Stress Management

DOE-HDBK-1202-97

2.3 Stress Management

Boredom and actual or anticipated abnormal conditions can make the work environment a

center of stress. Stress causing events could be when the only copy machine available

breaks in the middle of an important job or the client you've been trying to reach for the last

week calls as you leave to go to the bosses meeting. Stress can reduce a person's ability to

think clearly and can cause poor communications, degradation of teamwork, and faulty

decision making. Although stress cannot be eliminated from a work area, personnel should

be able to recognize and restrain its effects. To achieve this goal, training on stress

management fundamentals should be conducted. This training should enable the trainee to:

Describe the relationship between performance and stress

Identify conditions that cause stress both internal and external to the work

place such as physical, chemical, and emotional factors

Identify variables that determine conditions or events that contribute to

individual stress

Explain why thought processes suffer under stress

Explain why a work team's performance is affected by the response of

individuals under stress

Identify symptoms of stress-induced behavior such as rapid or shallow

breathing, dizziness, anger, loss of patience, and "drawer slamming"

Apply methods that control the effects of stress on individual performance

during normal and abnormal conditions such as following procedures,

communicating effectively, applying breathing exercises, and relaxing. Note:

Procedures that are not written properly will also cause stress.

Stress management skills developed during initial training should be maintained and

enhanced during continuing training. Performance evaluations conducted on the job and

during simulator training should be used to identify areas where continuing training is

needed.