Stress Management

Revision as of 10:12, 17 February 2022

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

Table of Contents:

• Big idea: describe the tool, concept, or theory and explain its purpose. The section should reflect the current state of the art on the topic.
  • Internal and external causes, symptoms, and effects of stress within a project team and/or workplace.
  • Methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress.

• Application: provide guidance on how to use the tool, concept, or theory and when it is applicable

• Limitations: critically reflect on the tool/concept/theory. When possible, substantiate your claims with literature

• Annotated bibliography: Provide key references (3-10), where the reader can find additional information on the subject.

Introduction

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis ^{[1] [2]}. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces ^[3].

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently ^[4]. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time ^[5]. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues ^[6]. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team.

What is Stress?

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" ^[7]. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress ^[8]. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Understanding the reoccurring symptoms during stressful periods is the first step in Stress Management. Methods and techniques for managing individual stress will be discussed later in the report. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

Stress Management Methods in a Project Team

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. The two primary stress management techniques for a project manager are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team ^[9].

1: Manage your own stress

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires excellent technical and managerial skills as well as strong intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

2: Understand team members

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them ^[10]. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” ^[11].

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are some of the most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team ^{[12] [13] [14]}:

Properly distribute workload

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

Discourage multi-tasking

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" ^[15]. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

Establish a transparent environment

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee ^[16]. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

Mandate time off

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health ^[17].

Encourage empathy and compassion

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

Offer support and resources

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

References

1. ↑ [42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.
2. ↑ [Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress
3. ↑ [Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects
4. ↑ [Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/
5. ↑ [Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.
6. ↑ [Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205
7. ↑ [Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.
8. ↑ [A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide
9. ↑ [How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275
10. ↑ [How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9
11. ↑ [The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx
12. ↑ [Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress
13. ↑ [Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout
14. ↑ [Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015
15. ↑ [Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask
16. ↑ [Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution
17. ↑ [Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/