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We firmly believe Hard Skills alone are not sufficient enough to enhance business success. Aligned with high performance organizational culture and given the right direction, Soft Skills is the best recipe for business success.
2. What is Stress?
• Stress can be defined as our
mental, physical, emotional, and
behavioral reactions to any
perceived demands or threats
• Is a substantial imbalance
between environmental demand
(i.e., what you perceive is being
demanded of you) and response
capabilities (i.e., what you
perceive your capabilities are for
meeting those demands), when
you perceive success to be
important
3. What Makes Something Stressful?
• Situations that have strong demands
• Situations that are imminent
• Life transitions
• Timing (e.g., deviation from the “norm”)
• Ambiguity
• Desirability
• Controllability
5. Misconceptions about Stress
• Misconception 1: Stress is high situational demand
(stress = accumulation of daily hassles)
• Misconception 2: Stress is an emotional response
6. Vulnerability to Stress
Some people are more vulnerable to stress than others.
Determine your level of vulnerability to stress by
completing the following worksheet: VULNERABILITY TO
STRESS
7. Why Do We "Stress Out"?
• For two major reasons:
– We perceive a situation
as dangerous, difficult,
or painful.
– We don't believe we
have the resources to
cope.
8. Stress Warning Signals
• What are your "red flags," or
warning signs, that stress is
creeping into your life?
9. Harmful Effects of Stress
• Illness - infections, cancer progression, high blood pressure,
obesity from overeating, heart disease, ulcers
• Fatigue - that may lead to mistakes and injury or death
• Intoxication: Smoking, Alcohol, Drugs etc.
• Moroseness – Relationship breaker
10. EMOTION-MANAGEMENT
• Cognitive and behavioral techniques designed to
decrease emotional distress, even if the source of threat
remains unchanged, boosting morale through . . .
– emotional social support,
– relaxation,
– reappraisal and positive thinking,
– wishful thinking,
– self blame and isolation, and
– mental and behavioral withdrawal.
11. POSITIVE APPRAISAL EMOTIONS
• Self-confidence – a positive belief or expectation of success
• Excitement/readiness – physical activation of the autonomic
nervous system that is interpreted as effective physical
preparation.
12. NEGATIVE APPRAISAL EMOTIONS
• Cognitive anxiety – a negative belief or expectation of
success or worrying about the negative consequences of
failure
• Somatic anxiety – physiological and affective component
of anxiety that develops directly from activation of the
autonomic nervous system that is interpreted negatively
15. Suggestions for Reducing Stress
• 1. Find a support system
• 2. Change your attitude. Find other ways to think about
stressful situations
• 3. Be realistic
• 4. Get organized and take charge
• 5. Take breaks, give yourself "me time”
20. FACTORS INFLUENCING WORK STRESS
• The drive for success • Uncertainty
• Changing work patterns • Conflict
• Working conditions • Responsibility
• Overwork • Relationships at work
• Under-work • Change at work
21. Suggestions for Reducing Stress
• 6. Take good care of yourself
• 7. Learn to say “No“
• 8. Get regular exercise
• 9. Get a hobby, do something different
• 10. Slow down
• 11. Laugh, use humor
22. Relaxation Exercises
• Many different kinds, but some are:
– Deep Breathing
– Visualization: Visualization is a nice way of giving our
minds and bodies a "mini vacation.“
– Muscle Relaxation
23. Faulty Thinking Causes Stress
• Catastrophizing - anticipating a terrible outcome;
overexagerating the importance of a situation
• “I can’t stand it” - deciding that you cannot handle a
situation, without trying
- alternative: “I can handle this!”
• “Should” statements
e.g. “I should always be happy”
- alternative: “I’m human. I am allowed to
make a mistake or have a bad day.”
24. Faulty Thinking (cont.)
• “Beating yourself up” about past mistakes that you cannot
change
• Worrying about situations over which you have no control,
or cannot change
e.g., “If only I had 20/20 vision”
• Overgeneralizing - viewing one negative event as predicting
a never-ending pattern of defeat
e.g., “My girlfriend dumped me. I will never date again!”
25. Faulty Thinking (cont.)
• Emotional reasoning - thinking, “I feel it, so it must be true.”
e.g., “I am anxious today, so something terrible will happen!”
• Personalizing - blaming yourself for something that is not
your fault
• Fairness fallacy - becoming angry when something
disappoints you because you think, “life is supposed to be
fair!”
26. Anger Management
• You can choose to control how you express your anger
(others won’t respect you if you curse, yell, or use violence -
and you are too important to let situations control you)
• Speak calmly when disagreeing
• If you are about to lose control - count to “10” slowly,
breathe deeply, and walk away if necessary
28. Anger Management (cont.)
• Set limits on how long you choose to be angry - then do
something nice for yourself
• When you disagree with someone, stick to the present
issue (and avoid dredging up past hurts)
• Criticize someone’s behavior, not their character
29. Assertiveness/Better Communication
• Ask for what you desire
• Refuse a “tasker” if you do not really want to do it, or if you
lack the time to do it well
• When you make a request, give a reason
• Be specific with your request (tell the receiver exactly what
you want done)
• Be a good listener - give your full attention, show interest,
and summarize what you heard
31. Slow Deep Breathing
• Inhale slowly through your mouth or nose for 5 seconds,
while allowing your stomach to push out
• Without pausing, exhale slowly for 5 seconds, and tell
yourself to relax
• Perform this techniques for at least 5 minutes whenever you
feel stressed, angry, anxious, overwhelmed, or unable to
sleep
32. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
• Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down
• Practice slow deep breathing for several minutes
• Then, tighten and relax each major muscle group in turn
(you may choose to relax each muscle group twice)
33. Guided Imagery
• Practice slow deep breathing for several minutes
• Then, practice progressive muscle relaxation
• Finally, imagine yourself in a pleasant, relaxing setting
(example, the beach)
• Use all of your senses to observe your surroundings
Editor's Notes
Distress is a continuous experience of feeling overwhelmed, oppressed, and behind in our responsibilities. It is the all encompassing sense of being imposed upon by difficulties with no light at the end of the tunnel. Examples of distress include financial difficulties, conflicts in relationships, excessive obligations, managing a chronic illness, or experiencing a trauma.Eustress is the other form of stress that is positive and beneficial. We may feel challenged, but the sources of the stress are opportunities that are meaningful to us. Eustress helps provide us with energy and motivation to meet our responsibilities and achieve our goals. Examples of eustress include graduating from college, getting married, receiving a promotion, or changing jobs.
Misconception 1: Situations are not inherently stressful because competitive demands exceed performers’ response capabilities such as shooting a free throw or taking a penalty kick with the game on the line, playing a tiebreaker in a tennis match, having a sudden death playoff in golf, or batting with the game tied in the ninth in baseball.Misconception 2: Heightened activation of the autonomic nervous system due to perceived threat doesn’t always create stress.No matter how great the environmental demand, you will not be stressed as long as you believe you have the response capabilities to deal with it.
6. Take good care of yourself. Eat properly, get regular rest, keep a routine. Allow yourself to do something you enjoy each day. Paradoxically, the time we need to take care of ourselves the most, when we are stressed, is the time we do it the least. 7. Learn to say “No" Learn to pick and choose which things you will say "yes" to and which things you will not.Protect yourself by not allowing yourself to take on every request or opportunity that comes your way. 8. Get regular exercise. Exercising regularly can help relieve some symptoms of depression and stress, and help us to maintain our health.9. Get a hobby, do something different. For a balanced lifestyle, play is as important as work. 10. Slow down. Know your limits and cut down on the number of things you try to do each day, particularly if you do not have enough time for them or for yourself.11. Laugh, use humor. Do something fun and enjoyable such as seeing a funny movie, laughing with friends, reading a humorous book, or going to a comedy show.