How to Resolve a Major Problem in the Work Environment

I hereby submit my report on the recommendations on how to resolve a major problem in the work environment. The report focuses on how to help deal with employee stress.

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An analysis of the best alternatives available to resolve the workplace challenge revealed that while both of the alternatives can yield positive results, the second alternative would give the best solution as it focuses on managing the employees workload, which is the main source of stress in the workplace. It is, therefore, the recommendation that work stress management be done by reducing the pressure on employees and creating a favorable working condition.

I appreciate the opportunity given to me to participate in this research study. Thanks for your consideration on reading this report and evaluating my recommendation.

Sincerely,

Rickie McNeal

Enclosure: Justification Report

Executive SummaryThis report analyzes the feasibility of two alternatives for resolving the problem of employee stress in the workplace. The main method would be questionnaires that would be made up of closed-ended questions especially considering that there are only two scenarios of interest. Through such questionnaires, the workers would be asked about the alternative between financial problems and deadline pressure that affects them the most.

An analysis of the best alternatives available to resolve the workplace challenge revealed that while both of the alternatives can yield positive results, the second alternative would give the best solution as it focuses on managing the employees workload, which is the main source of stress in the workplace. It is, therefore, the recommendation that work stress management be done by reducing the pressure on employees and creating a favorable working condition.

Stress at Work

Introduction

Stress can be defined as the instinctive response that one has towards various cues from the external environment as well as those from within such as ones thoughts and feelings. Essentially, it is how one reacts to either perceived or real danger. It is very normal to experience stress in ones life as it is unavoidable in certain situations. However, it is necessary to learn how to manage or cope with stress because it can deteriorate into other complicated health problems if not well managed. Stress on ones life can emanate from many different factors. Furthermore, managing ones stress can be a very complicated process due to the multiplicity of factors that affect stress. Stress may either be episodic, acute, or chronic.

Problem StatementStress management is one of the biggest challenges that employees have to grapple with in their daily work environments. Stress results from numerous factors within the work environment as well as from the employees personal lives. Either way, if stress is not dealt with adequately, it is more likely to bring down the morale of the employees, thereby affecting their productivity in general. This will ultimately affect the profitability of the company and its ability to meet its objectives.

Such problems are known to have a direct link with the rate of output that a person provides. The main problem that has been considered for discussion here is the idea of stress at work. The stress at work is the situation whereby a person is not able to concentrate on their work fully due to several other problems that tend to interfere with the level of comfort and hence the concentration of such person while at work. There are many causes of such kind of a problem and they can be categorized into different groups depending upon the origin and the impacts that they have on the persons concentration and general output during working hours. The first cause that can be discussed here is the idea of personal problems that a person has outside the working environment. Such kinds of problems include the pressure to deal with the family responsibilities and the associated challenges.

Life is very tough and there is always the need to ensure that a person keeps the family going. The different challenges faced by a person include factors such as the responsibilities to pay fees, bills and the need to provide the fundamental requirements for the family members for active sustainability. A large number of people who belong to the working class are known to be responsible for most of the activities that support the living conditions of others especially considering the fact that they are the ones with the ability to bring financial assistance to the members of their families. With the deterioration that has been witnessed in the economic standards of most of the countries, the level of dependency has been on a significant rise while the cost of living has also been increasing tremendously. The implication of these developments is the fact that the amount of load that is presented to the working class has also been increasing. When a person works and earns the salary but does not get to enjoy most of the fruits of their work due to the home expenses, the domestic bills and the other responsibilities with which they are charged, it is very possible that such a person is always troubled and finds themselves in stressful conditions while at work. The other problem is the idea of deadline pressure and increased workload that also happen to be very common features of most organizations.

The industries are very competitive and each of the associated organizations is usually trying to ensure that they do their best to become competitive forces within the industry and hence, control a significant portion of the associated markets. This kind of ambition at times forces the organizations to set unreasonably high objectives that can only be achieved when each of the members involved adds extra efforts to their normal working rates. The deadline pressure also results into the frustration of workers making them panic and work under stressful conditions. Just as mentioned in the introductory parts of this essay, the level of comfort at which a worker operates is very significant in the determination of the overall output of their work. It is, therefore, a necessity that this issue be fully addressed to ensure that employers can obtain the best out of their workers. TerminologyStress- Stress can be defined as the instinctive response that one has towards various cues from the external environment as well as those from within such as ones thoughts and feelingsReport OverviewThe main purpose of this report was to help determine the best approach that can be used to resolve an emerging problem in contemporary organizations, such as the issue of stress among employees. The report evaluates two alternatives for resolving the challenge, namely, compensating the employees better and reducing the amount of pressure on employees to perform.Overview of AlternativesThe following two alternatives considered in this report

Alternative A

The first solution that can be suggested here is the need to ensure that the organization takes care of the workers welfare. This may sound like an unfair appeal to the organizations with different workers but it proves to be an effective solution to the problem. There are several activities that can be put in place to ensure that this objective is achieved. The first strategy comes in the form of paying generous salaries to the workers such that they are not forced to worry about the financial shortages that characterize their lives. The other methods could be in the form of the provision of grants that the workers can use to settle their financial requirements and hence become comfortable with the pressure brought about by the economic deterioration.

The other method through which this objective can be achieved may be in the form of the provision of loans and insurance services that help in the lowering of the weight felt when the workers settle their bills and financial responsibilities. The loans are payable at very low or no interest and within a comfortable period such that the effect does not hit the employees. Even though the organizations would have to part with the finances that they use to offer support to the lives of their workers, they are bound to benefit in the long run. It would emerge that the services that are offered to the workers would make their lives much more comfortable and hence improve their comfort and rate of work with the result that the organizations would be able to obtain the best out of the employees.

Alternative B

The second alternative would come in the form of the attempt to lower the level of deadline pressure to which the workers are exposed. The organizations can achieve this by employing enough workers such that the work distribution becomes fair. The workers may also make this easy by handling the provided tasks at the right time to prevent last time deadline pressure. The organization can also take care of its employees through helping Stressed employees by taking them through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This entails creating a system in place to cater for issues facing employees in order to strengthen them psychologically and emotionally as well as giving them the mental strength need to execute their roles in the school.

As a HR manager, it will be critical to form a team charged with the responsibility of assisting the individual and any other employees with psychological problems and alcoholic related symptoms. This is a short term measure that will aim at finding out the causes of stress in order to establish the root cause. Therefore, the EAP will involve assessment, counseling and referrals of the employee to other specialists. This program will be confidential and will be conducted by specialists such as counselors and psychologists in conjunction with the HR department of the organization. The counselors will meet with the patient (stressed employee) diagnose her, counsel her, and refer her to other specialists for further attention if necessary.

CriteriaThe effectiveness of the methods used would be measurable using several methods that can be in accordance with the list provided below. To measure the rate at which the introduction of fair payment brings about the change in the work rate of the employees, several methods are applicable. The first method that would become useful is the use of the work rate, as this would indicate the improvements that have been achieved from the time when there were no such arrangements. The other factors include the quality of work, the effectiveness with which the tasks are handled, the attitudes of the employees towards the tasks provided and the overall progress of the organization.

The second alternative basically deals with the reduction I the level of pressure under which the workers are exposed; it should be in such a manner that it checks on the extent to which this problem is reduced. It this factor can be measured using parameters such as the rate at which tasks are completed, the deadline consciousness, the quality of work and the overall performance of the organization. The employees who are not stressed up due to financial problems would be able to handle their job as if they were serving their interest with the consequence that the overall work...