DTU ProjectLab - User contributions [en-gb]

Stress Management

2022-03-16T10:23:23Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual which can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|800px| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

The table above outlines examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed, as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager understands how their team members behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harvard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-03-16T10:22:13Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual which can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|800px| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

The table above outlines examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed, as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager understands how their team members behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-03-16T10:20:03Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual which can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|800px| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

The table above outlines examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed, as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-03-16T10:15:36Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual which can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|800px| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

The table above outlines examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-03-16T10:14:53Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual which can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|700px| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

The table above outlines examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Extrinsic Motivation

2022-03-07T12:08:23Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Big idea */

'''Summary & Abstract'''
In theory a clear separation is possible, in practical matters a combination of both applies to the reasons of motivation for most people. Different characteristics of extrinsic motivations can be seen in various field of life as school and studies, work environments, sports and legal circumstances. Evolution studies (school and learning, work environment, and sports)
While motivation theories have been described long ago in history, extrinsic motivation has a longer history of application. Furthermore, extrinsic motivations have been described centuries ago in history.

==Definition==
The term motivation goes back to the latin verb movere, what means to move. Motivation can be grouped into two categories which different each other from the source of the impact, either internal, so-called intrinsic motivation or external, so-called extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation generally is influences by personal reasons, this is also the case when the activity is interesting or feels good for the person. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation, I solely based on expectations regards the outcome of a certain activity, this can be the form of receiving a compensation, getting rewarded but can also take the form of avoidance of a certain outcome, e.g., to avoid a punishment. Motivation generally is hard to measure and quantify, therefore the definition and abition related to it are different and individual to each person or situation. Research wise it is not clear yet to define if there are motivational structures within the animal world or if animal behavior is solely base din instincts. Similar to the behavior of humans, animals will follow their needs.
Definition classic and evolved interpretation....tbd

==Historic overview and evolution==
Historically the concept of motivation was first mentioned by the ancient Greeks within the principles of hedonism. Later then, in the 19th century, these principles got further evolved be the utilitism in the context of academic psychology. Famously and widespread acknowledgement was brought by the theory of Sigmund Freud (deep psychology) and based on this the theories of William James and William McDougall throughout the 1920 who analyzed the impacts of basic needs and instincts. Since a lot of their theories could not be adequately proven due to the fact that they are based in internal factors and psychology implemented the analysis of punishment and rewards mechanism, by Burrhus Frederic Skinner (behaviorism) during the 1950, which lead to the general understanding of extrinsic motivation like it is today. Furthermore, still not proven, but built as the foundation of today’s motivation theories are the theory of motivation by Abraham Maslow as well as the two-factor theory by Frederik Herzberg. And later in the year 2000 the taxonomy of steven reiss.
Another approach on the motivation from the 1960 and 1970 is the process theory based on the model of porter and lawler, which states that the personal motivation or ambition is caused by the value of the expected outcome or rewards. While this theory takes the intrinsic as well as the extrinsic motivation into account the parallels to the extrinsic focusation of human thinking being to evaluate the expectations shows clear similarities to external caused motivational behaviors.
Whereas all this happened and the scientific point of view as well as theories changed and shaped of time, this focus was mainly on the intrinsic side of motivation. Whereas extrinsic motivation has been practices since ever. While historically force should not be equated as extrinsic motivation in terms of the avoidance of a punishment, the deeper inner impact what makes force working is part of the extrinsic motivation to a certain level. For today’s standards extrinsic motivation in terms of punishments are still in use in certain areas, like school or military, while the majority of use cases contains the use of rewards or compensation.

==Big idea==
Description of the underlying mechanics including the psychological pint of view.
Motivation means the impact that gives a person or direction to behaviour or the act or process of encouraging others to exert themselves in pursuit of a group or organizational goal. in the context of extrinsic motivation an action regards a specific outcome should be encouraged. This outcome can be drive in form of rewards or the avoidance of a certain outcome with the perspective to receive a punishment. In terms of extrinsic motivation, the behaviour in question I influences by external factors, in comparison of intrinsic motivation extrinsic factors come always from external sources. Nevertheless, can external motivation be expressed in different variations like tangible as well as non-tangible impacts.
To make use of the motivation theory it must be understand what drives a person. This causality is different from person to person and from scenario to scenario.
After barbuto and Scholl motivation can be described as 5 forms of motivation quells:
• The most general and most common category of external motivation is the instrumental motivation which is based on concrete external input or impacts from external factors such as advantages or rewards.
• The second category is the external self-concept which is solely based on the expectations of the external environment.
• The third category after Barbuto and Scholl is the goal internalization whereas the goal which is causing the ambition is not based in personal reasoning of the human it comes from the outside and can also be interpreted as a takeover of other goals or visions and the motivation to participate in them.
The two intrinsic motivated categories are intrinsic process motivation and the internal self-concept.
While john marsahl reeve especially distinguish between four types of extrinsic motivation which correlate, but also share similarities with the categories after barbuto and Scholl, are:
• External regulation is driven by the direct consequence of the action.
• Introjected regulation drives the action by the impact of the consequence if the actions isn’t carried out, e.g., passive and indirect impact.
• identified regulation drives the action with the consideration of the consequence if the action is carried out e.g., follow up impact.
• integrated regulation drives the action by the integration and utilization of the consequences for the persona itself. This category is very similar to intrinsic motivation, but still can be distinguished easily because the motivation is based on the external brought results instead of inner needs like interest or fun.
Insert graphic grade of autonomy tbd
Insert differences… tbd
Motivation und Korrelation zu Erwartung Anreiz usw.tbd

==Concept and application==
In this section use cases with the focus on work or project environments will be discussed. use of motivation in school, sport, work
Concept: ways of extrinsic motivation appliance positive/rewards: money as incentive, rewards, job promotion negative/punishment: school, penalty work, detention
Example: shopping membership stuffs as rewards
Sport
School
Arbeit
Management / PPPM anwenung?
When to use extrinsic motivation
effectiveness

==Limitation and alternatives==
Limitations of extrinsic motivation, "dangers" and alternative forms like intrinsic motivation. 

Studies have shown that influence of long term applied extrinsic motivation can lead to a habituated behaviors which therefore will be countervise actions as intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, in case of a situational change and no longer existing exertnal motivate the complete drive of the person will be stucked.

==Annotated bibliography==

*''Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance'' by Carol Sansone and Judith M. Harackiewicz
This publication provides a wide overview about human motivation in regards to their performance. Furthermore it discusses the psychological background what motivates to specific action and influences human behavior.

*Some key references I found interesting during my first research and plan on using them for the creation of my article are (these resources might change later): 
1. Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences; ISBN 9783-3192-4612-3 
2. Successful Management by Motivation: Balancing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Incentives; ISSN 1758-6887 
3. Motivational synergy: Toward new conceptualizations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the workplace; ISSN 1053-4822

Stress Management

2022-03-02T09:27:31Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual which can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

The table above outlines examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:56:16Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:55:40Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="sage"/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:55:26Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''David Bunce, Michael A. West - 1996 “Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work” '''<ref name="" sage/>

This research article concluded that studies on stress management within a workplace should focus on process variables and project outcomes. It also highlighted that companies allowing for innovation in the workplace showed a promise in addressing stress.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:46:04Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Introduction */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref name=sage>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:42:13Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref name=a4>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:41:54Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:41:05Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref name=a3>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your TEam Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:40:15Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your TEam Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:40:02Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK - Vol 3 - 2017. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". '''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Forbes - Sally Percy - 2021. “How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?” '''<ref name="a3" />

This article outlines different methods that a team leader should follow in order to manage team stress. Sally Percy touches base upon the different resources and tools that a leader can use in order to optimize their way of dealing with team dynamics. It bases its outline on many research papers, including one from New South Wales that highlights many statistical results which support a leader's need to understand their team's causes of stress <ref name="a1" />.

'''Harard Business Review - Rich Fernandez - 2016. "Help Your TEam Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout." '''<ref name="a4" />

The article uses productive and profitability KPIs to support the impact of stress management within a team. It covers the stress management methods that are most successful and most correlated in terms of project output. The article highlights that an employee's state of well-being is the foundation of a high-performing team. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is a nonprofit organization developed by Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs to organizations. He has written several articles emphasizing the correlation between mental health and profitability within large corporations.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:19:20Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". Vol 3 - 2017'''<ref name="a2" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a1" />

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:19:05Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a2 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". Vol 3 - 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a1" />

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:18:08Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref name=a1 >[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". Vol 3 - 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a1" />

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T13:17:30Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Wounds UK. "The Impact of Stress on a Team and How to Manage it". Vol 3 - 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

Wounds UK's mission is to deliver innovative educational materials, including practice-based guidance for, wound management. This article dives into a project manager's role within a team. It describes what principles and methods a project manager can perform in order to manage as well as prevent the causes of stress in their team. It contains many research publications regarding stress within leadership roles.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a1" />

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:44:20Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Annotated bibliography */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a1" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a1" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:43:40Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref name="a1" />.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a2" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a3" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:42:59Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref name="a1" />. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a2" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a3" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:42:31Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref> name="a1" /ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a2" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a3" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:41:02Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref name=a1>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a2" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a3" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:40:15Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Limitations and Conclusion */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a2" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a3" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:39:35Z

Matiasearthyfind:

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations and Conclusion ==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

= Annotated bibliography =

'''Project Management Institute. "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)". Fifth edition, 2013'''<ref name="a1" />

The concept of dividing a project’s life cycle into phases is described in PMBOK as well is the project communications management. Chapter 10 illustrates how communication is planned, distributed and documented. The book contains an investigation of challenges, guidelines, and tools used in project management industry.

'''Rogelberg, S., Scott, C. Kello, J. “The Science and Fiction of Meetings” 2007'''<ref name="a2" />

This article evolves around employees spending an increasing amount of time in meetings and also complaining about them. But these employees see meetings as a tool for productivity and there is a need for companies learning to use this tool (meetings) better. The article provides examples and has statistics over how much time is spent in meetings.

'''Hall, K., Hall, A. "Kill Bad Meetings" 2017'''<ref name="a3" />

The book is based on industry research as well as the authors own experiences as former CEOs in big organizations. The book aims to improve meeting culture worldwide by providing tools for managers to introduce in their own project and/or organization. The book also covers cross-cultural meetings, dealing with different time zones as well as facilitating a conference: a meeting for a lot of people.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:34:37Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:33:51Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| link=https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress | Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:32:39Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| link = https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress | Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:31:52Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame| link = Main Page| Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:29:27Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have <ref>[Work-related Stress] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress</ref>. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:27:58Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:25:32Z

Matiasearthyfind:

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|frame|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:17:57Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:17:34Z

Matiasearthyfind:

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

__TOC__

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:11:51Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Introduction */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Stress is often categorized as either Chronic or Acute. Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Chronic stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:09:27Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-28T11:07:51Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Introduction */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T09:02:00Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying other stress management techniques to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T09:01:31Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T09:01:01Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* Stress Management Methods in a Project Team */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T09:00:43Z

Matiasearthyfind:

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T09:00:29Z

Matiasearthyfind:

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T09:00:12Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T08:58:49Z

Matiasearthyfind: /* What is Stress? */

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Understanding the reoccurring symptoms during stressful periods is the first step in Stress Management. Methods and techniques for managing individual stress will be discussed later in the report. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|center|1000px|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T08:48:11Z

Matiasearthyfind:

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Understanding the reoccurring symptoms during stressful periods is the first step in Stress Management. Methods and techniques for managing individual stress will be discussed later in the report. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|Center|frame|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on work.]]

Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

File:Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png

2022-02-18T08:47:30Z

Matiasearthyfind:

Stress Management

2022-02-18T08:47:20Z

Matiasearthyfind:

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Understanding the reoccurring symptoms during stressful periods is the first step in Stress Management. Methods and techniques for managing individual stress will be discussed later in the report. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

[[File: Causes, Symptoms, and Effects.png|Center|frame|Figure 1: Internal and external causes of stress; Psychological and physical symptoms of stress; Effects stress can have on working environment.]]

Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]

Stress Management

2022-02-18T08:09:50Z

Matiasearthyfind:

New Title: Stress Management in a Project Team

Stress Management - "Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning."

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

According to The American Institute of Stress, work is the greatest source of stress within individuals, with 94% of American workers reporting having experienced work-related stress on a regular basis <ref>[''42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics''] https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2094%25%20of%20American,experiencing%20stress%20at%20their%20workplace.&text=According%20to%20Wrike's%20United%20States,of%20stress%20were%20unreasonably%20high.</ref> <ref>[Copying with stress at work.] https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress</ref>. In recent decades, the research performed on stress has intensified. Stress Management entails many different methods and techniques designed to alter self-behaviour in order to better manage stress. There are three main types of stress: Individual, Organizational, and Societal. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on Individual stress, as this is most prominent within project groups and workplaces <ref>[Stress Management in Research Papers] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267794226_Stress_Management_In_Research_Projects</ref>.

Chronic stress, which is also known as long-term stress, is not something that can be fixed overnight or even within a few days. Long-term stress is usually caused by chronic illnesses, traumatic events, and/or poor financial situations. It usually requires taking serious measures, consulting a psychologist, and sadly is hard to manage consistently <ref>[Long-term Stress Management] https://humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-stress/stress-management-quick-fixes/</ref>. Acute stress, on the other hand, which is also known as short-term stress, is characterized by behavioural symptoms that are affected by factors within a short period of time <ref>[Acute Stress Reaction.] https://patient.info/mental-health/stress-management/acute-stress-reaction#:~:text=An%20acute%20stress%20reaction%20occurs,after%20an%20unexpected%20life%20crisis.</ref>. In other words, if proper techniques and methods are used, the causes and symptoms of acute stress can be properly managed. The issue is that, as mentioned before, the workplace is the largest source of stress within individuals. It is far too common for stress in the workplace to persistently reoccur, which can then have long-term effects. Acute stress can produce several physical and psychological symptoms for members of a team within a project's lifetime. These symptoms can severely affect their ability to work effectively as well as affect their colleagues <ref>[Stress Management and Innovation Interventions at Work] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679604900205</ref>. The increasing drive to support individuals who suffer from stress-related issues is a clear sign of how important it is for project managers to address acute stress issues within their teams.

The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed explanation of the different internal and external causes of short-term (acute) stress in a project team, as well as describe the current methods and techniques used to manage short-term stress as an individual within a project team. It will also critically analyze the methods and techniques that are currently most prominent in stress management.

== What is Stress? ==

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Organization as "...the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure" <ref>[Stress | Mental Health Foundation] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20is%20the%20feeling%20of,with%20mental%20or%20emotional%20pressure.</ref>. While focusing on individual stress, there are two different causes; internal and external causes. Internal causes of stress, such as overthinking and low self-esteem, come from within individuals and are said to be the most common cause of stress <ref>[A Guide to Stress - First Psychology UK] https://www.firstpsychology-assistance.co.uk/resources-detail?URL=Stress-guide</ref>. External factors such as issues with colleagues, poor working environment, and pressure from managers, can also play a large role in increasing stress, especially during projects. These internal and external factors cause individuals to possibly have a wide range of symptoms including headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. The symptoms that individuals experience, much like Covid-19, can be very different from person to person. For example, men and women usually experience a different range of symptoms during a stressful period. Understanding the reoccurring symptoms during stressful periods is the first step in Stress Management. Methods and techniques for managing individual stress will be discussed later in the report. Below is a table outlining examples of internal and external causes as well as the symptoms and effects they have. Notice again, there is a large variation in symptoms as it highly depends on the individual as well as the situation that individual is in.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|+ Individual Stress - Causes, Symptoms, and Effects on Work
|
! Causes
! Individual Symptoms
! Effect on work
|-
! Internal
|rowspan="1"|
* Overthinking
* Inability to accept project uncertainty
* Low self-esteem
* Unrealistic expectations
* Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
* Workaholism
* Being Reactive
|rowspan="2"|
* Physical
** Headache
** Exhaustion
** Insomnia
** Muscle pain and/or body aches
** Dizziness
** Stomach problems
** Decreased or Increased appetite
** Elevated heartbeat
** High blood pressure
* Psychological
** Emotional
** Depression
** Anxiety
** Pessimism
** Decrease in cognitive abilities
** Mind-wandering
** Loss of self (not knowing who you are)
|rowspan="2"|
* Decrease in work performance
* Unproductive/lazy work habits
* Distracted from work
* Demotivated for work
* Lack of confidence in work
* Decrease desire to communicate with colleagues
* Aggressive behavior towards colleagues
* Lower tolerance of frustration and impatience
|-
! External
|rowspan="1"|
* Over-worked / Heavy workload
* Long hours
* Low salaries
* Unrealistic expectations
* Pressure from higher management
* Boring / Unmotivating tasks
* Job insecurity
* Insufficient skill for tasks
* Poor relationship with colleagues/manager
* Poor management
* Poor project structure
* Harassment
* Discrimination
* Lack of resources/equipment
* Lack of support from colleagues/manager
|}

Overall, stress is not healthy for any individual and can cause an unproductive and poor working environment in a project setting.

== Stress Management Methods in a Project Team ==

Although some stress at work and in projects is to be expected, it is part of a project manager's job to manage and support stress amongst team members. In order to prevent team members from becoming stressed as well as avoid the effect stress has on their working habits, project leaders must focus on implementing stress management techniques in their teams. The two primary stress management techniques are first, managing their own stress and secondly, understanding their team members. These two techniques, which are also relevant to team members themselves, should be performed before attempting any other techniques, as they lay a strong foundation for stress management in a project team <ref>[How Leaders Can Help Their Teams Manage Stress in the New Year] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365275 </ref>.

[[File:Stress Management Matias Diagram1.png|right|frame|Figure 1: Project leaders should practice managing their own stress as well as understanding their team members, before applying others to the project.]]

'''1: Manage your own stress'''

A project manager's first task is to be able to manage and cope with their own stress. Team leaders play a huge role in the mood and mentality of their team members. They are essentially the team members' role models in a project. How can the team members achieve stress equilibrium if their leader cannot do it themselves? This is part of the reason a project manager requires strong technical and managerial skills as well as excellent intrapersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal skills allows individuals to manage and cope with emotional and stressful periods without affecting the people around them in negative ways. If project leaders learn how to better deal with their own stress, it will allow them to better support and manage the stress amongst their team members.

'''2: Understand team members'''

In order to properly support and manage the stress of someone around you, you usually have to know them first. How an individual copes with stressful situations differs from person to person. This is strongly the case in a project team and why it is so important for a project manager to understand each member. Understanding signs of stress within their team members requires being intently involved in their work lives. This includes knowing the member's personalities, workloads, and behaviours in stressful situations. The better a project manager knows their team and understands how they behave individually as well as interact amongst each other, the more successful they will be in managing the team's stress levels. Understanding a team member's personality will allow the project manager (even other team members) to spot signs of stress early on, and subsequently, support them <ref>[How Can Leaders Help Their Teams To Better Manage Stress?] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/03/how-can-leaders-help-their-teams-to-better-manage-stress/?sh=57c9998773a9</ref>. A research project at the University of New South Wales, which interviewed almost 6,000 people across 77 organizations, found that the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization "is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their employees” <ref>[The Rise of the Compassionate Leader - Should you be Cruel to be Kind] https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/Pages/The-Rise-of-the-Compassionate-Leader--Should-You-Be-Cruel-to-Be-Kind.aspx</ref>.

After a project manager is able to manage their own stress levels as well as understand their team members, there are many other techniques that can be implemented. Following stress management methods and principles allow the project leaders to better manage the stress levels of their team members with the end objective of creating a happy and productive work environment. Based on several research articles, below are the six most common and effective techniques for stress management in a project team <ref>[Help Your Employees Manage Stress] https://gethppy.com/employee-engagement/5-ways-help-employees-manage-stress</ref> <ref>[Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout] https://hbr.org/2016/01/help-your-team-manage-stress-anxiety-and-burnout</ref> <ref>[Impact of Stress on the Team and How to Manage it] https://www.wounds-uk.com/download/resource/1015 </ref>:

'''Properly distribute workload'''

Properly distributing the workload amongst team members entails: distributing the workload evenly amongst all teammates, assigning tasks to the appropriate members, and ensuring the workload will not cause the team to be overworked. Distributing the project tasks evenly will allow each member to feel included, with the ability to show quality work and collaborate, with no bias from the manager. Assigning the appropriate tasks requires understanding which members have the ability and skills to perform the task with efficiency and quality. Being assigned a task that is completed out of your scope can put a lot of stress on the individual, especially if they are not guided or given support from the project leader. This principle also applies to a workload that is too much for the individual to handle. Assigning a task to a team member that is too large can easily begin to cause that individual to become stressed and evidently not perform the task with the needed quality.

'''Discourage multi-tasking'''

A study done by the American Psychological Association suggests that multitasking "undermines our efficiency" especially for "complicated or unfamiliar tasks" <ref>[Multitasking undermines our efficiency, study suggests] https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/multitask </ref>. Multitasking also exhausts individuals more rapidly which can result in stressful situations at work. This is why many project managers are beginning to encourage their employees to prioritize their tasks rather than continue to bounce between tasks. Helping team members prioritize their work, rather than multitask, ensures the team members stay focused, perform tasks with quality, and lowers the risk of stressful situations.

'''Establish a transparent environment'''

A study performed by Slack, the business communication platform, found that out of 40,000 employees, transparency was the largest contributing factor to their overall happiness as an employee <ref>[Transparency in Business Company Evolution] https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/transparency-in-business-company-evolution </ref>. As mentioned before, project managers are the team's role models, which makes it essential for the team to trust their leaders as well as each other. Establishing a transparent environment within a project will ensure trust, encourage better work performance, improve efficiency, and provide a comfortable and reliable environment for the team members. This will remove the external causes of stress for individuals for example not knowing what the scope, goal, and deadline of a project are.

'''Mandate time off'''

An very important, and often overlooked, aspect of working life is taking quality time away from the work setting. This applies to vacation days as well as taking coffee and lunch breaks. Employees tend to get so involved in their projects that they forget the significance of taking their thoughts away from work. This could be due to external causes of stress including pressure from managers, unrealistic deadlines, or simply too much workload. Not taking time off of work can also be due to internal causes of stress such as being as workaholism, which is a mental condition also known as "work addiction." Mandating time off, not just encouraging it, will ensure that team members relax and reset their busy minds, allowing for time with family, exercise, and other essential activities outside of work. Research conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that taking mandatory vacation days results in improved productivity, lower stress, and overall better mental health <ref>[Taking time off is beneficial for business] https://www.oecd.org/ </ref>.

'''Encourage empathy and compassion'''

The same research also found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate and to "understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties" had the strongest correlation with performance and engagement. It is unrealistic to leave your entire personality at the door once you enter your workplace. Well-known companies such as Google, Unity Technologies, and Apple, are becoming increasingly attractive for job seekers as they all ensure a happy and free working environment. Different methods can be practiced to encourage empathy and compassion in a project setting, however, it is as simple as being kind to the people around you.

'''Offer support and resources'''

Yet another essential task for a project manager is to ensure that their team has the appropriate support as well as the adequate resources to perform the work with quality. If these two principles are established within a project team, the employees will feel more comfortable reaching out to their manager for guidance or knowledge on a certain task. This will not only relieve stress surrounded by not knowing something regarding the project but also create an exchange of information and knowledge amongst the team, which will evidently benefit the project outcome. The research performed at the University of New South Wales, which was mentioned earlier, also found that a leader's ability to "create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be" had the greatest correlation with productivity and profitability.

== Limitations==

Although there is an increasing drive to research and practice stress management in the workplace, it will always be difficult to implement methods that are effective for every team member. Each individual has unique attitudes, behaviours, and personalities, especially when they are subjected to stressful situations. It is often the case that individuals are stressed for reasons outside of the workplace, and as mentioned before, it is unrealistic for people to leave their personalities and outside life at the door. For example, even if a project leader were to mandate time off, some team members who suffer from work addiction (workaholics) would not benefit from simply taking time off. Work addiction is an example of something that can cause long-term stress which requires more in-depth therapy sessions and stress management methods. The methods outlined in this article have shown a strong influence on a project teams' productivity and overall happiness. However, employees can not easily manage and/or cope with long-term causes of stress such as family issues and traumatic events just from their manager showing some compassion. These more serious issues of stress are likely to have a negative effect on working habits and environments, and most likely require seeing an expert, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is why it is so vital for project leaders, as well as each team member, to educate themselves on stress management. It will allow them to better manage their own stress and evidently improve the way they support others. It will also help individuals identify when another colleague is in need of more serious mental health support.

== Conclusion ==

The expanding range of research projects focusing on the mental health and stress factors of employees illustrates the dire need to practice stress management techniques in the workplace amongst the project teams. The external and internal causes of stress at the workplace are usually short-term (acute stress) however can build up to have long-term effects on individuals. When not managed correctly, acute stress at work can have increasingly negative effects on an employee's mental health and can ultimately influence the productivity, profitability, and outcome of a project. It is very important for project leaders to address these issues and focus on implementing proper stress management techniques in order to keep a happy, yet productive, working environment.

== References ==

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[[Category:Project Management]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Human Behaviour]]