Organizational behavior and management ivancevich free download

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Once payment has been made in full, your order will be assigned to the most qualified writer who majors in your subject. The writer does in-depth research and writes your paper to produce high-quality content. In assess- ing charisma, a variety of instruments have been used. A number of other leadership measures assess dimensions related to transformational leadership, although they have not been labeled explicitly as such.

Given the popularity of the Kouzes and Posner model in leadership development programs, this measure is widely used in practice but more rarely used in published empirical research. Sashkin created a measure, the Leadership Behavior Questionnaire LBQ , which measures visionary leadership and is dif- ferent from, but tangentially related to, transformational leadership.

The measurement of transformational leadership has been dominated by the MLQ, although there have been alternative measures devel- oped to assess both transformational and charismatic leadership. As research on transformational leadership continues, it will be advanta- geous to use multiple methods for assessing the construct. Employees may feel strong commitment to their organizations and jobs for many different reasons.

Recogni- tion or career advancement may be anticipated. Likewise, volunteers supporting a grassroots movement may have a similarly strong com- mitment for numerous reasons. They may feel that what they are doing is giving them the opportunity to make a contribution to others as well as to themselves.

The commitment of volunteers in a charitable organization may be sustained by the gratitude from the recipients of services and the positive feelings of helping others. In this chapter, we examine the contribution of transformational leadership to commitment and its concomitants of involvement, loyalty, and satisfaction. We also consider the mechanisms underly- ing the process.

Moreover, it may be that it is the extraordinary commitment of followers of transformational leaders that underlies. In a doctoral study, Pitman showed how much the commit- ment of white-collar workers in six organizations correlated with various measures of transformational leadership among their supervi- sors. The cor- relation of commitment was. Similar results were found when looking at 70 univer- sity department chairs. In another study, transformational leaders of production teams in a metal processing plant demonstrated stronger commitment to en- gaging in safe work practices and had a stronger overall safety climate than groups led by non-transformational leaders Zohar, When commitment to unionism and willingness to vote to sup- port the union were strong, actual participation in union activities remained low.

Fullagar, McCoy, and Shull noted that the loyalty toward their union of 70 electrical apprentices was related to the transformational characteristics of the socializing agents. Commitment and job satisfaction correlated. Intentions to quit, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors likewise depend on commitment. Transformational leader- ship by the immediate superior can enhance local, departmental com- mitment and help in commitment to the organization, but transforma- tional leadership at the top of the organization is likely to be needed for commitment to extend to the organization as a whole.

The commitment and loyalty of members of organizations are multi- faceted. There is commitment to the larger organization, to the work group or team, and to the leader.

The effective leader is able to align these facets of commitment to show how the goals and values of the follower, the group, the leader, and the organization are in basic agree- ment. A good example of the role of transformational leadership in building commitment and motivation is the military. The commitment to the point of death creates the unlimited liability clause of the members of the military Hackett, , p.

And for such commitment, Gal argued strongly that transfor- mational leadership is needed at all levels:. Commitment is the backbone of the military profession. For most military professionals, belonging to the armed forces is not merely a question of a place to work, a job, or an occupation.

It is a way of life and frequently a lifetime commitment. Commitment can be a very powerful motivation, more so than a paycheck, especially when military activities involve high risk, extreme demands, and severe stress. Obedience and compliance with orders and commands be- comes the key to organizational functioning. Obedience and commitment can be considered as the two modes of military compliance. Obedience is initiated by fear and punishment during the early phases of socialization into military life highly transactional; coupled with increas- ing substitutions of rewards of recognition, badges, promotion, etc.

It is enhanced by threat and sanction and instilled through endless drills and orders. Obedience is gradually replaced by internalized patterns of behavior that become autonomous. Even when the legitimacy of an organizational goal is questionable, if behavior is motivated by obedience, well-indoctri- nated soldiers will continue to comply even though orders are debatable. Thus, fear and external power predominantly generate military discipline and its obedient behav- ior.

However, obedience can be a double-edged sword, especially when it be- comes blind. Aligning the different facets of commitment is not limited to mili- tary leadership. Thus, an important aspect of transformational leadership is developing, maintaining, and en- hancing this alignment. Each of the components of transformational leadership can help build follower commitment in different ways. Simons refers to the degree of congruency between the values or actions espoused by leaders and the actual adherence to them i.

Leaders use inspirational motivation to build emotional commit- ment to a mission or goal. Physical and emotional excitation is aroused in the process. Values, beliefs, and responsibilities are all encouraged by the transformational leader. Similarly, Islamic leaders call follow- ers to arms by declaring a religious holy war, or jihad. The transformational leader, whether a manager supervising a sales team or a commanding general leading an army, further increases commitment by employing intellectual stimulation.

The education, concerns, and experiences of the follower are enlisted in a joint effort to deal with problems in a creative way.

Unusual approaches emerge, such as when a U. Pride in the actions of all those involved as well as joint success in overcoming obstacles are combined. Commitments are reinforced. Individualized consideration at all levels also enhances commit- ment. Followers feel their personal career needs are being met.

Ad- ditionally, the coaching and mentoring provided them by their leader provides them with a sense of increased competence to carry out or- ders. Whereas commitment itself has many facets e. In a study of nurses, transformational leadership components were indeed strongly correlated rs in the. Contrary to expectations, contingent reward was not correlated with continuance commitment.

In another study of U. Although it is clear that transformational leadership helps build strong follower commitment, the process of building follower commit- ment and inspiring followers is quite complex.

The role of charisma in understanding this process is important. Humans are practical and goal-oriented, seeking rewards and avoiding punishments. We are motivated to maintain and enhance our self-esteem and sense of competence to cope with our environment. Meaning is provided in the continuity of past, present, and future and the match between our behavior and our self- concept. Our self-concept is a composite of our identities as members of a nationality, social group, and sex, some of which are more impor- tant to us than others.

Faith, as well as rational calculation, motivates us. Given this appreciation of human nature, it becomes possible to understand the different effects of transformational and transactional leaders on commitment. By emphasizing the symbolic and expressive aspects of task—goal efforts and the important values involved, the transformational leader makes a moral statement.

Under the trans- formational leader, participation in the efforts becomes an expression of membership and identity with a social collective. High ex- pectations are set by the transformational leader, which induce greater commitment to the effort.

By articulating a vision or a mission, the transformational leader increases the intrinsic value of goal accomplishment. Accomplishment of the goals becomes more meaningful and consistent with the self- concepts of the followers. Emphasized also by the transformational leader is the importance of the goal as a basis for group identity, further connecting self-identity with group identity. Intuitive elements in human aspirations that go beyond rational calculations are dwelt over by the transformational leader.

If charis- matic, they personify these as desires going beyond understanding and larger than life. An irrational bond is created between the leaders and the followers, providing the followers with a way of transcending the reasonable. Charismatic and inspirational leaders instill faith in a better future for the followers in terms of their self-expression, self-evaluation, and self-consistency. Faith in a better future is an intrinsically satisfying condition in itself. The concepts of authentic and inauthentic pseudotransformational leaders were introduced in chapter 1.

Authentic transformational lead- ers are socialized. At the other extreme are coercive, pseudotransformational leaders who are personalized in outlook. They use their power to re- ward and punish in arbitrary ways to dominate their followers. They tend to be authoritarian in attitude, self-aggrandizing, and exploitive of their followers.

Manipulation, threats, and promises are used to induce compliance. Punishments may be capricious and noncontingent. Such tyrants are narcissistic, impetuous, and impulsively aggressive. They bring about obedience and compli- ance in followers, but it is less likely to be internalized.

Commitment is public but not private. He regularly used public punishment and threat to subjugate followers and provided and withheld affection and support to gain commitment Mills, They talked about universal brotherhood. Such leaders looked to developing their followers and stimulated them intellectually. They were authentic — true to them- selves and true to others. They demand unques- tioning obedience. In contrast to the commitment of followers that can be achieved by the socially oriented transformational leader, commitment under per- sonalized pseudotransformational leaders is likely to be ephemeral for most followers, lasting only as long as the leader can continue to induce fear and promise in the followers either directly or as a consequence of conditioning.

Furthermore, when commitment is a consequence of the power of a coercive leader, it may generate hostility, withdrawal, and overreaction Bass, Self-worth is enhanced. They are more committed to their roles. The meanings of their actions, roles, and identities come closer together. Transformational Dumdum, K. B Lowe, and B.

Adpated with permission. To some extent, the exceptionally high correlations between the components of transformational leadership and satisfaction are to be expected. It is important to note that there is both a form of shared method variance in followers rating their leader in terms of transformational characteristics and then sometimes rating this same leader using the MLQ outcome scales.

In addition, there may be a bleeding of these con- structs into one another i. Despite these limitations, the con- nection between transformational leadership and follower satisfaction is likely substantial, as it should be. The critical question is, does this then lead to other outcomes, such as better attendance at work, longer tenure with the organization, and better unit performance? There is some limited evidence of these connections.

For example, Martin and Epitropaki found that followers of transformational leadership demonstrated greater commitment to their organizations as evidenced by their lowered intentions to turnover. Transformational leaders gain follower trust by maintaining their in- tegrity and dedication, by being fair in their treatment of followers, and by demonstrating their faith in followers by empowering them.

Podsakoff et al. The results indicated that followers of transformational leaders were indeed better organizational citizens but that this effect was mediated by trust in and satisfaction with the leader. Pillai, Schriesheim, and Williams hypothesized that the transformational leader—follower commitment connection was medi- ated by both trust in the leader and perceptions of leader fairness. Deluga also found a connection between trust in a leader and engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors.

As more organizations make use of virtual work teams where mem- bers are connected electronically rather than face to face, the issue of leader trust becomes even more important. Avolio, Kahai, and Dodge assert that transformational leaders are better able to establish follower trust in e-teams than nontransformational leaders.

Follower satisfaction and commitment can be the result of transfor- mational leaders empowering followers. This in turn leads to both greater follower commitment and to better group performance. Jung and Sosik found just this in a study of groups of Korean workers. Dasborough and Ashkanasy assert that leadership is intrinsi- cally an emotional process, in which leaders display emotions to evoke emotional reactions in followers.

This should be particularly true for transformational and charismatic leaders, who use inspirational mo- tivation to encourage followers. Leaders presumably can affect the overall affective climate of a group and levels of job satisfaction. In a meta-analysis, Connolly and Viswesvaran demonstrated a con- nection between positive affective states and job satisfaction.

In addition, transformational leader- ship helped followers overcome the negative affect associated with instances of frustration. Kets de Vries likened a leader to a psychiatric social worker, who can become a container for the emotions of the fol- lowers. The empathy of the individually considerate leader can cause this to happen in the leader—follower relationship. This issue is discussed in psycho- dynamic perspectives on the charismatic leader e.

Perceived Leader Competence. So obedience and allegiance to the transformational leader are seen by followers as ways to ensure their own competence. Disinhibition in the followers may occur when they endow the leader with charisma and become emotionally aroused. In their excitation by the leader, their judgments may be restricted and their inhibition reduced Schiffer, The charismatic leader may become a catalyst for rationalization by the followers as they develop shared norms and fantasies about the leader and what the leader can accom- plish for them Hummel, Charismatic leadership is most likely to emerge when followers are under stress or in a state of crises.

The more general effects of transformational leadership on stress and crisis conditions are the subject of chapter 5. It is clear that transformational leaders are able to build strong follower commitment and loyalty.

In Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, Bass addresses the question of why some leaders elicit competent performance from their followers, whereas other leaders inspire extraordinary effort and outcomes. Of course, the answer is that transformational leadership makes the difference. However, there are many ways to think about leadership and performance. One approach to the study of performance is to focus on what lead- ers themselves do.

In a very simple sense, does a leader look and act like a leader? When it comes to decision making, do leaders make the correct decisions or do they make the morally right decisions?

In evaluating this type of leader performance, two general strategies are typically used. In the past 20 years, many studies have examined transformational leadership and performance in a wide variety of settings. For example, transformational leadership has been shown to relate positively to performance in U. It is important in military e. Transformational leadership is related to the effectiveness of groups of salespersons e. As was the case with the relationship between transformational leadership and follower satisfaction, leader scores on the transforma- tional leadership scales of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire MLQ substantially correlated with measures of leader effectiveness mean rs equal to or greater than.

In both cases, contingent reward also strongly correlated with leader effectiveness, although not as great in magni- tude as the transformational components, whereas the other leader- ship styles in the Full Range of Leadership FRL model e. As might be expected, the relationships between transformational leadership components and subjective measures of leader effective- ness are much stronger rs in the.

Adapted with permission. Subjective Measures Objective Measures. Transformational Charisma Lowe, K. Kroek, N. Sivasubramaniam, , Leadership Quarterly, 7 3 , pp. A more recent meta-analysis by Judge and Piccolo found similar results as previous meta-analyses, with both transformational leadership and contingent reward having strong positive relationships to follower job satisfaction, satisfaction with the leader, and follower motivation corrected correlations ranging from.

As expected, rela- tionships between management-by-exception and laissez-faire leader- ship and follower satisfaction and performance ranged from slightly positive to negative. Importantly, and consistent with previous results, transformational leadership had an augmentation effect when control- ling for the effects of transactional leadership. In summary, it appears that transformational leadership positively affects performance, regardless of whether performance is conceptu- alized as what others in the unit or organization i.

The critical element is to understand the process of how transformational leaders affect fol- lower and unit performance. Shamir et al. The resulting performance is beyond what would be motivated by other forms of leadership, such as purely transactional behavior. Broken down, this theory suggests several me- diators affecting the relationship between transformational leadership and exceptional performance.

Third, shared or aligned goals and values are key to motivating follower performance. Finally, the transformational leader empowers followers to perform beyond expectations. It may very well be the case that transformational leadership not only increases the performance of individuals and groups but also may work to lessen the impact of counterproductive work behaviors, presumably because transformational leaders are able to get followers committed to collec- tive goals, rather than just to their own personal goals.

In another study, transformational leadership had a positive impact on the sense of work group potency i. Aligned Goals and Values. In a study of workers in a disaster relief organization, transformational leadership as measured by the MLQ was related to the alignment of leader and follower values Krishnan, Barling et al.

We have already seen that transformational leadership is related to follower commitment and job satisfaction and that it is partially medi- ated by leader fairness and trust in the leader. As Shamir et al. In a straightforward experiment designed to test this hypothesis, Jung and Avolio had groups of students work on a brainstorming task. Groups were assigned a confederate leader, who was either trained to display a transformational or a transactional leadership style.

Objective measures of quantity and quality of task output were also obtained. The results clearly supported the positive relationships between transforma- tional leadership and trust and value congruence. However, trust and value congruence only partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and performance, suggesting that other mediators exist. Hoyt and Blascovich found that transactional leaders elicited greater quantitative performance, whereas transformational leaders elicited greater qualitative performance.

They suggest that trust medi- ated the relationship between transformational leadership and quality of work. Rather than focusing on performance only in quantitative terms, transformational leadership should also have a positive impact on the quality of follower and group performance.

Moreover, groups with transformational leaders reported higher levels of perceived per- formance, extra effort, and satisfaction. Jung found that trans- formational leaders promote higher levels of creativity, as measured by the divergent thinking of group members, than did transactional leaders. Research by Jung, Chow, and Wu suggests how transforma- tional leadership might affect creativity.

In later chapters, we detail how transformational leadership contrib- utes to coping with stress and crisis conditions, how transformational leaders help initiate and implement change processes, and how trans- formational leaders develop the leadership capacity of followers. Par- adoxically, highly committed employees, for instance, those who take their work home with them at night and are highly ego involved in their work, may experience more stress than those who are indiffer- ent to their work.

Thus, another indicator of the effectiveness of transformational leadership involves reducing feelings of stress as well as providing the tools to help followers cope with stress and crisis. Indeed, as we show in the next chapter, transactional leader- ship increases feelings of stress, whereas transformational leadership decreases such feelings.

Transformational Leadership and Implementing Change. Trans- formational leadership, particularly its charismatic elements, has been associated with producing change in groups and organizations. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little research directly examin- ing how transformational leadership affects change in organizations.

However, a recent study by Waldman, Javidan, and Varella found that CEO charisma and intellectual stimulation as measured by the MLQ were related to strategic organizational change and to company performance. We explore how transformational leadership affects an organization in chapters 7 and 9. Transformational Leadership and Developing Leaders. A core element of transformational leadership is the development of follow- ers to enhance their capabilities and their capacity to lead.

Thus, transformational leaders likely serve as mentors, and mentors likely exhibit various degrees of transformational leadership behavior. Sosik et al. Sosik and Godshalk found that transformational leaders were more likely than nontransformational leaders to provide good mentoring e.

In addition, transformational leadership tended to have a stress-buffering effect on followers such that proteges of transforma- tional leaders reported less job-related stress. We explore more fully the relationship between transformational leadership and stress and crisis in the next chapter. A common criticism and misconception of transformational leader- ship is that it is all smoke and mirrors— a feel-good type of leadership that leads to happy followers but does not affect group performance.

However, it is clear that transformational leadership does indeed affect group performance, regardless of whether performance is measured subjectively or by more objective means. Moreover, transformational leadership does lead to performance beyond expectations in relation to transactional leadership.

The terrorist attack of September 11, , on the World Trade Cen- ter was one of the greatest modern crises to strike any U. It offered the opportunity for leaders to demonstrate transformational leadership under a time of serious emergency and stress.

In the days and weeks that followed, he would conduct several press conferences in the vicinity of the destroyed towers, attend many funerals and memorial services, and maintain what seemed like a ubiquitous presence in the city.

His visibility, combined with his decisiveness, candor, and compassion, lifted the spirits of all New York- ers— indeed, of all Americans. Argenti, , p. Leaders can help their groups cope with stress in many ways. For instance, individuals, groups, or organizations may be paralyzed into inertia and disbelief when faced with a crisis in which they are seri- ously threatened. Such was the case on September 11, Transformational leaders may also do better in a crisis because, unlike directive or transactional leaders who focus on short-term re- sults and who may be prone to hasty, poorly thought-out decisions, transformational leaders are more likely to delay premature choices among options.

Through extensive discussion, the team decided not to follow other airlines in cutting back personnel and services, instead taking a long-term strategy of continuing to offer reliable service, which paid off for the airline. When action is called for, the transformational leader in a crisis can use inspirational appeals to arouse and motivate followers.

FDR needed to motivate support for U. When their followers are engaged in defensive avoidance, trans- formational leaders bring them back to reality. Panic can be reduced or avoided by inspirational leadership that points the way to safety.

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Albrecht, Chad O. Albrecht IM Fraud examination 3e W. Charles Moyer, James R. Houghtalen Ned H. Hirt Stanley B. Alexander F. Sharpe V. Coduto A. Mathis, John H. Mathis John H. Brigham, Phillip R. Choi Gary K. Charles Sawyer Richard L. Needles, Jr. Goldstein Jon C. Megginson, Scott B. Constraints or opportunities. The pressure of morden life, coupled with the demand of the job, can lead to emotional imbalances that are collectively labled stress.

However, stress is not always unpleasant. A recent report by National Association of Mental Health distinguishes between stress and pressure, where pressure can be defined as a He defines this stress as a state manifested by a syndrome which consists of all non specifically induced changes in a biologic system. It is increasing continuously day by day due to globalization and global economic crisis.

It creates the fight or flight response in the brain, the stress hormone then circulates in the blood stream which causes the heart to speed up, the arteries to narrow and blood sugar to rise. Hans Selye in his classic book The Stress of Life briefly described the stress reactivity as a three-phase process termed the general adaptation syndrome as follows: Phase 1: Alarm Reaction The body shows the changes characteristic of the first exposure to stressor.

At the same time, its resistance is diminished and, if the stressor is sufficiently strong severe burns, extremes of temperature , death may result. Phase 2: Stage of Resistance Resistance ensues if continued exposure to the stressor is compatible with adaptation. The bodily signs characteristic of the alarm reaction have virtually disappeared and resistance rises above normal.

The signs of the alarm reaction reappear, but now they are irreversible, and the individual dies Greenberg Acute Stress: Acute stress is your body's immediate reaction to a new challenge, event, or demand -- the fight or flight response. As the pressures of a near-miss automobile accident, an argument with a family member or a costly mistake at work sink in, your body turns on this biological response. Acute stress isn't always caused by negative stress; it's also the experience you have when riding a roller coaster or having a person jump out at you in a haunted house.

Isolated episodes of acute stress should not have any lingering health effects. In fact, they might actually be healthy for you -- as these stressful situations give your body and brain practice in developing the best response to future stressful situations. Chronic Stress If acute stress isn't resolved and begins to increase or lasts for long periods of time, it becomes chronic stress.

Chronic stress can be detrimental to your health, as it can contribute to several serious diseases or health risks, such as heart disease, cancer, lung disease, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.

Emotional Stress The pain of emotional stress can hit harder than some other types of stress. For example, the stress that comes from a conflicted relationship tends to bring a greater physical reaction and a stronger sense of distress than the stress that comes from being busy at work. Therefore, it is important to be able to manage emotional stress in effective ways. Strategies that help you to process, diffuse, and build resilience toward emotional stress can all work well, and different approaches can work in different situations.

Here are some ways to manage emotional stress. One worry about the number of things that one has to do, and fear that will fail to achieve something important. One might feel tr4apped, unhappy or even hopeless. This stress is common in all facets of lives. Time management skills have been advocated over the years as a useful tool in coping with this kind of stress. Situational Stress This stress occurs in a scary situation that one has no control over. This stress is not anticipated by the individual and as such it is always sudden.

Conflict has been identified as the major causes of situational stress and effective conflict resolution skills have equally been identified as a possible way out. It is important to learn how to know when our stress levels are out of control. Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, and everyone experiences stress differently. The stress response, also called the fight or flight response, first described by Cannon, refers to the physiological and emotional changes brought on by stress hormones in response to certain situational or event stressors Cannon Stress associated with positive events, helps us respond effectively in times of trauma.

It also increases our performance or efficiency in ordinary times. On the other hand distress tends to block our performance, create health problems, increase anxiety and depression, and reduce optimal efficiency Selye The presence of stress can be divided into three different categories; i Physiological, ii Behavioral and iii Psychological. Your body releases adrenalin to prepare you for action. Examples range from immediate, external danger such as a fire or a car speeding towards you to a self-imposed situation such as a job interview or first date.

Your body begins to release stored sugars and fats, using up its resources. For example, a long-term deadline at work, or a drawn-out divorce may lead to Level 2 stress. Your body cannot produce the energy resources it needs and the on-going strain can cause dysfunctions and breakdowns.

An unsatisfying and highly demanding job or caring for a disabled family member could potentially cause this kind of stress. In some people, stress may lead to a narrowed from of attention, reduced flexibility in thinking, poor concentration and less effective memory storage.

Such effects are far from inevitable. Mandler, B. Shock and disorientation: Sever stress can leave people dazed and confused. Horowitz, in these states people tends to feel emotionally numb and they respond in a flat, apathetic fashion to events around theme. Burnout: Burnout is a buzzword for the eighties. The physical exhaustion includes chronic figure, weakness, and low energy.

The emotional exhaustion is manifested in highly negative attitudes towards oneself. Physical problems and illness: The existence of connection between stress and certain kinds of physical illness has long been recognized. Examples of illness that have long been viewed as stress-related are asthma, hypertension, migraine headache, and ulcers.

Positive effects The beneficial effects of stress are more difficult to pinpoint than the harmful effects because they tend to be more subtle. Life would be very dull indeed if it were altogether devoid of challenge. There is evidence Suedfeld, that an intermediate level of simulation and challenge tends to be optimal for most people. Although most of us think of stress in terms of stimulus overload, it is clear that under load can be extremely unpleasant as well. Basically, personal growth refers to movement toward greater psychological health.

Stress must some time force us to develops new skill, learn new insights, and acquire new strengths. In other words, the adaption process initiated by stress may often lead to personal changes for the better.

If stressful experience is moderate in intensity and does not overwhelm us, it may increase our subsequent stress tolerance. In light of negative effects that stress can have improved stress tolerance is a desirable outcome. And things are not easy for her on the work front either. After all the modern workplace comes with its own share of tensions. The multiple-roles that women find themselves compelled to play these days, often bring about a major energy leak both at the physical as well as psychological level.

One might argue that men too face stressful situations at the workplace. True enough, but then very few men are called upon to give their hundred percent equally at home and at work. No one says that life should always be a smooth ride sans pressures and stress. In fact there is a school of thought which claims moderate amounts of stress is like the rev up act, enhancing performance and producing exhilaration.

It even contributes to attaining goals and fulfilling commitments. It's the "I'm going over the edge," kind of stress that must be competently dealt with soon enough. So how does one win over stress?

First of all, ask yourself how much time have you carved for yourself in a day, doing the things that make you most happy?

Second, find ways to add energy to your life. Eat a wholesome breakfast, exercise a little and drink plenty of water. Identify whether you are a morning or an evening person and learn to capitalize on your best work times. The next step would be to plug the source of your energy leak.

Is it your home situation, office environment, co-workers, workload, or lack of team participation that's getting to you? Make a short list of priorities and stick to them. Get organized, ticking off chores that have got to be completed. Remember to keep yourself centered so that you don't feel overcome by guilt when you say 'no' to someone asking an inconvenient favour of you. Finally, create a realistic action plan that includes you in a big way as you balance your life and set goals that are important to you.

Women who overextend themselves might find it helpful to actually schedule time for themselves. Remember, you don't need to make yourself more important than anyone else, but you do need to consider yourself at least as important as everyone else. It has been described as an emotional experience associated with nervousness, tension and strain, brought about by factor related to work. Job stress affects both men and women, although there are some gender differences in certain aspects.

A report in found the odds of association of cumulative job stress with poor mental Health conditions like anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue among women to be 1. In general, women are more likely than men to experience physical symptoms of stress, such as fatigue, irritability, headaches and depression. Women are also more likely than men to cope with job stress with unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits. Well over half of the caregivers in the United States are women and 59 percent are also employed.

Specifically, women are the primary caretakers of children, including children who have a chronic illness such as asthma now the leading cause of school absence as well as the cause of more than 15 million days of less productive work or absences per year.

Overall, working women who are also caregivers often face work adjustments, including reduced hours, taking leaves of absence and even quitting their jobs, according to a report sponsored by The National Alliance for Caregivers. Not surprisingly, women are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to report the benefits of having employer-provided support systems that offer counseling or support groups.

Low salaries, lack of opportunity for advancement and heavy workloads have more than one- third of Americans reporting feeling chronic work stress.

And women are feeling it more acutely than ever. After decades of making progress in the work force, many women are feeling less valued than men, according to a recent APA survey on Stress in the Workplace. Take a look at the healthcare industry as one example.