Understanding some of the sources of your work-related stress is the first step towards working out some solutions. Last month we discussed Poor Work Conditions, Work Overload, and Time Pressure. Here are some others to consider!
Role Conflict
Are you caught between two supervisors or managers who constantly give you incompatible assignments and deadlines or otherwise keep you locked in a dilemma that you seem unable to resolve? Damned if you do and damned if you don’t! Please one and earn the wrath of the other. Then your situation is an example of Role Conflict. This kind of occupational stressor can also emerge as a result of what might otherwise be a joyful occasion. Maybe you’ve been on your present job for a number of years and have developed close social relationships with a number of your co-workers. Then to your great joy you get that promotion you have been working so hard to get. Now comes the Role Conflict! How should you act towards the group of friends who you now supervise or manage? The occasion can create an inner struggle centered between your personal and professional relationships. Should you still chat with them on the job and go to lunch with them as you have for years? As more and more women move into areas of the economy that were formerly reserved for men, or vice versa (men becoming nurses, and pre-school teachers) they too can experience Role Conflict as they strive to balance career expectations with the social expectations assigned by the culture.Role Strain
You could be an artist who was asked to work on an assignment that you feel exploits children, something that you are very strongly against. You also are under contract and at the time believe that your future career is dependent on your keeping the job and fulfilling the terms of your contract. You also don’t want your reputation to be damaged in any way. While completing the assignment you will likely be experiencing Role Strain, your social professional position as artist imposes demands and expectations on you that are in conflict with some aspect of your foundational personality and self-concept.Role Strain can also occur when your work environment requires you to tolerate the behaviors or activities of co-workers or the company even though they may be in conflict with your deeply held religious beliefs, established health practices, or cultural traditions. Certainly Muslims who seek out opportunities to make their daily prayers during the workday experience Role Strain. Another form of role strain is called Role Ambiguity, which occurs when aspects of the job and workplace are unclear and employees are forced to deal with inconsistencies, confusion, and remedial work to correct errors that they know could have been avoided if instructions were clear in the beginning and if everyone followed their instructions.
Thwarted Ambitions
What a tragic loss for the individual and the company when employees’ ambitions are thwarted. It is obvious that everyone cannot rise to the top, but it should be equally obvious that those employees who strive to rise should find their path challenging, but open. Too often good workers find their path blocked not because of a failure on their part, but because of biases and prejudices that lurk in the shadows of corporate and organizational environments. Race, ethnicity, religion, gender, appearance and a host of other biases and prejudices can act like a scalpel cutting away at the vibrancy and creativity that arises in diverse environments. Thwarted Ambitions is also a powerful stressor because a sense of injustice travels with it and it can cause the individual to feel both frustration and resentment that can lead to depression or rage.Social Change of the Fourth Kind
You can review my article on Social Change of the Fourth Kind (Preview). We are currently experiencing this level of social change as depicted in the video clip Did You Know 3.0. Now that we discussed some of the sources of work-related stress lets talk solutions.Try this problem solving exercise!
Step 1: Decide the source of your work-related stress.
Step 2: Decide who are the co-workers, supervisors, or managers most directly connected to the source of your stress.
Step 3: Write a detailed statement of what you see as the problem and the solution.
Step 4: Write the conversations you would have with each of the people who you identified in Step 2. Say what you really wish you could say!
Step 5: Edit! Now rewrite the conversation taking out all of the stuff that would only make things worst.
Step 6: Add into your conversations the benefits that the other individuals will receive from solving the problem.
Step 7: Pick any day at work and imagine yourself having that conversation with each of the people on your list.
Step 8: Decide whether you really believe that your best attempt at talking the issues through with any or all of the individuals would make a positive difference.
Step 9: If your decision is yes, then go ahead and try to change your situation by encouraging them to change in some way.
Step 10: If your decision is no, then accept that in your present work environment this is something that you are going to have to cope with so the change is going to have to come from and start with you.
Step 11: Determine not to dwell in the negative because that will allow the situation at work to also poison other aspects of your life.
Step 12: Give yourself something positive to do as a short break during the workday. (A few minutes of Qigong practice is always good and requires no equipment.)
Step 13: Do something to help you release the negative energy of the day immediately after leaving work. Some music, inspirational materials, or a special interest program on the radio can all help to make your drive or ride home a first step in coping with a situation (that for the moment) you cannot change.
Step 14: Check out some of the information and recommendations on my various web sites.
Visit me at Sharif-Enterprizes.com to learn more about
concepts and services that can benefit you and your organization.
Peace and Health!
Article of the Month: April 2011
