Mistake #1: Expect Somebody Else to Reduce Your Stress

Excerpt from A Survival Guide to the Stress of Organizational Change

Expect Somebody Else to Reduce Your Stress.
Decide Not to Change
Act Like a Victim
Try to Play a New Game by the Old Rules.
Shoot for a Low-Stress Work Setting.
Try to Control the Uncontrollable.
Choose Your Own Pace of Change
Fail to Abandon the Expendable.
Slow Down.
Be Afraid of the Future.
Pick the Wrong Battles.
Psychologically Unplug from Your Job.
Avoid New Assignments.
Try to Eliminate Uncertainty and Instability.
Assume "Caring Management" Should Keep You Comfortable.
 

Mistake #1: Expect Somebody Else to Reduce Your Stress

We know that change commonly causes stress. Okay . . . so who’s causing the changes?

Usually higher management takes the rap. After all, the people at the top call the shots. So on the surface it seems fair to accuse them of being a main source of the emotional strain and pressure. Plus, if upper management’s actions seem to be the problem, doesn’t it make sense to hold them responsible for providing the solution?

No. For several reasons.

To begin with, appearances can be deceiving. The top management moves are often reactions.

Chances are, the organization is simply trying to respond to some outside force. Maybe stiffer competition. Sharp economic turns. New technology. Or shifts in the market place and customer expectations. If management is simply trying to deal with a more basic, underlying problem that threatens the organization’s future, then that root cause is the real culprit.

But suppose this line of reasoning hits you as a rather weak defense for management. Maybe in your opinion it doesn’t get them off the hook . . .