A Study of Stress Management: Causes and Coping Strategy

Sheetal Jain

and

Rajesh Sahu

Bhabha University Bhopal, India

NRI Group of Institutions, Bhopal, India

Keywords: Stress, Adaptive Reaction, Behavioral Change, Eu-Stress, Distress; and Copying Strategies.

Abstract: Stress has grown to be a serious problem as a result of the rising demands of modern lifestyles and the dynamic

social environment. Stress is a person's adaptive reaction to their environment, which can change their

physical, psychological, and behavioral traits. Although stress can lead to the death of brain cells, not all

pressures are bad. In fact, a good amount of stress can ignite one's creativity, awaken latent talents, and ignite

a passion for their profession. The study sheds light on the ubiquitous silent problem known as stress, which

caused acute dysfunctions that are now known as numerous diseases, raises the divorce rate, and results in

various types of harassment. There is work-related stress in all professions. IT professionals experience a lot

of stress as a result of their intense results-focused temperament and target-driven mentality. Athletes

experience the power of eu-stress in the minutes before a big game or competition. They suddenly have the

energy necessary to perform to the best of their ability when they experience eu-stress. Stress may promote

creativity and positive change when it is acknowledged and successfully managed. The paper's objectives are

to assess workplace stress levels and provide coping strategies. This study identified a variety of stress

management strategies, physical exercise embedded into job design, lifestyle change strategies, programs for

recognizing triggers and stressors, supportive organizational cultures, stress counseling strategies, and

spiritual strategies.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the 1990s, India emerged as a dominant force in

the fields of software engineering, information

technology services, and web-based services. Over

half a million people are employed directly and

another over a quarter of a million are supported

indirectly by the Indian information technology

sector, according to NASSCOM. Due to intense

rivalry brought on by urbanization and globalization,

stress levels have increased in the modern world. The

"Age of Anxiety" was coined to describe the

inevitable stress that is a part of contemporary life,

and for most individuals, the workplace is evolving

into a chaotic stress factory.

Stress has significantly increased as a result of

changing societal needs and social dynamics. Stress

is a normal human reaction to an outside factor that

can change a person's physical, mental, and

behavioral traits. Brain cells, which produce ideas,

can also perish under stress. Truth be told, not all

pressures are bad. The appropriate amount of stress

can truly help you rediscover your passion for your

work, discover hidden abilities, and even inspire you.

Changes in our lives, such as entering college, getting

married, changing jobs, or being sick, sometimes lead

to stress. Keep in mind that occasionally difficult

transitions might be helpful for you. For instance,

moving away from home to go to college creates

opportunities for personal development through new

encounters, friendships, and living situations. This is

why it's so important to understand yourself and all of

your stressors. The good news is that you may

decrease stress's bad effects, including sadness or

high blood pressure, even though it is impossible to

completely prevent it. It takes time to develop this

skill. The key is to become aware of how you interpret

and react to things. You can develop techniques to

reduce your stress using this understanding. As an

Army platoon leader, for example, managing stress

will require strategies that consider both you and your

Soldiers.

1.1 Objectives of the Research

The goals encompass understanding stress in its

authentic context, comprehending its root causes,

examining relevant literature associated with stress,

and delving into the various coping mechanisms

Jain, S. and Sahu, R.

A Study of Stress Management: Causes and Coping Strategy.

DOI: 10.5220/0012519400003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 877-880

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

877

employed to manage and navigate through stressful

situations.

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive research and is based on

secondary data that has been collected from various

data sources such as: Books, Research Journals and

websites.

2.1 What Is Stress?

An individual experiences stress when their body

overreacts to any pressures; stress can be brought on

by both favorable and unfavorable circumstances.

Stress causes the body to release chemicals into the

blood, giving it an increase in energy and stamina.

This may be advantageous if physical activity is

what's creating the stress. Similar to this, when stress

is a response to an emotional event and there is no

means to let go of this excess of power and energy, it

can be harmful. This blog will address the various

forms of stress, your reactions to them, the

differences between "good" or "positive" stress and

"bad" or "negative" stress, as well as some general

information on how stress affects people in modern

society.

2.2 Positive Stress

Positive stress can enhance performance compared to

situations without pressure. This form of stress serves

as a coping strategy, channeling energy, sparking

excitement, and notably improving both mental and

physical capabilities, ultimately leading to better

performance levels.

2.3 Negative Stress

Negative stress stands as the antithesis to positive

stress, manifesting in various detrimental ways such

as causing issues in both physical and mental health,

heightening anxiety levels, inducing discomfort, and

diminishing endurance and overall performance..

2.4 What Leads to Stress?

Stress can be brought on by a variety of

circumstances, including personal, social, and even

professional ones. Traumatic experiences, sadness,

guilt, the body, interpersonal difficulties, mortality, or

big life events can all lead to stress.

2.5 Effects of Persistent Stress

Long-term stress has a detrimental effect on a

person's ability to function physically and mentally.

Please review the list of detrimental effects of long-

term stress below.

• Personal disorders including anxiety and

depression. Panic attacks are the most severe

responses to stress.

• A multitude of cardiovascular issues, such as

atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart failure,

and heart attacks, can be brought on by stress.

• Obesity, anorexia, and bulimia are a few

psychiatric disorders that have a detrimental

effect on one's physical health.

• Sexual dysfunction and decreased fertility are

some effects of ongoing stress.

• Long-term stress may be a factor in immune

system conditions like eczema, permanent hair

loss, stomach and intestinal issues, and lung

diseases.

2.6 Signs of Stress

Physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of stress

are the three main yet related categories. Examine this

list in detail. If you see that you have these symptoms

repeatedly, you may be upset:

• Migraines;

• Fatigue;

• Digestive issues;

• Hypertension (high blood pressure);

• Heart issues, including palpitations.

• Lack of attention; inability to concentrate;

• Sleep problems, including excessive or inability to

fall asleep;

• Shaky hands and sweaty fingers;

• Anxiety;

• And sexual issues.

Even when you're not aware of it, stress has a

significant role in or is a direct cause of serious

physical ailments. Your immune system, metabolism,

and other reactions to stress are all impacted by the

increase in hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

This may cause an increase in your blood pressure,

heart rate, breathing, and the physical strain on your

internal organs. Another indication of stress is

alterations in behavior. They could include:

• Rude behavior towards others;

• Irritability;

• Disruptive eating habits (eating too much or too

little);

• Increased smoking or alcohol consumption.

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3 LITERATURE REVIEW

According to specialists Vasudha Venugopal and

colleagues (2010), a growing number of professionals

are struggling to control their emotional stress. They

emphasize that as it is an occupational hazard, work-

related stress should be immediately addressed.

Nithya Chandrasekaran, a consulting physician for

various companies in the area, asserts that stress

management and promoting mental health should be

issues that affect everyone, not just those with active

lifestyles. Following the recession, employees are

under pressure to perform well. According to doctors,

handling stress that arises from job loss anxiety or

from dealing with the growing competition affects the

employee's performance and eventually has a

significant negative impact on his health. Regular

workplace issues like wrist pain from repetitive

mouse use, slip discs, and eye fatigue are now

common. As if to acknowledge the prevalence of high

levels of stress among employees, several businesses

establish support hotlines that provide counseling to

their staff members who experience stress or mental

exhaustion. Businesses are also working to help

employees better manage their stress. Businesses like

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant, and

Wipro regularly offer stress breaks to help employees

strike a decent balance between work and pleasure.

"Stress and Life Satisfaction among Working and

Nonworking Women from Similar Levels of Socio

Economic Status of the Society," a 2009 study by

Deshmukh N.H., found no appreciable difference

between working and nonworking women in terms of

their levels of physical and familial stress. Role stress

was significantly higher for working women than for

unemployed women. Compared to non-working

women, employed women reported higher levels of

life satisfaction. Toby D. Wall, Gillian E. Hardy, and

David Woods (2003) Along with a greater number of

days missed and a higher frequency of missed work,

it was discovered that psychological discomfort,

especially sadness, was a strong predictor of absence.

Psychological distress and job satisfaction each

independently influenced absenteeism rates. The link

between psychological distress and absence was

unaffected by demographic characteristics. In the

morning, during the workday, and after work,

employees' use of alcohol and illegal drugs is related

to workplace stresses such work overload and job

instability, according to Michael R. Frone's (2008)

study.

Table 1: Impact of stress in various dimensions.

4 ORGANIZATIONAL

STRATEGIES IDENTIFIED

FOR MANAGEMENT OF

STRESS

The study also identified coping strategies for

managing stress at the organizational level. The

research's findings are as follows:

Increasing staff knowledge of stress and educating

them how to manage it by implementing stress

management programs at the organizational level.

The body can release tension more effectively

through physical activity, as doctors have indicated;

therefore indulging in any physical activity while

working is advised.

To inform individuals about what causes stress and

how it affects them, Stress-Audit is undertaking an

organizational-level stress audit. The best stress

management strategies are influenced by this.

After consultation with experts, it is

recommended that stress management programs be

implemented at the individual and organizational

levels. These programs should ultimately be

maintained by individuals. A coping strategy for

stress management will be the recognition of stressors

and triggers through continual employee health

monitoring and proactive organizational style.

One of the numerous organizational outcomes

that organizational culture affects is stress

management. A helpful organizational structure will

include a personal approach to understand stress and

develop efficient coping methods.

Modern technology makes it imperative to

improve physical working conditions, and doing so

will undoubtedly rank among the most effective ways

to reduce stress at the organizational level.

By assisting in understanding and resolving issues

related to stress, the introduction of stress counseling

programs will help control the behavioral and

emotional outcomes for employees.

By implementing spiritual programs at the

corporate level, workers will be inspired to examine

A Study of Stress Management: Causes and Coping Strategy

879

their own actions and experience less stress, creating

a livelier and more enriching workplace that can

boost productivity.

5 FINDINGS

Organizationally, businesses are giving well-

designed coping mechanisms more consideration.

Holding spiritual events at the organizational level

will promote reflection and reduce stress among staff

members. Stress influences people's bodies, minds,

behaviors, and emotions. Positive stress motivates

and enhances employee performance, in contrast to

negative stress, which makes people feel uneasy and

anxious.

A person can become productive and helpful

when stress is recognized and appropriately managed.

It's critical to stay active and direct your wrath and

energy towards worthwhile projects. A person's

personal system for understanding stress and devising

appropriate coping techniques may be incorporated

into a supportive organizational framework. A coping

strategy will be to identify stresses and triggers

through regular staff health monitoring.

6 CONCLUSIONS

In today's fast-paced environment, stress has become

a problem that needs to be treated immediately

because it poses a risk to one's health at work.

Therefore, it is becoming more and more crucial to do

study on various employee stress levels. Companies

like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro,

Microsoft, and others are beginning to pay attention

to well-designed coping mechanisms at the

organizational level. Stress can be useful and

advantageous if it is acknowledged and appropriately

managed. In times of extreme stress or adversity, it is

always crucial to stay active and direct your emotions

and energy into something positive. Stress can be

reduced by meditation and a positive perspective.

Having a more expansive view of life will surely

change how stress is experienced. For the benefit of

our overall well-being, both personally and

professionally, we can only hope that we are

successful in converting stress into eu-stress.

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