In the 21 cetury, the century of fast changes, business operates faster and with more complexity and uncertainty than ever before. The impact of stress on profitability, whether creative or negative, must be understood, measured and managed in a realisticstress, cost, managers, investment, knowledge, efforts, profit

Bucurean Mirela

English

Research Papers in Economics

112 
MANAGING STRESS - THE KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL WELLNESS 
 
Bucurean Mirela 
University  of  Oradea  Faculty  of  Economics  University  str.,  no.  1  e-mail: 
mbucurean@uoradea.ro Tel.: 0259408796, 0745570337 
 
In the 21 cetury, the century of fast changes, business operates faster and with more complexity and 
uncertainty than ever before. The impact of stress on profitability, whether creative or negative, must be 
understood,  measured  and  managed  in  a  realistic  and  thorough  way  if  a  company  is  to  successfully 
navigate today’s business environment. Stress has huge implications for company profitability. While there 
is always a certain degree of strain and tension in our daily lives, the impact and control of stress in 
organizational  life  have  received  increasing  attention  and  concern.  The  negative,  often  quite  costly, 
consequences of stress in the workplace are reflected in rising numbers of industrial accidents, heightened 
turnover and absenteeism rates, escalating health-care cost. 
 
Keywords: stress, cost, managers, investment, knowledge, efforts, profit. 
 
Cod JEL: M 
 
1. Introduction 
Stress is a psychological state that develops when an individual is confronted with situations that 
exhaust or exceed his or her perceived internal and external resources. When the changes appear, 
for most of people, the stress appears. The change is permanently; this means that the stress is 
always present. Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's 
way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, 
and heightened alertness. Controlling stress at its source is a big piece of how we do take care of 
ourselves  to  achieve  behavioral  wellness  and  the  key  to  controlling  stress  is  meaningful 
assessment and data-driven Behavioral Wellness Action Planning. 
Organization is an open, dynamic system. There are inputs and outputs. Human resources are one 
of the most important inputs. Organizations mean human resources and in the end depend on 
them  efforts.  Companies  invest  in  employees  (salary,  benefits,  training,  etc.)  in  the  hope  is 
making a profit on that investment. The most profitable employees should be those in whom 
there  is  the  greatest  investment.  If  the  high  investments  ar  in  knowledge  workers  and  in 
managers, supervisors and executives than it would also follow that this investments and the 
profits that accrue from them are at the grates risk in terms of stress effects on performance. 
Stress plays havoc with our health, productivity, pocketbooks, and lives, but stress is necessary, 
even desirable. Exciting or challenging events such as the birth of a child, completion of a major 
project at work, or moving to a new city generate as much or more stress than tragedy or disaster. 
Without it, life would be dull. 
In normal conditions people must find the balance and answer to the new situation. The stress is 
not necessary a negative phenomenon and therefore is a mistake to consider just negative and not 
the positive effects. A middle level of stress can be an important motivational factor. On an 
individual level, stressful situations may lead to physiological problems, physiological difficulties 
and adverse behavioral reactions. One of the more significant symptoms from an organizational 
perspective is employees burnout – deteriorating job performance and decreasing energy levels 
caused by the cumulative effect of continuous daily pressures. 
2. The stressors and the myths 
Stress is precipitated by a number of environmental factors, referred to as stressor, the separate 
effects of which are difficult to isolate and measure. Work-related stressors can occur at several 
organizational levels: 
- intrinsec to the job (role conflict, ambiguity, insufficient control); 
- associated with structure and control of the organization (rigid policies, organizational politics) 113 
-  related  to  facets  of  the  reward  and  feedback  system  involving  concerns  about  equity  and 
fairness; 
-  associated  with  human  resources  concerns  about  training,  development  and  career 
advancement; 
- connected with leadership relations. 
Stress is a confusing and mysterious problem for most people, to many of those who manage 
their health care, and to companies that pay ever-mounting health-insurance premiums. Six myths 
surround stress. Dispelling them is a first step toward understanding stress and how it affects our 
lives and finances. 
Stress is an unknown think to most people; there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about 
it.  
Myth 1: Stress is the same for everyone.  
In fact, stress is different for each of us. What is stressful for one person may not be stressful for 
another; each of us responds to stress in entirely different ways. 
Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you. 
According to this view, zero stress makes us happy and healthy. In fact, the only time you have 
zero stress is when you're dead. Stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life. The issue, 
really, is keeping it under control. Controlled stress makes us productive and happy; uncontrolled 
stress can hurt or even kill you.  
Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can't do anything about it. 
In fact, you can plan your life so stress doesn't overwhelm you. Effective planning involves 
setting priorities and working on simple problems first, solving them and going on to the more 
complex difficulties. When stress gets out of control, it's difficult to prioritize where to devote 
your energies. All your problems seem to be equal and stress seems to be everywhere.  
Myth 4: The most popular techniques for controlling stress are the best ones. 
No  universally  effective  stress  control  technique  exists.  We  are  all  different;  our  lives  are 
different;  our  situations  are  different;  and  our  reactions  are  different.  Only  a  comprehensive 
program tailored to the individual's needs is going to work.  
Myth 5: No symptoms, no stress. 
Absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress. In fact, camouflaging symptoms with 
medication may deprive you of the signals you need for reducing stress-related strain on your 
physiological and psychological systems.  
Myth 6: Only major symptoms of stress require attention. 
This assumes that the "minor" symptoms, such as headaches or heartburn, may be safely ignored. 
Wrong again. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of 
hand. They indicate that you need to do a better job of managing stress. 
 
3. Personal and corporate behavioral resiliency 
Forty-four percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress; 75 to 90 percent of all 
physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints; stress is linked to the six 
leading causes of death - heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and 
suicide.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration have declared stress a hazard of the 
workplace. 
Stress can have severe consequences for both individuals and work organizations, stress in and of 
itself is not necessarily harmful. Moderate level of stress can heighten a person’s interest, amount 
of  effort  expended  and  ultimately  performance,  growth  and  development.  People  vary 
significantly in terms of their ability to handle with stress. Something that might be perceived as 
extremely stressful to one person, might be viewed as irrelevant or even favorable by another. 
We can see how behaviorally resilient we are by taking the Behavioral Resiliency test.  114 
We can make our self more stress resilient by improving our health behaviors, modifying our 
lifestyle, and building up our financial, social, personal & spiritual resources for coping with 
stress. 
Some firms made many stress management efforts; it made some type of campaign for improving 
the health of their employees – encouraging workers to assess health risks, stop smoking, control 
blood pressure, screen their cholesterol and modify their diets and exercise. We can see how 
behaviorally resilient our company is by taking the Corporate Behavioral Resiliency test.  
Learn to think of challenges as opportunities and stressors as temporary problems, not disasters. 
Practice solving problems and asking others for help and guidance rather than complaining and 
letting stress build. Make goals and keep track of your progress. Make time for relaxation. Be 
optimistic.  Believe  in  yourself.  Be  sure  to  breathe.  And  let  a  little  stress  motivate  you  into 
positive action to reach your goals. 
A research realized by Center for Creative Leadership about stress at work underline that: 85% 
managers  say  that  they  manage  with  this  phenomenon,  28%  say  that  they  belief  that  the 
organization do not use enough methods for reduce and eliminate stress and 79% think that in the 
organization is necessary the presence of same specialists who try to solve this complex problem. 
 
4. Stress cost  
Stress is expensive.  We all pay a stress tax whether we know it or not.  Health-care costs account 
for more than 13 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, escalating yearly at a dizzying rate. In 
terms  of  lost  hours  due  to  absenteeism,  reduced  productivity,  and  worker's  compensation 
benefits, stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually, or $7,500 per worker 
per year. 
Based  upon  accepted  standards,  the  Stress  Cost  Calculator  estimates  the  cost 
exposures due to stress in several categories:  
Top of Form 
 
- Group Health  22% due to stress 
- Turnover  40% due to stress 
- Absenteeism  50% due to stress 
- Presenteeism  50% due to stress 
- Workers Compensation   33% due to stress 
- Disability  50% due to stress 
 
Bottom of Form 
Based upon median direct and indirect costs per category and percent due to stress, the Corporate 
Stress Costs Calculator estimates annual costs and potential savings in the table below.  The 
Corporate Stress Costs may be higher or lower than estimated relative to the particular costs per 
category  and the level  of  stress  within  a company.  Savings  depend  upon  the  level  of stress 
assessment and intervention. I gave an example for a small business which has 17 workers. I just 
introduced in the program the number of employees. We can obtain precious information but we 
must find methods for saving money, finding methods for prevent and reduced stress. 
 
Cost Category  Annual  Median 
Costs 
Annual Median Costs  
Due to Stress  Potential Savings 
Group Health   $79,322  $17,451  $873 - $5,235 
Turnover   $62,781  $25,112  $1,256 - $7,534 
Absenteeism   $13,770  $6,885  $344 - $2,066 115 
Presenteeism   $55,080  $27,540  $1,377 - $8,262 
Workers Comp   $5,270  $1,739  $87 - $522 
Disability   $8,721  $4,361  $218 - $1,308 
Total     $224,944  $83,088  $4,154 - $24,926 
 
For Romania there is no statistics about stress cost. European Union estimate that the stress 
affects no less than 40 billions workers from this region and the cost is no less than 20 billons per 
year. 
Stress knowledge promotes behavioral health and saves money in the workplace. Independent 
studies show effective organizational stress interventions: 
-  Lower  operating  costs:  for  every  $1  spent  on  stress  management  there  is  a  $7  return  on 
investment. 
- Increase access to, utilization, and valuation of human capital. 
- Promote a company's leadership role in nurturing a productive and healthy work environment in 
turbulent times. 
- Leverage intranet technology investments in support of strategic and workforce initiatives while 
increasing individual and organizational stress knowledge. 
-  Reduce  health-care  costs,  worker's  compensation  claims,  disability  claims,  absenteeism, 
presenteeism, turnover, and workplace accidents. 
- Enhance productivity at all levels of the workforce. 
Stress Directions has the metrics and analytics to assess and interpret the behavioral health of  
work force. Is necessary to develop targeted, data-based programs that: 
- Address the overall behavioral health of the company. 
- Assist employees in developing coping skills and positive lifestyle behaviors.  
- Audit workplace characteristics that affect employee behavioral health and productivity. 
-  Measurably  decrease  the  negative  impacts  of  stress  on  the  behavioral  health  of  the 
organization.  
Stress knowledge helps reduce corporate liability. Research shows that in the United States: 
- Inappropriate anger in the workplace, a symptom of stress and frustration, is a leading cause of 
firings - cited ahead of job incompetence.  
- There are nearly two million instances of assault in the workplace per year.  
- Homicide was the second leading cause of death in the workplace, after fatal accidents.  
For  organizations  and  their  employees,  the  customized  services  lead  to  positive  action  and 
behavioral changes that reduce stress and promote behavioral health in a consistent, organized 
manner, and help to maintain a healthy and productive workplace. 
The behavioral health of a company depends on the behavioral health of the workforce. Effective 
stress control is the core of behavioral health in the workforce and in the overall health of a 
company. Stress Directions helps companies improve their overall behavioral health by reducing 
stress in the workforce. 
 
5. Conclusion - Keep stress under control 
What can you do to deal with stress overload or, better yet, to avoid it in the first place? The most 
helpful method of dealing with stress is learning how to manage the stress that comes along with 
any new challenge, good or bad. Stress-management skills work best when they're used regularly, 
not  just  when  the  pressure's  on.  Knowing  how  to  "de-stress"  and  doing  it  when  things  are 
relatively calm can help you get through challenging circumstances that may arise. Here are some 
things that can help keep stress under control. 
- Take a stand against over scheduling. 
- Be realistic. 116 
- Get a good night's sleep. 
- Learn to relax. 
- Treat your body well. 
- Watch what you're thinking. 
- Solve the little problems. 
Specific management policies and strategies that can reduce negative stress include: 
- increased two-way communication with employees to reduce uncertainty; 
- performance appraisal and reward systems that reduce role conflict and role ambiguity; 
- increased participation in decision making to provide employees with a sense of greater control 
over their work; 
- job enrichments efforts that develop a sense of meaning and significance in work assignments; 
-  improved  matching  of  skills,  personality  and  work  through  carefully  constructed  career 
development programs and counseling. 
The social-psychological research made in SUA demonstrate that most of people find role of 
work positive; 4 from 5 persons say that work and colleges are very important for them and they 
would continue to work even they have enough money. But most of people want to work same 
where else; that means that stress do not came from work in generally; it came from conditions, 
social atmosphere at workplace. 
 
Bibliography: 
1.  Davis,  M.,  The  Relaxation  and  Stress  Reduction  Workbook,  New  Harbinger,  Oakland, 
California, USA, 2000 
2. Kirsta, A., The Book of Stress Survival, Guild Publishing, London, UK, 1987 
3. Saunier, E., Să muncim fără stres, Editura Curtea Veche, 2008 
4. http://stres.protectiamuncii.ro 
5. http://www.stresdirections.com 
6. http://www.humannatureatwork.com 
   

Să muncim fără stres, Editura Curtea Veche,

The Book of Stress Survival,

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook,

MANAGING STRESS - THE KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL WELLNESS

http://steconomice.uoradea.ro/anale/volume/2009/v4-management-and-marketing/15.pdf

MANAGING STRESS - THE KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL WELLNESS

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