Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

510 T ABEA R EUTER AND R ALF SCHWARZER
nutrition and physical exercise are other lifestyle ingredients that bear a protective shield
against the experience of stress.
Stress management programs are usually not implemented by corporations as stand ­
alone programs, but rather as part of more comprehensive health promotion strategies that
also aim at preventive nutrition, physical exercise, smoking cessation, preventing use of
alcohol and drugs, and others. IBM, Control Data Corporation, Illinois Bell, New York
Telephone Company, B. F. Goodrich Tire, Citicorp, Johnson and Johnson, and Dupont
are among the companies cited frequently that have established high - quality health ­
promotion programs for their employees (see also Quick et al., 1997 ).
The cognitive way of coping includes stress reappraisal, internal dialog, constructive
self - talk, search for meaning, or optimistic explanatory style, among others. Individuals can
develop a more positive view of stressful situations, which may facilitate all kinds of coping.
Reinterpreting a threat into a challenge transforms preventive coping into proactive coping.
The following case study, inspired by Covey ( 1989 ), demonstrates how proactive coping
behavior may enlarge an individual ’s range of control at the workplace.
Proactive coping at the individual level within organizations:
dealing with an authoritarian leader
The president of the organization in which Mr. X is employed is known for his authoritarian
leadership style. Even though his executives view the president as being a dynamic
and talented person, they feel restricted and alienated by his style of management, which
consists of orders and creates an atmosphere of dictatorship. Unlike the other colleagues,
who cope with the situation by criticizing and complaining about the conditions, Mr. X
tries to compensate for the weak management by trying to enlarge his range of control.
When assigned to a task, he acts proactively by anticipating the president ’s needs. He
provides not only requested information on an issue, but also an analysis and recommendations
on how to deal with the issue. Eventually, he wins the president ’s trust. Instead
of receiving orders, he is asked for his opinion. This example illustrates how proactively
taking the initiative may not only increase one ’s decision latitude, but also how an obstacle
may be turned into a positive experience.
Proactive coping at the individual level within organizations: gain
control by developing hardiness
Habitual mindsets that reflect a constructive approach to life are inherent in the concepts
of perceived self - efficacy (Chapter 10 , this volume), learned optimism (Seligman, 1991 ),
and hardiness (Maddi, 1998 ). By improving such mindsets, employees can be empowered
to take charge of upcoming challenges in the workplace and to gain more control
over their lives. In other words, they develop resources as a prerequisite for preventive
and proactive coping. The hardiness concept has been applied frequently to prevent and
mitigate stress at work. It comprises the attitudes of commitment, control, and challenge.
The goal of interventions, for example, as those conducted by the Hardiness Institute, lies
in the promotion of these attitudes. Initially, participants respond to the HardiSurvey that
assesses these three components and allows one to gauge how much work stress a person