Stress Management at the Transport Department of the Standard Group Ltd
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Date
2010Author
Mwagandi, Shadrack M
Type
ThesisLanguage
en_USMetadata
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Competition in the business world is growing aggressive by the day to the extent that success of an organization is not guaranteed. An organization cannot afford to be complacent. It must effectively implement its strategy. To do this, all the factors that affect implementation must be well managed. One of the factors that is giving organizations stress is stress itself, one only needs to look at the dailies to see how relevant this topic has become .
Stress may be defined as an adaptive response mediated by individual differences and/or the psychological processes that is a consequence of any extemal action, situation or event that place excessive psychological and/or physical demands on a person. It has three stages; alarm, resistance and exhaustion. Low stress levels increase organizational performance, but high stress levels are detrimental to it. In addition to the above, different individuals have different stress coping abilities.
Clearly therefore, stress in organizations must be continually maintained at optimal levels in order to ensure survival, and more so, sustained organizational success. It is this occupation that is referred to as stress management. Stress management comprises stress reduction, resilience and recuperating strategies. Stress could emanate from outside the organization, within the organization, groups or individual characteristics. Apart from decreased productivity, stress may be seen in people in the form of increased smoking, drinking, drug abuse, tardiness, absenteeism, and turnover.
In the transport department of the Standard Group, absenteeism and drinking is a bit frequent, and this is a pointer to high stress levels. This study therefore sought to determine the strategies that the department adapted to manage stress and establish their perceived effectiveness as well. The results may be useful to the management of The Standard Group Limited, its employees, other researchers, management consultants and guiding and .counseling officers.
This study required an in-depth understanding of the department. To achieve this, the research design of a case study was adapted. The data collected 'as primary in nature and was gathered by the researcher using an interview guide. Content analysis was performed on the findings. It was found out that stress does exist at this department as indicated by high levels of irritation, smoking, absenteeism, drinking, anger, and depression. Extra organizational, organizational, group, and individual stressors were all present.
The bulk stressors emanated from the organization. In order to keep stress at the right levels, the department adapted and implemented the following strategies: brief evening meetings (to give update and feedback on day to day activities), selecting people who can work under pressure, training on stress management, flexible work schedules, involving employees in decision making, setting smart targets, reviewing organizational structure and design, clarifying roles, doing appraisals once per year, and guiding and counseling by immediate supervisors.
These strategies were perceived to be effective in that fewer counts of absenteeism, drinking, smoking, irritation and anger were recorded compared to the previous year. It is evident from the findings that despite the strategies employed being effective, stress is still experienced at the department. There is therefore need for the department to continuously do a survey of stress levels in order to determine the effectiveness of current strategies and also craft and implement better ones.
There is a general feeling by the respondents that the department should push for the set up of a gym within the premises to encourage exercising which in tum aids resilience and recuperation in as far as stress is concemed. Introduction of a guiding and counseling office also featured prominently. Other strategies the depaI1ment should consider are: planning and developing career paths for employees, encouraging employees to talk to one another, offering stress oriented therapy, o!fering guidance on altering type A personalities and supporting wellness programs like providing workshops to help people quit smoking, lose weight, and control alcohol use.
Publisher
University of Nairobi, Kenya