Causes and effects of stress in project management

Developed by Casper Stenbæk

Areas to cover:

• Managing your own stress.
• Managing a stressed team member.
• Project stressors.
• External vs Internal stressors.

Introduction/Abstract

This wiki article will describe the causes and effects of stress in project management. The hope is that this article will be a starting point to understanding both how to manage the stress of team members, and how to prevent the stress from forming in the first place. The article will not be considering communication strategies although communication is a critical part of stress management. The starting point will be a short description of stress as a physiological process, what the mechanisms are, and how it affects the persons experiencing it. The article will also cover some of the important models around stress in workplaces. After a thorough description of the mechanics of stress, the article will list the common causes of stress. It is currently uncertain whether it is feasible to write a management strategy for each cause, or if a general management technique should be provided instead, this will be clearer after more research. In any case, the article will then provide techniques and strategies for managing this stress. The techniques will mainly be from the managers perspective, but methods should also be relevant for general workers.

What you can do as a manager

In order to help whoever finds this article, here are the fundamental things you can do to help your team in terms of stress. This is both for managing existing stress, as well as preventative measures, to ensure that stress does not form in the first place.

The physiological processes of stress

The physiological processes behind stress are key to understanding the causes and effects. Here, the overall response is covered including topics such as, fight-or-flight, alarm, resistance, and exhaustion/rest.

The General Adaption Syndrome (GAS)

The General Adaption Syndrome, developed by Hans Selye in the 1950s is the medical term for what the human body does when exposed to any kind of stress, positive or negative.

• Stress response
  • Fight-or-flight
  • Alarm, resistance, exhaustion/rest

Physical and psychological effects of prolonged stress

• Increased susceptibility to illness
• Increased susceptibility to mental stuff