UNIT – I Lesson 1 HRM – AN OVERVIEW Lesson Outline Nature of ...

atings he or she would receive. At the same time, the person is fully aware that while a
good review might lead to tremendous improvement in pay and positions, a mediocre or
poor rating could lead to being removed from the job. Though the stress might be workrelated,
they might have been caused by personal factors, or job-related factors.
Different types of Stress affects people’s work lives. Not all stress would be
termed as bad and therefore, the goal of stress management is not to entirely eliminate
stress from people’s lives. Stress can have positive effects. Positive stress or Eustress can
help people to respond quickly and with adequate force in times of emergencies such as
avoiding an automobile collision, moving away from flying objects, fighting a fire etc.
Positive stress is useful in speeding up the pace of work to meet deadlines. It helps one to
push one’s limits to improve performance rapidly and to realize one’s fullest potential over
a period of years in career.
Neustress is a type of stress that is neither helpful nor harmful to the persons who
are stressed. Stress could be sometimes anticipatory in which arousal is stimulated by an
expected stressor. This is often caused by inadequate preparation or pessimism. Current
stress is arousal that takes place during an experience. Stress could also be residual at
times, in which the arousal continues to remain even long after the stressful event has
passed. Inability to overcome the trauma of an event is the cause of residual stress. Lack of
support during and first aid immediately after stressors could be the causes of residual
effects on people.
4.12.1. Symptoms of negative stress: Stress might manifest itself in a number of ways.
The symptoms may be physiological, psychological and behavioral. For example, stress
could create changes in metabolism, increase heart and breathing rates, increase blood
pressure, bring on headache, tighten shoulders, stuttering in speech, creation of trembling
all over the body, backache and arthritis, induce heart attacks or reduce appetite in a
person. Alternatively, an employee who is experiencing a high level of stress may have
psychological impact and as a result might become depressed, compulsive in action,
irritable, confused, bored, accident-prone, startled, argumentative, distracted,
procrastination-prone or indecisive. Behaviorally related symptoms of stress include
changes in productivity, absence, turnover, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol,
fidgeting and sleep disorders.
Stress contributes to illness at least in four ways:
• By imposing long-term wear and tear on the body and mind, thereby reducing
resistance to disease.
• By directly precipitating an illness such as tension headache or heart attack.