Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

In many businesses, stress has unfortunately become a way of life. The good news is that it doesn't have to remain that way.

Let's look at one of the more common, agreed upon definitions of what stress actually is:

" ... stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize."

Another way of saying the above sentence is that an individual or group believe what is expected of them can't really be accomplished.

Most of the stress in any workplace originates from that situation; whether real or perceived.

Now concerning us as managers first, we need to look at ourselves if we're under extraordinary stress. The first step is to identify where it is coming from. Is it systemic of the workplace itself, or is it a temporary circumstance caused by a change in demands by a customer or someone above you in the company? Is it permanent or temporary is the first question that needs to be answered.

If it's systemic, then you have to determine whether you want to stay working for the company or not, based upon the level of stress you're experiencing.

Last, we must honestly look at if the problem is ourselves. Is this a pattern that happens no matter where we work? Maybe we're reaching beyond the level that we can operate at. Is it something in our personal lives that is causing us to perform at a much lower level than usual?

When we understand the demands upon us, and determine whether they're realistic or not, this will be the foundation of taking steps to deal with stress in our management lives. Answer that question honestly first, and then we can look at the other steps to see how to respond.

Links to 3-part series:

Management and Stress - Part One

Management and Stress - Part 2 - Positive Stress

Management and Stress - Part 3 - 6 things we can do to change it!