drive to grow commerce and industry has placed extreme pressure on business owners to keep up with the rapid pace. Business owners in Ireland, Spain and Greece, countries experiencing severe economic downturns, also ranked high on the list owing to the stress of trying to keep their companies alive during hard economic times. There are three types of workplace stress: economic, business and personal. A recession places economic stress on a business because the normal sources of capital and revenues dry up as banks refuse to loan money and customers stop buying. Business stress relates to the internal difficulties a company may experience in producing a quality product fast enough to meet demand or reorganizing its operations in order to improve the quality of its product. Personal stress affects business owners and employees alike. It is a result of long work hours, pressure to succeed and family and health concerns

Job Stress Ann Reskin

Numerous surveys and studies confirm that occupational pressures and fears are far and away the leading source of stress for American adults and that these have steadily increased over the past few decades. While there are tons of statistics to support these allegations, how significant they are depends on such things as how the information was obtained (self-report vs. answers to carefully worded questions), the size and demographics of the targeted group, how participants were selected and who sponsored the study. Some self-serving polls claiming that a particular occupation is "the most stressful" are conducted by unions or organizations in a attempt to get higher wages or better benefits for their members. Others may be conducted to promote a product, such as the "Stress In the Nineties" survey by the maker of a deodorant that found housewives were under more stress than the CEO's of major corporations. Such a conclusion might be anticipated from telephone calls to residential phones conducted in the afternoon. It is crucial to keep all these caveats in mind when evaluating job stress statistics. He reveal the following findings after his study 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful; 25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives; Three fourths of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago;
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Managing Employee Stress and Safety by David Lee

The Top 10 Factors Leading to Employee Stress A survey of 1,299 employees from 37 organizations1 , identified ten factors as the most important contributors to employee stress. In order of importance, these were: Employees not being free to talk with one another Personal conflicts on the job Employees not being given enough control over their work Inadequate staffing or budget Management and employees not talking openly Management perceived as being unsupportive Below-average sick and vacation benefits Reduction in employee benefits Having to deal with bureaucratic red tape Lack of recognition or reward for doing a good job

Stress Relief While Driving by Susan Stewart

Stress Relief While Driving With more than 25 million vehicles on the roads in this country today, its no wonder that road stress and road rage are becoming more prevelant. Congested roads with too many people, faulty traffic signals, road construction, limited parking space and even transporting bored, cranky children are just a few of the irritants taking their toll on our stress levels. Everyone seems to be running short on time in our fast paced society so we tend to get in a big hurry when we get behind the wheel. We are already stressed and then adding all the normal stresses of driving such as heavy traffic, bad directions, weather conditions, etc., can make you a nervous wreck by the time you reach your destination. So what can you do to ease your driving stress? Here are several ideas to get you started: One of the best ways to make driving less stressful is to allow plenty of time to reach your destination. Running late is one of the main reasons people speed. Not allowing enough time for unexpected delays such as traffic, car crashes, detours and other surprises increase your stress level greatly. Create a comfortable, inviting environment in your vehicle. This is especially important if you spend a lot of time driving. Choose music that will soothe your frazzled nerves after a tough day.

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Drivers say stress leads to accidents by TIMES OF INDIA
These days, it takes MTC driver Gunasekaran (name changed) two hours more to complete his daily trips. Increasing traffic congestion not only makes it impossible for him to reach his destination on time but also adds immensely to his stress levels. Drivers like him who do longdistance routes such as Besant Nagar to Perambur, Avadi to Tambaram, Tiruvottiyur to Thiruvanmiyur and Broadway to Kelambakkam have the same complaint. They say the increasing traffic congestion, number of bus stops and passengers getting in and getting down at every bus stop pose a challenge in completing their trips on time and cause accidents. This chapter of the study will present an in-depth review of relevant literature, centered on the questions identified in Chapter 1, above. Specifically, this chapter will include theories of stress and burnout, stress among correctional officers, effects of stress on correctional officers, job satisfaction and turnover among correctional officers, and summary of the chapter. Job related stress has been associated with a vast array of physical diseases and psychological disorders and has been identified as one of the most debilitating sources of personal and professional dissatisfaction

What Makes Bus Driving So Stressful? By Bahasa melayu

High levels of stress and ill health among bus drivers have been revealed in a survey published by the T&G. More than half those questioned gave long hours behind the wheel as the main cause of stress in the job. Drivers are often at the wheel for over five hours without a break and 83 per cent said they often or sometimes feel excessively tired at work, especially halfway through a shift. Over 100 drivers working in Sheffield took part in the survey, which was jointly conducted by the local T&G branch and the Sheffield Occupational Health Project.It showed that most drivers on the early morning shift get only five hours or less sleep. One in five drivers said tight running times or running late are the most stressful part of the job. 66 per cent found running times at peak hours too fast or unachievable. Graham Stevenson, T&G national secretary be putting the safety of passengers at risk, he said. How to Manage Your Stress Levelv, The first step in monitoring and managing stress is understanding our physiological responses to stressors, says Benson, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Stress activates the body's fight-or-flight response: heart rate and blood pressure go up, and several hormones are released into the blood stream, the most important of which are epinephrine (also known as
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adrenaline) and cortisol. In the short term, these hormones boost our focus, memory, and creativity. A century ago, Harvard researchers Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson calibrated the relationship between stress arousal and performance, finding that as stress goes up, so do efficiency and performance. However, once stress exceeds a certain level, they noted, its benefits disappear and performance declines. Mental flexibility, concentration, and mood all take a hit. This relationship between performance and stress has been dubbed the Yerkes-Dodson law. This graphic represents it:

The Yerkes-Dodson Curve

Review of bus drivers' occupational stress and stress prevention 1. Michiel A. J. Kompier and Vittorio D
32 studies from 13 countries on bus drivers' work and health are similar in their conclusions. Bus-drivingcharacterized by high demands, low control and low support can be regarded as a classic example of high-strain occupation, with high risks of physical and mental occupational ill-health, leading to absenteeism and to decreased productivity of employees and enterprises. Several recommendations some of them already being implemented by bus companies are presented in order to reduce work stress in bus drivers. They relate to: (a) ergonomics of the bus cabin, (b) job rotation and combination jobs, (c) timetables, shift schedules and quality of break periods, and (d) the social work environment and management style. Stress monitoring and stress reduction is not merely a technical process based on a technical analysis and on the simple straightforward realization of recommendations and findings. It relates to changing and improving organizations and organizational processes. Such organization changes can best be obtained through a stepwise and participative approach.
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