16
ROStTiM/E SAFETY
Stress management 1O1
Eight tips to keep us off the ledge
n part one of my ""short course" in man-
By John Kello
f aging stress {October 2006) I mentioned
individuals can have very diiferent thresh-
olds for experiencing distress. Even the hardi-
est among us have our limits. So what do we
do when we're nearing those limits? Here is
what behavioral science tells us about effective
stress management.
— It helps to be wired in a certain way.
Not that we are complete prisoners of genet-
ics, but heredity does predispose us strongly
in one direction or another. "Hardiness" — an
individual's tendency to feel in control, to see
problems as challenges that they can over-
come, and to be personally and deeply com-
mitted to family, friends, spiritual life, career,
etc. — is believed to be genetically based.
These are valid predictors of how one will
handle stressors. So choose your parents well,
or observe and practice the behaviors of your
more "hardy" mates.
2 — It also helps if you're not wired certain
ways. We all know "T^pe A" personalities.
They're the ones sitting in the doctor's waiting
room with their laptop popped open. This kind
of "wiring" can lead to impatience, angry out-
bursts and even meltdowns. But Type A's are
not necessarily heart attacks waiting to hap-
pen. Many live long and happy lives (all the
while wondering how those laid-back Type B
managers keep their jobs). If anger/hostility is
a problem for you, especially if combined with
other Type A traits, be very careful. Anger
management training could benefit you — and
those around you.
3 — Social support is huge. The personal
network is one of the major moderators of
the stress reaction. Friends and family who
serve as confidantes and provide the occa-
sional reaiity check on your ideas and opin-
ions are a big buffer for the stress reaction.
Cultivating close personal relationships is one
of the most profoundly powerful stress man-
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agement strategies.
— You can reen-
gineer your situation.
Sometimes we trap
ourselves imo accept-
ing stressors that we
could, in fact, fight or
flee. Sometimes it's a
good move to change
jobs, to get out from under a bad boss, or
away from physical or psychological stress-
ors built into the job. Not everyone should
be an air traffic controller or an EMT.
Within a given job. it's also possible to exert
some control and eliminate or minimize stress
factors, akin to how safety pros identify and
eliminate workplace risks. We don't have to
passively accept the boundaries and constraints
of a role. Decide how you would like it to be,
and make your case to your (nanagement.
Sometimes reengineering your situation is as
simple (and profound) as just saying "no." A
lot of us in professional and responsible roles
take on more than we really need to. A lot of
good can come from occasionally saying. "I'd
love to help, but 1 just can't take that on now.
Here's what 1 can do. and here's when I can
do it." Prioriti/jng is critical. Of course, if the
boss "requests" it, it's presumably automati-
cally an "A" priority.
— "Cognitive appraisal" works, This is
also known as "don't sweat the small stuff,
and it's almost a!I small stuff." as a consultant
friend of mine says. Say you're facing your
annual budget inquisition with the bean coun-
ters. Don't mistake those butterflies and dry
throat as signs of fear and anxiety. I've learned
to label those kinds of feelings, say before 1
give a speech to 500 people, as eagerness and
readiness. And part of being ready is doing
your homework. I always try to cold memo-
rize the first three to five minutes of my talk,
knowing a good start gets me over the but-
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This man could use
Professor KeUo 's Stress
Management 101 course.
terflies and forecasts a good
speech.
Take care of your
pnysical salt. Exercise is
another excellent buffer to
the stress reaction. Regular exercise, especially
combined with reasonable diet and rest, is
about as good a thing as you can do for your
physical self to promote stress resistance.
— Take care of your spiritual self.
Whatever your personal belief system in
this regard might be. feeling personally con-
nected to a higher purpose, and having some
active and real sense that there is meaning and
importance in your life and in the lives of oth-
ers is a sti'ong stiess buffer.
S — Take time off. When you work past
eight hours a day you're probably just "add-
ing bugs." to paraphrase the CEO of the
wildly successful software company SAS.
as quoted in a recent Harvard Business
Review article. Most of us know that beyond
a certain point, we are not working effec-
tively. Getting away from it all doesn't
automatically change a stressor. but it can
help you get better perspective on it, and at
least come back with renewed energy and
maybe insight.
By Dr. John Kello, professor of indus-
trial-organizational psychology at Davidson
College, and president of the organization
development consurttng firm J.E. Kello &
Associates Inc. John's work centers on the
implementation of the "High-Performaice
Organization" model in a variety of work
settings. He can be reached at (704) 894-
2024; jokello@davidson.edu.
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