Managing Stress Intelligently
3 January 2013
Read by 1521 persons
A sign with the word stress crossed out and the word relax
The prevention of psychosocial risks is one of the themes that the very life of the company has pushed to the forefront of concerns; among other examples, the European inspection campaign in 2012. But how to address the issue of psychosocial risks today? In a simplified form, we will talk here about "stress" and how to manage it.
Our operating modes and their four main dimensions
The starting idea is that we all have preferred modes of operation, easily accessible and which require less effort. Conversely, there are modes of operation opposite to these areas of preference, which will require more time, more energy, for a probably less good result.
We must then identify these areas of preference and non-preference with clear and well-defined vocabulary, detached from any judgment. Four main dimensions of psychic functioning are thus determined:
• The orientation of energy, which can come mainly from the outside or from the inside.
• The way of collecting information, in a rather factual or global way.
• The type of decision criterion, based on reasons of impersonal logic or personal evaluation.
• The relationship with the environment, in a mode of organization or adaptation.
First application
It is easy to see a first application to stress management. If your work leads you to be rather in areas far from your preferences, you will use more energy. The further you are from your base, the more stress increases.
Even if sometimes our work does not suit you, it is not always possible to change it. But being able to identify the sources of difficulties can make it possible to take a step back and put in place palliative measures: delegate, get help, plan compensatory activities.
Example: during the merger of two departments, one of the managers, a faithful servant, is assigned a study mission in a very golden setting. Unfortunately, this manager is an extrovert used to seeing people, to managing personnel. Finding himself alone in his office, however luxurious it may be, despite a salary as high as the previous one, leads him to Depression in a few weeks. After analyzing the situation, he asks to return to the roads to do prospecting.
Second application
The second application is at the relational level. Part of the stress can come from communication or understanding difficulties. Everyone speaks in their own language and uses what seems most appropriate to communicate, that is to say what succeeds for them. When the two languages cross without meeting, the atmosphere deteriorates, especially if the protagonists are in a hierarchical relationship.
Example: the new CEO of an international organization complains about the incompetence and stupidity of the CFO (who has a degree from a leading business school, a certified public accountant diploma and a Ph.D. in finance from the United States...). After discussion, it emerges that the CFO is of the "factual, analytical" type and the CEO "synthetic, global". And this leads to this delicious exchange:
- The CFO: "You understand, our budget is so complex and so political, that it is my duty to give you as much information as possible to prevent you from falling into traps."
- The CEO: "Well, that's precisely what prevents me from deciding."
Recognizing the difference without accusing the other of all evils opens up a negotiation zone where each person can express their needs and find appropriate solutions. Enough to defuse many bombs that are so many stress factors.
Third application
A third application concerns the dynamic of evolution. If our typological base does not change, the ability to better use the opposite poles can, on the other hand, increase over time. Access to our non-preferences becomes easier, both through an endogenous need for completeness and under pressure from external constraints. This means in principle that, all other things being equal, the ability to resist stress improves over time since, in a way, the comfort zone expands. This is true from a typological point of view but obviously other factors can intervene in the opposite direction, such as physical resistance. In the field of professional orientation and mobility, this is a considerable asset since it facilitates the prospective management of careers, taking into account the changing motivations and interests of each individual.
Fourth application
A fourth application makes it possible to put in place what we call the "Conscious Self", that is to say the ability to embrace opposite poles in all situations. A large part of stress in the company comes from what are called paradoxical injunctions: the fact of receiving two orders of the same hierarchical force but contradictory. Typical example: make margin and volume.
Faced with the paradoxical injunction, there are three solutions:
• Ask your boss to resolve the paradox, which is not very empowering on the one hand, and which the boss is not necessarily equipped to do on the other.
• To strive to fulfill both obligations at the same time, which is a sure way to rush into stress, or even Burnout.
• To consider the paradox as a given of life, which only the "Conscious Self" can manage with its ability to embrace opposites.
This implies two conditions, at a minimum:
• The necessity for the company to provide everyone with all the necessary information to understand the stakes of each paradox.
• The individual will to assume his development without entrusting the care to third parties.
Fifth application
Finally, there is a fifth application of the approach: interpersonal relationships. We are made of different elements, we present different facets. And so, when we enter into a relationship with another person, it is not two individuals but almost literally two families who meet and create relational scenarios, some pleasant, others unpleasant and which then contribute to increasing the risks of difficulties at work. Beyond the communication difficulties mentioned above, we must then understand how and why we bond with each other. We must also update the projections we make on others. In doing so, we promote the development of each individual and we make relationships more harmonious.
The approach described does not change the external factors of stress, but it gives everyone powerful means to better address them.
Pierre Cauvin.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Posted online on January 3, 2013.
The prevention of psychosocial risks is one of the themes that the very life of the company has pushed to the forefront of concerns; among other examples, the European inspection campaign in 2012. But how to address the issue of psychosocial risks today? In a simplified form, we will talk here about "stress" and how to manage it.
Our operating modes and their four main dimensions
The starting idea is that we all have preferred modes of operation, easily accessible and which require less effort. Conversely, there are modes of operation opposite to these areas of preference, which will require more time, more energy, for a probably less good result.
We must then identify these areas of preference and non-preference with clear and well-defined vocabulary, detached from any judgment. Four main dimensions of psychic functioning are thus determined:
• The orientation of energy, which can come mainly from the outside or from the inside.
• The way of collecting information, in a rather factual or global way.
• The type of decision criterion, based on reasons of impersonal logic or personal evaluation.
• The relationship with the environment, in a mode of organization or adaptation.
First application
It is easy to see a first application to stress management. If your work leads you to be rather in areas far from your preferences, you will use more energy. The further you are from your base, the more stress increases.
Even if sometimes our work does not suit you, it is not always possible to change it. But being able to identify the sources of difficulties can make it possible to take a step back and put in place palliative measures: delegate, get help, plan compensatory activities.
Example: during the merger of two departments, one of the managers, a faithful servant, is assigned a study mission in a very golden setting. Unfortunately, this manager is an extrovert used to seeing people, to managing personnel. Finding himself alone in his office, however luxurious it may be, despite a salary as high as the previous one, leads him to Depression in a few weeks. After analyzing the situation, he asks to return to the roads to do prospecting.
Second application
The second application is at the relational level. Part of the stress can come from communication or understanding difficulties. Everyone speaks in their own language and uses what seems most appropriate to communicate, that is to say what succeeds for them. When the two languages cross without meeting, the atmosphere deteriorates, especially if the protagonists are in a hierarchical relationship.
Example: the new CEO of an international organization complains about the incompetence and stupidity of the CFO (who has a degree from a leading business school, a certified public accountant diploma and a Ph.D. in finance from the United States...). After discussion, it emerges that the CFO is of the "factual, analytical" type and the CEO "synthetic, global". And this leads to this delicious exchange:
- The CFO: "You understand, our budget is so complex and so political, that it is my duty to give you as much information as possible to prevent you from falling into traps."
- The CEO: "Well, that's precisely what prevents me from deciding."
Recognizing the difference without accusing the other of all evils opens up a negotiation zone where each person can express their needs and find appropriate solutions. Enough to defuse many bombs that are so many stress factors.
Third application
A third application concerns the dynamic of evolution. If our typological base does not change, the ability to better use the opposite poles can, on the other hand, increase over time. Access to our non-preferences becomes easier, both through an endogenous need for completeness and under pressure from external constraints. This means in principle that, all other things being equal, the ability to resist stress improves over time since, in a way, the comfort zone expands. This is true from a typological point of view but obviously other factors can intervene in the opposite direction, such as physical resistance. In the field of professional orientation and mobility, this is a considerable asset since it facilitates the prospective management of careers, taking into account the changing motivations and interests of each individual.
Fourth application
A fourth application makes it possible to put in place what we call the "Conscious Self", that is to say the ability to embrace opposite poles in all situations. A large part of stress in the company comes from what are called paradoxical injunctions: the fact of receiving two orders of the same hierarchical force but contradictory. Typical example: make margin and volume.
Faced with the paradoxical injunction, there are three solutions:
• Ask your boss to resolve the paradox, which is not very empowering on the one hand, and which the boss is not necessarily equipped to do on the other.
• To strive to fulfill both obligations at the same time, which is a sure way to rush into stress, or even Burnout.
• To consider the paradox as a given of life, which only the "Conscious Self" can manage with its ability to embrace opposites.
This implies two conditions, at a minimum:
• The necessity for the company to provide everyone with all the necessary information to understand the stakes of each paradox.
• The individual will to assume his development without entrusting the care to third parties.
Fifth application
Finally, there is a fifth application of the approach: interpersonal relationships. We are made of different elements, we present different facets. And so, when we enter into a relationship with another person, it is not two individuals but almost literally two families who meet and create relational scenarios, some pleasant, others unpleasant and which then contribute to increasing the risks of difficulties at work. Beyond the communication difficulties mentioned above, we must then understand how and why we bond with each other. We must also update the projections we make on others. In doing so, we promote the development of each individual and we make relationships more harmonious.
The approach described does not change the external factors of stress, but it gives everyone powerful means to better address them.
Pierre Cauvin.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Posted online on January 3, 2013.
