Stress management in manufacturing leadership and workplace burnout

Stress Management

This portfolio project was created to explore the ideals of stress and how important controlling it is. My real life experience deals with my full-time job working as a team leader in a manufacturing plant and many stresses undergone daily. To accurately understand stress management, the idea of stress must be examined. Stress will be studied from a conceptual and application basis. Related topics will include job-related stress leading to burnout, smoking, and obesity, and health risks (heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes). Finally, the conceptual ideas of dealing with stress and stress management will also be explored.

The idea of a portfolio paper on a real life experience is an exhilarating one to me, as a writer. Many different daily experiences that can be drawn from. The learning experience that I will delve into is from my full-time job. I am a team leader in a manufacturing plant; this job is very demanding and causes me a massive amount of daily stress.

As a team leader I am expected to produce results for my manufacturing team. When the team struggles to reach a goal or has a bad day, the responsibility of poor production is thrust upon my shoulders. Every constant question and demand is sprung on me and oftentimes without prior notice. Leading people is demanding and I do not have time to have an off day. My employees look to me for guidance and leadership. The constant stresses have become a major strain in my life. I have recently become more aware of attempts to manage the stress on a regular basis.

The experience of being a team leader in a manufacturing plant will be the focal learning point of this argument. The topic of stress management is a study of stress and other related health topics and their effects upon human behavior (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). To accurately understand stress management, the idea of stress must be examined. Stress will be studied from a conceptual and application basis. Related topics will include job-related stress leading to burnout, smoking, obesity, and health risks (heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes). Finally, conceptual ideas of dealing with stress and stress management will be explored in depth.

What is Stress?

In general terms, stress is defined as a reaction by an individual to internal and external pressure that is self imposed and gives light to the idea of physiological, psychological, and behavioral changes (Ward & Abbey, 2005). Stress in not anything new but has grown dramatically over the past few years with raised levels of awareness (Ward & Abbey, 2005). In today's society stress recognition is as a problem that needs to be researched more in depth. The idea of stress is viewed differently because people have a different way of comprehending and understanding ideas and concepts (Ward & Abbey, 2005). According to authors Jane-Cranwell Ward and Alyssa Abbey "people react to situations differently and, therefore what can be a source of stress and a negative experience to one person can be a very positive experience to someone else (2005)."

Generally speaking four categories are recognized for stress by psychological and medical experts in the area. First, there is Hypo-stress, which is caused by lack of pressure or boredom and is often displayed via pent-up feelings, apathy, and depression (Ward & Abbey, 2005). The second type of stress is Eu-stress, this is when people are excited by the pressure of stress and perform at higher levels. Next, is Hyper-stress, and this is the point in which an individual can panic, lose control, and even struggle with coping to a situation (Ward & Abbey, 2005). Finally, a major category is the idea of distress. A prolonged period of stress and the point in which an individual may begin to suffer health issues or a stress related sickness is when distress occurs (Ward & Abbey, 2005).

Job Related Stress

Work-related stresses are one of the more common types of stress experts study. Being a team leader in a manufacturing plant can be stressful. A manufacturing plant may operate at a rapid pace causing stress levels to rise at different time of the day. As a team leader, a certain level of control is necessary to perform the job at the highest ability.

The four previously mentioned types of stress can negatively affect an individual in the workforce. When an individual performs a job or a function he or she can be bored, excited by the pressure, struggling in certain situations, and even experience distress. The job-related stress from being a team leader in a manufacturing plant can be the combination of Hypo, Eu, or Hyper.

Susan Cartwright and Cary Cooper report five factors that are leading contributors to increased stress in the workplace. They are working conditions; shift work, long hours, new technology, and work overload (1997). Working conditions can include physical surroundings, shift work that can require working around the clock, long hours that can be shifts up to 16 hours, new technology requirements can cause learning stress, and work overload that is too much pressure over time.

At the manufacturing plant all five conditions exist in some form or another. The physical surroundings can lead to a lack of communication and shift work can lead to everyone on the team working around the clock. In the manufacturing sector, workers and team leaders can work long hours, especially when a machine is broken and work has lagged behind. The manufacturing plant often adds new technology components that require training in which causes new stress for the workforce. Work overload also occurs when machines are working at a slow place or when there is a rush job that need to be completed as soon as possible.

Burnout from Job Related Stress

When an individual has a massive amount of stress from work, he or she can encounter a burnout. A burnout occurs when an individual encounters a series of ongoing occupational stressors (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). Stressors over time that can lead to burnout include but are not limited to mergers, culture, role ambiguity, role conflict, responsibility, and relationships at work (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). Burnout leads to a number of health issues but most importantly psychological factors. When an individual has a burnout from job-related stress it can cause a total mental breakdown that can lead to a physical outburst or a complete shutdown.

An example of this comes from a family friend who had many job-related stressors. For the sake of this story, he will be called David. His job was at a mechanical plant in which he performed a variety of jobs. David was the manager of the mechanical plant and oftentimes had to do mechanical work because of a lack of staff. Eventually the task of performing two jobs on a regular basis wore on David.

The stressors had built up over time and began to affect David's ability to show up to work. Over the course of several years David had progressively became worse and started demonstrating signs of burnout. One-day David had an issue with a coworker and could not keep his emotions in check, thus causing him to throw a wrench. David eventually had a complete mental breakdown that the doctors and psychologists believed were from being burned out at his job.

Smoking and Obesity from Stress

Many smokers will tell people the habit of smoking helps them deal with the stresses that come from life. According to psychologists Rick Bevins and Anthony Caggiula, "links between stress and smoking are abundantly clear (2009). Smokers have reported they smoke at higher volumes during stressful times and believe that they deal with more stressors than people who do not smoke (Bevins & Caggiula, 2009). First, it is only a myth that smokers have more stress than non-smokers and smoking during a stressful time or situation is a cope out. Stressors are a part of life, work, sports, etc. But just because an individual faces stress does not mean that smoking will help fix or solve the dilemma. Smoking from stress will eventually lead to many other health-related issues.

Along the same lines of smoking, the concept of obesity is related to stress. Most cases of stress eating are done by obese individuals. Doctors Rachael and Richard Heller report that individuals under a superior amount of stress often believe eating (especially snacking) will make them believe that they feel better (2010). Doctors Rachael and Heller offer a stress eating cure from their research and believe that stress eating is more biological than a matter of willpower (2010).

Oftentimes at work when stress levels are the highest people eat fatty foods and drink soda from the vending machines in the break room. One time a teammate became so stressed out that he went to the break room and indulged in multiple packs of Ho-Ho's and Twinkies. This case of stress eating is common in the workplace because people are often so stressed they eat, smoke, or both to try and relieve the pain caused by the stressors.

Dealing with Stress

Stress affects everyone in all walks of life. Whether male or female, or young or old, stress is a part of everyone's life. Dealing with stress is an important aspect in life because of the consequences that can happen. If stress is a negative for so many there has to be a bevy of ways to deal with it. In researching stress and the ills from it many experts have written guides and advice to cope with it. These helpers are called stress management techniques, and they are meant to help people alleviate or reduce the amount of stressors they have.

Stress management techniques

When dealing with stress the best way to cope is with techniques in managing stressors. Experts state that muscle relaxation and positive thinking are two ways to deal with stress (Smith, 2002). Muscle relaxation usually obtained in massages can be extremely relaxing and help to break stress. The power of positive thinking is another technique to help deal with stress. Thinking positively and trying to avoid the negativity of stressors can be beneficial.

Other techniques include deep breathing exercises and meditation often found in exercises like Yoga (Smith, 2002). The relaxation offered in deep breathing and Yoga is therapeutic to some and relieves stress of daily life (Smith, 2002). Exercise and fitness are two physically ways to relieve stress and can be done at any time of the day since most fitness centers have extended hours. Physical exercise like weight lifting, running, boxing, etc. can help break stress at the highest levels. Many employers offer fitness memberships as one outlet for employees to be healthier and to relieve much of the stress in their lives.

Time management is another factor in dealing with the stressors of life. The ability to manage time by using daily planners and calendars to prioritizing key events help to alleviate stress in people's lives (Smith, 2002). Stress relief is ultimately up to each individual. How people deal with stress is in actuality all in what works best for that person. Many psychologists have come to the belief that stress management is key to a happy and successful life in modern life (Smith, 2002). Many demands in life may be overwhelming, but good stress management techniques are the best way to deal with the stressors (Smith, 2002).

Conclusion

In short, the portfolio is based on one of my real life experiences dealing with stress. My work is as a team leader in a manufacturing plant. This experience is my focal point behind the exploration of stress and how to manage it. Being a team leader is very stressful as many of the failures on my team are bestowed upon my shoulders. One of the most common forms of stress is work related. Stress from the job causes burnout and can eventually lead to major psychological issues. Stress causes people to make unhealthy choices like smoking and eating that contributes obesity and eventual health issues. Health risk from stress are not limited to but are highlighted by heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes. Recognizing stress and developing techniques to deal with it are necessities in life. When an individual learns to master his or her stress levels he or she can truly enjoy the finer aspects of what life has to offer.