Macquarie University GMBA8102 Term 1: Workplace Stress Case Study

This case study examines workplace stress, focusing on an individual's experience as a Department Administrator. The assignment begins with a personal account of stressors, including role ambiguity, increased responsibilities, and organizational changes, leading to anxiety and physical symptoms. The analysis applies the Mayo Clinic's 4 A's framework (Avoid, Alter, Accept, Adapt) to develop coping strategies. The student identifies adapting to situations and reframing challenges as key approaches. A critical review discusses environmental and individual stressors, referencing Kinman and Jones (2005) on occupational stress and Braukmann et al. (2018) on ICT's impact. The study also acknowledges the potential for burnout and the need for proactive coping mechanisms. The student concludes by emphasizing the importance of monitoring behavioral and psychological patterns to assess the effectiveness of stress management techniques.

Running head: WORKPLACE STRESS
WORKPLACE STRESS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author’s name

WORKPLACE STRESS
Step 1: Case study
Stress is considered to be an integral part of life. Stress is characterised by the feelings of
anxiety, worry, trauma, pain, pressure or tension. Stress can be avoided sometimes, however, for
most of the time, stress cannot be avoided and thus needs to be managed in an appropriate
manner. Stress can arise in various settings and in various situations, however, the prevalence of
work related stress are the most and increasing alarmingly (Maulik, 2017). Every individual has
their own capacities of handling or coping with stress that varies greatly among populations and
thus, in any circumstances and for any individuals it is necessary to develop and practice
effective self-management strategies to manage their stress. Workplace related stress and other
stress related conditions have detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of individuals
and thus, must be avoided or managed on highest priory (Bhui et al., 2016).
I, personally have a less coping power and get easily anxious in stressful situations. When
I have to complete my projects within deadline and realize that I will not be able to complete it
within time, instead of giving effort to complete the task as soon as possible, I might just sit
quietly being stressed and anxious, which further delays my submission. There are often
situations in the workplace when we face an ambiguous role clarity, instead of clarifying or
participating in open discussions, I feel insecure and get stressed. I overthink and fear that I may
not survive the job. I have also came across situation where I was allocated with an increased
responsibility where instead of accepting the challenges, I feared that I might not able to perform
the tasks allocated to me. I am currently working as a Department Administrator within an
Educational sector that involve many responsibilities and challenges. The role of an
administrator is often challenging and stressful as we are given responsibility for carrying out or

WORKPLACE STRESS
managing various situations. Administrative roles involve common stressors like role ambiguity
and role conflict (Bhuin, 2017). We, as administrators often have to work even much beyond
what we have allocated for that again increases stress and pressure to a significant level.
Administrators have leadership role that again increases their responsibility that often act as a
barrier in managing a balance between personal and professional life (Garg & Rani, 2014). In
addition to the above identifies stressors, I have faced issues related to workplace exposure since
I had been through 3 structural changes within our department that made me feel more stressed
and pressurized regarding job security because of the changing environment. Although, for the
past 5 years, I have done several roles of office manager and finance administrator within
university, I still often feel that I am incompetent when I come across such stressful situations. In
stressful situations, I often encounter sweaty palms and I breathe very rapidly. I have self-doubt
and I am not able to pay attention or focus. Sometimes, my palms get so sweaty that I have to
wipe my hand with handkerchief. Other physical signs I experience are an increased heart rate,
getting upset, depression, fatigue and a mixture of thoughts. There symptoms develop in me
automatically and uncontrollably that negatively impacts my physical and mental health.
Step 2: Analysis and application
According to the Mayo Clinic’s 4 A’s framework, 4 As stand for Avoid, Alter, Accept and Adapt
(mayoclinic.org, 2020).
Avoid-
We will actually avoid a lot of stress by planning ahead, replenishing the atmosphere and
taking advantage of a lighter load.

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 Taking control of the surroundings: If we don’t like the daily traffic, then it is best to use
the other road less travelled by. We should always find new and alternate ways instead of
complaining about the things we cannot get access to.
 Avoid people who bother: We should maintain a physical distance with a coworker who
triggers our jaw to tense. It is always better to sit away or stroll around our cabin even if
we need a few extra steps.
 Learn to say no: We have many duties and demands on our time. We always cross the
line between kindness and foolishness at some stage. Everyone around us will have a
more relaxed time and we will also have time to enjoy them.
 Ditch the list portion: We should mark the to - do list according to importance with A's,
B's and C's. Scratch the C out of our list on hectic days.
Alter-
One of the most helpful things we can do during depression and stress is to store up and then
trying to improve the situation.
 We should tell others to change their behavior politely.
 We should Communicate about our feelings openly.
 We should manage our time better.
 We must state limits in advance.
Accept-
Often we can't but accept things as they are. At that point, we should try:

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 Speaking to somebody: Perhaps they can't change a stressful scenario, but that doesn't
mean they don't have the emotions. It is better to talk to a relative or plan a coffee break.
After figuring it out, we can feel better.
 Forgive: Energy is needed to get angry. Forgiveness may be exercised, but by doing so
we are free to burn more negative energy.
 Practice good self-talk: When we are anxious, it is easy to lose objectivity. Another
negative thinking can lead to, and soon a mental avalanche has been created. Instead of
saying,' I'm bad with income, so I won't be able to manage my finances,' we should
consider this:' I've been incorrect about my assets, but I'm strong.
 Learning from the mistakes: It is important to learn from the previous mistake in order to
avoid further delay.
Adapt:
One of the biggest stressors is not feeling you can deal with. This is why it can be most
important to respond to stress which often involves changing the goals or aspirations.
 Adjusting standards.
 Practice thought-stopping: We should avoid gloomy thoughts immediately and start being
optimistic.
 Reframing the issue: Trying to look at the situation from a different point of view.
 Adopting a mantra or slogan that will motivate or inspire.
 Creating an assets column.

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 Considering the big picture: We should not pay attention to the small or temporary
problems, instead it is to be considered that whether the problem or the situation will
effect after 5 years.
Thus, using the 4 A approach or framework of Mayo’s clinic, I have learnt the ways to
control and cope with my stress. I think that the best possible way to manage my stress is
adapting to a particular situation and looking to the challenges from a different perception or a
different point of view. By adapting to the situation and trying to be optimistic while dealing
with such situations will help me manage my stress and will help me improve my professional
practice. I will avoid the fact that I have given new responsibilities, since it a part of the
promotion, instead I will view it as an opportunity for me to take the position of the higher
authority level.
Step 3: Critical review
Yes. The majority of the stressors identified falls into both of the category of
environmental factors. Some of the environmental stressors are job insecurity, lack of role
clarification, organisational or structural change, increased responsibility, work overload.
However, there are some individual stressors as well including personality, that is, my coping
capabilities, feeling trapped and poor time or work management. According to Kinman and
Jones (2005) a considerable group of research has accumulated evidence on the frequency of
occupational stress. It is now recognized that stress results from an imbalance between
evaluations of environmental demands with individual resources. It results when an individual is
unable to meet the demand as expected (Kinman & Jones, 2005).

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The use of information and communication technology (ICT) has become universal at
work and a growing number of employees spend an excessive amount of time using ICT like
personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Technological devices enables simpler
work processes since it allows accessing a greater information, increase flexibility and
efficiency, enhance communication and collaboration, and thus known to contribute to better
work performance. However, evidences have also shown that the use of ICT can have
detrimental effects on human beings and can lead to low job performance. Prolonged use of
technologies also affects our sleeping pattern and thus, lead to a poor quality of life (Braukmann
et al., 2018).
I do not have a job that requires looking at the computer screen for hours or using mobile
phone for hours thus, for my scenario, the use of ICT is not applicable.
Heavy workloads and deadline pressures are a fact of managerial or administrative life.
But, when relentless work stress pushes us into debilitating state, it often results in burnout.
Though, I often feel stressed and anxious about in complex and stressful situations, I have never
experienced burnout. Burnout is linked with a higher level of stress, excessive fatigue and loss of
control, sleep disturbances, depression and anxiety. It even insist us in taking drugs and
substance abuse. We feel exhausted and our stress reaches to the saturation point (Valcour,
2016).
I think I am at a risk for burnout through prolonged exposure to stress. Thus, I need to
implement coping strategies in order to reduce the risks for burn out.

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Stress is defined in diverse ways over time. Initially, it was considered to be a pressure
resulting from the environment and then as a tension within an individual. The commonly
recognized explanation nowadays is one of communication between situation and the individual.
It is deemed to be a psychological as well as a physical state resulting from insufficiency of an
individual to cope with the rising demands and burdens of the situation. Therefore, stress is more
probable than others in some situations and some individuals are more likely to suffer than
others. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the coping strategies for my stress, I will track or
monitor my behavioural patterns and psychological signs after implementing those coping
strategies, this is because if stress persists even after implementing those strategies mentioned
above, it can lead to serious issues and there will be changes in cardiovascular, neuroendocrine,
autonomic and immunological functioning, leading to mental and physical issues (Michie, 2002).

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References
Bhui, K., Dinos, S., Galant-Miecznikowska, M., de Jongh, B., & Stansfeld, S. (2016).
Perceptions of work stress causes and effective interventions in employees working in
public, private and non-governmental organisations: a qualitative study. BJPsych
bulletin, 40(6), 318-325.
Bhuin, P. K. (2017). A Study on Work-related Stress among the Teachers and Administrators of
Privately Managed Business Schools in West Bengal. Bhatter College Journal of
Multidisciplinary Studies, 7(2), 7-16.
Braukmann, J., Schmitt, A., Ďuranová, L., & Ohly, S. (2018). Identifying ICT-related affective
events across life domains and examining their unique relationships with employee
recovery. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(4), 529-544.
Garg, D., & Rani, K. (2014). An analytical study of occupational stress in education
sector. International Journal of Research, 1(9), 640-648.
Kinman, G., & Jones, F. (2005). Lay representations of workplace stress: What do people really
mean when they say they are stressed?. Work & stress, 19(2), 101-120.
Maulik, P. K. (2017). Workplace stress: A neglected aspect of mental health wellbeing. The
Indian journal of medical research, 146(4), 441.
mayoclinic.org. (2020). Need stress relief? Try the 4 A's. Retrieved 19 January 2020, from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/
art-20044476

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Michie, S. (2002). Causes and management of stress at work. Occupational and environmental
medicine, 59(1), 67-72.
Valcour, M. (2016). Beating burnout. Harv Bus Rev, 94, 98-101.