Exam 5: Stress

Coping strategies can be viewed as either ________ focused.

Lupe is the assistant editor at the Voice of Today, an online publication. With recent increased readership, the editorial committee had decided to move up the deadline for article submissions to eight hours. This move was not welcomed by the junior writers and editors. Lupe, though unhappy with the decision, faces the problem head on and choses to cope by working faster and harder. This is an example of ________ coping.

Miranda is in charge of tracking the output quality of recycled aluminum at Reclaimed Metals. When she went on maternity leave, Silas was brought on in a temporary capacity to cover her position during her absence. The department manager, Rochelle, knew that the company's rapid growth had increased Miranda's workload over recent months, and she wanted to ensure Miranda would not have to work overtime upon her return since Miranda would have a new baby at home. In order to allow Miranda to ease back into work upon her return and to account for increased work demands due to future company growth, Rochelle decided to hire Silas permanently to handle the quality assurance responsibilities with Miranda. This arrangement is known as

A critical factor that determines coping strategy choice is the degree to which people believe that a particular strategy gives them some degree of control over the stressor or how they feel about it.

In general, relaxation techniques to reduce strain attempt to help people appraise and cope with stressors in a more rational manner.

First, the network went down, then the guy in the next cubicle would not stop clearing his throat, and now Delia cannot find a sticky note when she needs one. Delia's head hurts, her shoulders are tense, and her back aches. Which of the following statements is True?

Some highly motivated individuals come to work even though they are suffering from the physiological, psychological, or behavioral strain caused by stress. This phenomenon, known as ________, can result in reductions in productivity even greater than those resulting from employees who avoid work due to the effects of stress.

By providing ________, organizations aim to increase job-related competencies and skills that help employees to cope with stressful demands.

Alejandro hires Leona as a new sales coordinator at Rainproof Outdoor Gear after the previous coordinator quit unexpectedly. After she completes orientation, Alejandro needs Leona to quickly plan an upcoming sales meeting for all of the company's field sales representatives, who will be gathering at the office in a week to go over the new product line. Despite the fact that her predecessor did little planning for the meeting before she left, Leona wants to make a good impression and begins to prepare the meeting even though she has never planned one before. Three days before the meeting, Alejandro observes Leona in a conference room pacing back and forth and wearing a slightly dazed expression as she shuffles papers around on the table. It is obvious to Alejandro that she is trying to block out meeting rooms for each sales representative group, determine the duration of each presentation, and figure out what kinds of audio-visual equipment will be needed in each room. When he asks if she needs help, Leona smiles and says, "Nope! I've got it all under control." However, Alejandro can tell she is struggling to get things right. Based on what you know about the different types of work hindrance stressors, what should Alejandro do?

Most people appraise situations with high time pressure as rather stressful, and they also tend to appraise these situations as more hindering than challenging.

________ are the particular demands that cause people to experience stress.

Hindrance stressors have a ________ relationship with organizational commitment.

Which of the following refers to the degree to which the requirements of the work-in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities-tax or exceed the capabilities of the person who is responsible for performing the work?

Nobuko is a customer service representative at Call Center Central. She thought a job answering phones all day would be easy, and at first it seemed to be. But over time, the large daily call volume and number of angry or aggressive callers made her edgy, and she found herself being short with customers for no reason. She started having muscle spasms and began to get headaches while at work. Nobuko's physical symptoms are examples of

Which of these is a work challenge stressor?

________ refer(s) to the behaviors and thoughts that people use to manage both the stressful demands that they face and the emotions associated with those stressful demands.

Meilla is the vice president of marketing at a medical supply company. In a typical work week, she is required to attend three departmental meetings, prepare progress reports, sit in on job interviews for other departments, have one-on-one meetings with each of her five managers, and travel to a satellite location where mock-ups of new products are photographed for catalogs. Most weeks, Meilla puts in more than 70 hours at the office, and she often responds to e-mails while watching movies at home on the weekends. Despite this, she finds herself falling behind. Meilla's experience is an example of

Beth is a senior accountant at The American Bank. Her job profile includes preparing monthly financial statements, getting high-net-worth individuals to invest in the bank, and dealing with people who want loans above $30,000. Her work involves a lot of paperwork and she frequently travels to meet clients. The end of each month is especially busy because Beth has to check the audit reports as well. Unable to handle the pressure, Beth speaks to her boss and asks to be given an assistant. This is an example of

A year ago Niantha was promoted to project manager at FeedTheWorld.com, an online charity organization that facilitates the distribution of out-of-date food from supermarkets and restaurants to homeless shelters and food pantries. In an effort to boost productivity and keep the team engaged and relaxed, Niantha implemented a number of light-hearted strategies such as casual Fridays, Random Theme Mondays, and Pajama Wednesdays. Since there is little client contact at the office, she saw no reason for her team to dress formally, and she wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible in the workplace. In order to keep things her team energized and goal-oriented, she created weekly challenge goals and friendly competition among team members by posting the total amount of food each person managed to reclaim that week. As a result of Niantha's efforts, the team's productivity skyrocketed in the first three months, with multiple members vying to win the week's "Biggest Community Helper" award. The team got along well, fraternized after hours, and Niantha's vice president applauded her department's improved output. In the past six months, however, productivity has been slipping, and Niantha is puzzled. Looking over her records, she sees that her two best employees, Reggie and Shay, have not missed a single day of work in six months. Niantha did catch Reggie sleeping at his desk once or twice, and Shay recently had a persistent cough. But both of them engage in a friendly rivalry each week as they vie for the top prize, and each seems to respond positively to her demands on their time. Yet, somehow, their overall productivity has ebbed, as has that of the team as a whole. Given what you know about the nature of challenge stressors, how should Niantha address the issue of lost productivity?

A majority of all ________ are attributable to stress-related causes.