Management

The learning theories upon which this course is based are actualized in the Research Project. You will begin the paper by selecting one key term to research. You may select any key term from Chapters 2-13. The key terms are found at the end of each chapter. You will be required to write a paper of at least 1,000 words, but not to exceed 1,250 words, to fully explore the topic. Your project must demonstrate course-related knowledge with supporting documentation from two peer-reviewed articles, the textbook, and the Bible.

The use of proper, current APA format is required. A title page, abstract, and reference page(s) must be included. The word count does not include the title page, abstract, or reference page(s).

ANSWER

Stress

Abstract

This research paper focuses on stress and the causes of stress. Stress is a natural reaction of the human body to change or challenging situations. Stress can, however, be positive or negative, and on many occasions, stress leads to negative impacts such as heart-related problems, addictions and mental health diseases such as depression. Stress can, however, be controlled, and this can be done by the individual recognizing the stressors and participating in methods of controlling the stressors. The paper explores different ways in which stress manifests and how to manage stress at an individual and organizational level.  The paper also explores stress from a biblical point of view and what one can do or should expect from the Bible any time they are experiencing stresS

Stress

Human bodies naturally experience stress. Stress is a normal reaction that happens to everyone. The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress results from changes and challenges experienced in life, which leads to the body producing physical and mental responses. Stress can be positive or negative (Cool & Zappetti, 2019). An example of positive stress is when one is facing a test or deadline at work. Stress enables the person to stay alert for longer hours and enables the body to work harder. Stress, however, has a negative impact when stressors do not have relief periods nada a person is unable to relax. The body is made in such a way that the nervous system controls the heart rate, breathing and vision. The body is built to react with a fight or flight response when under stressful conditions.

Continuous activation of the stress response or rather chronic stress leads to wear and tear of the body. The body might develop physical, behavioural and emotional symptoms. The physical symptoms of stress include; exhaustion and trouble sleeping. This is whereby a person cannot find sleep even though they go to bed. One finds themself staying awake in the odd hours of the night, overthinking or thinking about a situation they are facing (Cool & Zappetti, 2019).  One might also experience other physical symptoms such as aches and pains, racing heart or chest pains, high blood pressure, trouble having sex, digestive problems, and a weak immune system. The mental and emotional problems include depression, panic attacks and anxiety.

Chronic stress on most occasions leads to the development of unhealthy habits such as extreme drinking or drinking too many times. Stress also might lead to gambling problems and the general use of drugs. Stress needs to be diagnosed early so that it can be treated effectively. Stress is, however, not measured with tests. Only the person who is experiencing the condition can determine whether they are experiencing it and its severity. A healthcare provider can determine the stress levels of a person using a questionnaire. The questionnaire determines the levels of stress and its effects on the general life of the person.

Stress is caused by various factors, as explored earlier, and some of the causes of stress are work-related. Work-related factors that cause stress include long hours, time pressure, complex tasks, poor working conditions, and breaks. All these factors can lead to the employees being stressed and not motivated to go to work. Other causes of stress within the work environment include the organizational change where there is a shift of leaders and how the organization works. Sometimes employees are accustomed to a particular way of doing things. Once there is a change in leadership roles and new rules are implemented, some employees may be susceptible to stress as they may not quickly adapt to the new environment and the new changes around them.

Stress from work gradually seeps into the home life of a person. An example of such a situation is whereby a person is forced to work long hours, working way from omen ad taking work home. Bad working conditions or stress at work undermines a person’s life outside work as the person’s leisure activities are affected. Stress can be made worse if the situation at home is also not good and the person is facing pressure from a financial view or is maybe under the risk of facing retrenchment (Altindag, 2020). All these factors can significantly affect a person’s life, and the person can turn to unhealthy habits of managing stress such as alcoholism and smoking.  Women are more likely to experience both work and home stress as they play a significant role in building the home. A woman might feel overwhelmed that they do not have enough time with the children or that the long hours at work make it difficult to be physically and emotionally available at work. Women are also more likely to get lower-paying jobs and be exposed to other work-related stress such as harassment and discrimination.

Therefore, stress is a derailing factor in many people’s lives and therefore requires to be managed through individual and organizational approaches. Individual approaches include psychological services, counselling and also for the people who are Christians. The biblical approach could be helpful in the situation where one is facing stress (Kraus & Pargament, 2018). According to Psalms chapter 119 verse 143, “Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.” From this verse, a person can learn that even though they are going through a period of distress and pain that the Lord is watching and through his word and prayers, they will pull through the bad situation and come out victorious.  The Bible also encourages people to not fear anxiety and stress, for faith in God will get them through the challenging times. The other approaches that a person can take at an individual level include becoming aware of the signs of stress and using the patterns to interrupt or disrupt the behaviours that lead to stress.

It is, however, fruitless to try and relieve stress without addressing the cause of the stress. For example, breathing exercises and thinking positively are counterproductive as long as the cause of the stress is not addressed and the situation is not changed. The organization should therefore address the stressors in the work environment.  Workplace stress is dealt with using organizational level interventions (Holman et al, 2018). These are a wide range of interventions such as ensuring employees are tasked with assignments they can deliver, there is clear communication between the employer and the employees, the employee receives benefits and the working conditions are favourable. The organization should also be able to address issues such as harassment and how to deal with them.  Individuals are unlikely to recover from stress unless they change the workplace or the work culture is changed.

In conclusion, stress is positive as long as it pushes a person to do better for themselves but becomes destructive when the stressors cannot be controlled. Handling individual stress is counterproductive as long as the source of the stressors is not addressed. Financial stress can, for example, be solved through getting a better paying job or looking for alternative methods to ensure that the income is enough. Work-related stress such as long hours and workload can only be handled by the organization or through a person choosing to change the work environment and moving to a workplace with less stress, and that is sensitive to the needs of the employees.

References

Altindag, O. (2020). Relationship between stress management and job performance in organizations. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 9(2), 43-49.

Cool, J., & Zappetti, D. (2019). The physiology of stress. In Medical Student Well-Being (pp. 1-15). Springer, Cham.

Holman, D., Johnson, S., & O’Connor, E. (2018). Stress management interventions: Improving subjective psychological well-being in the workplace. In Handbook of well-being. DEF Publishers.

Krause, N., & Pargament, K. I. (2018). Reading the Bible, stressful life events, and hope: Assessing an overlooked coping resource. Journal of religion and health, 57(4), 1428-1439.

The New King James Version Bible.