Worksite Stress Management Intervention aimed at Changing Coping styles
Author(s): Dorota Zolnierczyk-Zreda Country: Poland
Is the intervention sector specific?	No
Is the intervention usable with different enterprise sizes?	Yes
Is the intervention equally applicable to both genders?	Yes
Is the intervention based on theory?	Yes
Can the intervention approach be adapted/ tailored?	Yes
Does the intervention promote CSR and how?	The intervention was not explicitly linked to responsible business practices although it does promote employee well-being
Does the intervention promote social dialogue and how?	The intervention does not explicitly promote social dialogue.
Overview (including risk assessment and law – legal requirements etc.): At the Polish Central Institute for Labour Protection a worksite stress management intervention has been developed, implemented and evaluated. The aim of the worksite stress management intervention is to enhance and promote the use of positive coping styles (i.e. specifically defined as problem-focused/solution-orientated coping1 and developing/promoting increased social support); and, in turn, decrease/discourage the use of negative coping styles (i.e., emotion-focused coping2 and use of distraction techniques). In so doing, it aims to help employees manage stress more effectively and to promote an increased sense of wellbeing and overall health.
Implementation: The intervention involved a total of ten 4 hour-weekly sessions that were held over a 10 week period. Employees participated in group sessions and various experience-orientated exercises. Sessions were structured to cover several specific topics: issues surrounding stress, and different types of coping styles (both positive and negative) and their respective elements. Cognitive methods and techniques were introduced to develop self-awareness in employees concerning both workplace stressors that existed and personal abilities and limitations in coping with these stressors. Thus, participants were encouraged to begin with identifying personal and environmental features that lead to strain; and, in turn, to formulate and implement strategies to change those features. This was accomplished by training employees in assertiveness skills, behaviour rehearsal, and role-playing exercises. Additionally, one important task during the stress management training was to enhance the participants’ coping through developing ‘social networks’; this was accomplished by teaching employees how to seek social support and how to provide it to others.
Practical applications: The worksite management training intervention was implemented and evaluated in the public sector; however, as noted by the author, this approach can be tailored and adapted to be applicable in a variety of occupational settings. The successful implementation of this stress management programme requires a trained expert to facilitate its implementation. Additionally, as this stress management programme requires a strong time commitment by employees, it is suggested by the author that to increase its respective success this would require its administration during working hours.
Innovative aspects: This intervention seeks to train employees to cope and manage stress more effectively by teaching employees how to enhance positive forms of coping and social support through cognitive-restructuring and behavioural training exercises, whilst minimizing the use of negative forms of coping.
Evaluation (including process issues, outcomes and sustainability): To assess the effectiveness of the intervention employees were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a comparison (non-intervention) group. Measurements of employees’ coping styles and general wellbeing were collected prior to and one month following the intervention.
Benefits (including cost effectiveness): The evaluation of the intervention yielded the following findings, in regards to the effectiveness of the intervention. Firstly, a significant increase in positive coping styles was observed. Additionally, a decrease in negative coping styles was observed in particular groups. Due to the stress management intervention, persons who overused one form of negative style coping (emotion-focused coping), reported a significant decrease in this particular form of negative coping; and were found to demonstrate a more proportional balance between negative and positive coping styles.
References: Zolnierczyk-Zreda, D. (2002). The effects of worksite stress management intervention on changes in coping styles. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 8, 465-482.
Comments: Styles of coping have often dichotomy classified into: problem-focused or emotion focused coping. 1 Problem-focused coping refers to efforts made by the individual to improve the troubled person-environment relationship by actively changing things; such as seeking information about what to do, and by confronting an individual or individuals responsible for one’s difficulty. 2 Whereas, emotion-focused coping is defined as thoughts or actions with the primary goal of relieving the emotional impact of stress; these strategies are apt to be mainly palliative as they do not seek to change or alter the threatening or damaging conditions, but rather seek to make the individual feel better. This approach is focused on the individual level and does not address organisational level issues or solutions.