Question

1: Provide a specific workplace example of a stressful situation . Self-reflect on what your stress triggers are in the scenario.

2: Explain how you can apply emotional intelligence and mindful behaviors to encourage positive stress and alleviate negative stressors in the scenario. Describe why these techniques would alleviate your stress triggers.

Answer 1

1- I have closely witnessed a workplace scenario that resulted into emergence of a huge stress in the employee. I am from India and one of my friends was working in a private bank. His job responsibilities included a shade of marketing activities. He was given a target to be completed every week and every month.

There were incentives and salary hike with promotion based on the achievement of the targets. He worked very hard as his financial condition was not that good and saw his job as the best opportunity to elevate the family financially. He achieved much more results than the set targets.

But his branch manager was a misleading one and threatened him that a good portion of the target achievement should be credited to his name and the manager will get the monetary and good will benefit out of it.

The employee was frustrated and was under a huge stress and handed over a portion of target achievement in the name of the manager as he was further threatened to be exploited on the basis of the fake reasons and to be reported to higher authorities.

Thus hard work did not result into expected outcomes and manager was freely consuming the fruits of the strife of employee. Thus, Unfair means/ unethical work procedures/ not following the code of conduct were the triggers that leaded to stress.

2- The very first mindful behaviour remedy would be in the form of accepting the reality attached with the situation. The beauty behind acceptance reduces ill aspects of the situation.

Second probable solution in the form of an application of emotional intelligence is to talk and share the real financial condition of the family and the allied scenario. The manager should be communicated the urgency of money inflow in the family.

Take into confidence the other peers, coworkers and collectively talk with the manager and make him realise that his greedy approach has lead to the cause of stress to you.

In a monthly meeting, when the Cluster Head arrives, he should be communicated how code of conduct is being violeted by the manager.

On other hand , the target achievement should be proceeded further and the targets should be requested to increase to test the self reliance and vigour.