2. For groups of three or four people and appoint a group member as the
spokesperson who will communicate your findings to the whole class
when call in by instructor. Then discuss the following scenario.
You are the top management team of a medium size
company that manufactures cardboard boxes, containers and other
kinds of cardboard packaging materials. Your company is facing increasing
level of competition for major customer accounts. In an effort to cut the costs
and remain competitive, your company has recently downsized. Approximately
• 25% of the production workers have been laid off,
• 30% first line of first line managers,
• 40% of middle managers.
You anticipated how stressful the downsizing would be for the production
workers and took the appropriate steps to help both those who were laid off
and those who kept their jobs cope effectively with the stress they were experiencing.
However, you didn’t anticipate the high levels of stress that the first line managers and
middle managers appear to be experiencing the workloads of these managers have
increased substantially, they are facing many changes in their and their subordinate’s
jobs, some have reported felling guilty that co-workers were laid off ,and their own sense
job security has been shattered.
You are meeting today to address this problem

3. Kshitij Mehta

4. • Describe the likely sources of stress for the first line
managers1
• Describe the likely sources of stress for the middle
managers2
• Develop plan of action to help the first line
mangers effectively cope with the stress they are
experiencing
3
• Develop plan of action to help the middle
mangers effectively cope with the stress they are
experiencing
4

5. 1. Physical stress
 Example- Increase in working hours.
2. Distribution of work
 Example- Work load not shared.
3. Psychological stress
 Example- Job security
-Guilt feeling
4. Interpersonal stress
 Example- Unable to converse effectively with production floor.

6. First line managers ACTION PLAN
Physical stress • Regularize office timings
Distribution of work
• Delegation of work with skill,proficiency
and experience.
Psychological stress
• Fun activity and stress management
program on weekly basis.
Interpersonal stress
• Outing with team every quarter arranged
by the organization
• Rewards recognition

7. 1. Delegation of work
 Example-Delegation of work not effective
 Lack of team work
2. Emotional stress
 Example- Targets not met
 Job security
 Goal setting
3. Perception stress
 Example- Indecisiveness
 Unaccountability
4. Social stress
 Example- Unawareness about organization
 Unable to adjust


8. Middle managers ACTION PLAN
Delegation of work
• Systematic work distribution of first line
managers
• Action plans for non-performers
Emotional stress
• Goal/target setting
• Enhance and encourage equality and lead
by example theory
• Setting goals with respect to market
condition and competitiveness
Perception stress
• Motivate Employees by immediate
appreciation
• Effective decision making courses
• Counseling
Social stress
• Ensuring security and care about company
• Skip level meeting of production floor with
the challenges faced by them

9.  Effective stress management skills
 Macro and micro level of stress management
 Deep dive stress core causing issues.
 Implementation of the action plans.
 Increase in productivity
 Adaptability to the stress experienced