The concept and role of stress in human life - abstract. The concept of stress

The concept of stress

And now the term "stress" has become very popular and has become a source of justified concern for company leaders. This is one of the most "expensive" types of costs for the company, negatively affecting both the health of employees and the company's profits.

Stress is a general term applicable to all forms of pressure experienced by individuals. Despite the existence of numerous definitions and disagreements about the term stress, it can be considered that it is “an adaptive reaction mediated by individual differences and / or psychological processes, which is a response to any external influence, situation or event that places increased psychological demands on a person. and/or physical nature. Demonstration of stress can be physiological, psychological and behavioral reactions caused by the initial downward assessment of the situation.

Stress in the workplace can be caused by a high level of demands and a low level of control over the work process. It is connected, first of all, with the changes that are caused by the interaction of people and their work.

Stress is the result of interaction between a person and the environment . It should be remembered that stress covers not only the emotional and psychological, but also the physical sphere of a person. Stress factors are both in the reality surrounding a person and in his psychological environment. We distinguish between working and non-working factors that can be sources of stress.

Work stressors

There are many reasons why people try to reduce the amount of stressors that surround them and.) the workplace. From the point of view of a person's personal perspective, a robot can even be dangerous for his mental and physical condition. Let’s take a look at the top five stress factors:

1) professional factors;

2) role conflict;

3) the opportunity to participate;

4) responsibility for people;

5) organizational factors.

Professional factors

Some professions are more stressful than others. For example, chemical workers exposed to toxic elements have more health problems than municipal employees. It has also been proven that people engaged in routine work are more prone to anger, discontent, depression and fatigue than people associated with physical labor.

Works with a high degree of risk require significant psychological responsibility and increased self-control from a person. People in such jobs, such as air traffic controllers, are constantly in a state of tension, since the price of their mistake is very high.

Role conflict

Conflicts and uncertainty at work have a strong impact on staff. A person is more efficient when he works in calm conditions, knows what is expected of him and presented; its requirements do not contradict each other.

A role conflict occurs when a person cannot cope with all assignments and types of work due to their inconsistency. For example, if a student is supposed to be in math class on Wednesday and an English test is scheduled for the same time, he will not be able to do two types of work at the same time.

From the point of view of the source of requirements for a person, intra-role, inter-role and personal role conflicts are distinguished.

Intra-role conflict is the unfulfilled expectations of one person giving a task to a subordinate. A manager, for example, may expect subordinates to increase productivity without creating the proper conditions for this.

Role conflict occurs when two or more people make incompatible demands on an individual. For example, the quality control manager wants the inspector to reject more products, while the production manager insists on increasing output and, consequently, on reducing the number of rejected parts.

Personal role conflict occurs when an organizational culture conflicts with an employee's values. In most organizations, personal conflict is not a major problem, as individuals who have serious disagreements with organizational values tend to leave the job.

Role ambiguity increases the likelihood of a role conflict. Role uncertainty is uncertainty about other people's expectations. This kind of uncertainty may be due to the fact that the employee does not have a clear idea of what is required of him. For example, such a situation is possible when a person comes to a new place and tries to understand what he needs to do. In addition, role ambiguity occurs when it is not entirely clear how one person is evaluated by another. This happens when work standards, norms and rules are not clear or there is no feedback from colleagues at work.

Work overload and underload are also stressors. Overload occurs when demands are excessively high and do not match human capabilities. Underload is associated with a situation where a person in the workplace cannot realize their full potential. People characterize such work as boring and monotonous. As a rule, such work is associated with low satisfaction and alienation.

Possibility of participation

Managers who are heavily involved in organizational affairs and decision-making experience much less stress, anxiety, and fear than those who are less involved in the process. First, participation in decision-making and commitment to work lead to low conflict and reduce uncertainty. Secondly, a high degree of participation allows the Human to control the stress factors in his environment, or simply ignore them, since there is simply no time for any reaction.

Responsibility for the people

Responsibility for others can lead to stress. If for some reason the leader does not trust subordinates or is not confident in his ability to manage them, then he will experience stress, as he will not be able to overcome constant doubts about the correctness of his actions. Making decisions about wages, career advancement, employee work schedules, etc. and realizing that to some extent it can affect their lives, the leader will experience uncertainty and psychological discomfort.

Organizational factors

The organization itself is a stressor. For example, some think that a mechanistic organization is too restrictive and does not maximize human potential, while an organic structure is preferable for productivity growth. There are four characteristics of the organization that are directly related to stress.

1. The job level of an employee of an organization is associated with stress. Lower-level managers are often overwhelmed, responsible for others, and are constantly faced with conflict and uncertainty. Ordinary performers also have a chance of overload and conflict due to demands placed on them and lack of resources. In turn, higher levels of management are also stressful. Managers have to work under time pressure, make smart decisions promptly, and find the optimal style of communication with subordinates.

2. The complexity of the organization is related to the rules, requirements and regulations that exist in large organizations. The tension rises as the work becomes more specialized, more levels of control appear, more restrictions are introduced.

3. Organizational change can also be an important stressor. Organizations must constantly be modified to adapt to changes in the external environment. Mergers, acquisitions, and structural changes can cause employees to feel insecure, anxious, and under a lot of stress.

4. The role of a stressor can be played by organizational boundaries, as there may be a conflict between internal factors and external pressure. For example, sales personnel must satisfy customer needs while respecting the interests of the company.

There are many differences between organizations that affect the strength of a particular stressor. In mechanistic organizations, problems of conflict can be more serious than in other structures, as it is difficult for them to deviate from the chosen course. At the same time, organic organizations are not as highly structured, leading to fewer conflicts but more role ambiguity.

Non-working stressors

There is a direct connection between stress reactions and non-working factors, which include changes in life structure, social support, personal control, behavioral types, self-esteem, psychological stability, abilities.

Change in life structure

Some natural life events can cause stress, especially if a person is in a life or career transition. For example, everyone can experience stress in the event of the death of a spouse or close family member, get into a situation where, for some reason, they have to change jobs. For example, a significant number of citizens of the former Soviet Union found themselves in a stressful situation when they were forced to change jobs and change their lifestyle during the perestroika period.

One approach to assessing the impact of such changes on a person is the social adjustment scale created by Gomas Holmes and Richard Rahe. They asked people how long and hard they went through 40 different stressful events, and then ranked the results. In table. 1 shows some of these events and their weights, reflecting the degree of stressful impact of these events on a person. For example, the death of a spouse is more stressful than changing jobs. Non-work events have a greater impact on the occurrence of stress than work events.

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Introduction

1 The concept of stress. The main causes of stress

1.1 The concept of stress

1.2 Main causes of stress

1.3 Stress factors

1.4 Signs of stress

2 The role of stress in human life

2.1 Characteristics of the insurance company "Northern Treasury". Possible stresses of an insurance agent

2.2 Analysis of stress in the workplace on the example of employees of the insurance company "Northern Kazna"

Conclusion

List of sources used

Introduction

With the transition to complex automation of production, the role of a person as a subject of labor and management increases. A person is responsible for the efficient operation of the entire technical system, and a mistake made by him can lead in some cases to very serious consequences.

The study and design of such systems created the necessary prerequisites for the unification of technical disciplines and the sciences of man and his labor activity, led to the emergence of new research tasks. These are tasks related to the description of the characteristics of a person as a component of an automated system. We are talking about the processes of perception of information, memory, decision-making, studies of movements, problems of motivation, readiness for activity, stress.

The fashionable and at the same time frightening word “stress” (“pressure”) came to us from the world of the Inquisition, where it meant the degree of physical pressure with the help of onslaught in order to wrest a confession from the victim during torture. And, although the Inquisition has long passed, the psychological and psycho-physiological torture that we experience during times of stress not only did not pass, but even intensified in the process of civilization development. There is hardly a person today who, to one degree or another, would not experience stressful experiences. It is especially familiar to all those who work in business, in small and large companies. - from simple performers to HR managers and heads of firms. Stress knows no boundaries, it is international and permeates all states, civilizations and cultures, both the most highly developed and the poorest. According to American sociologists, approximately 20% of the costs and losses associated with staff turnover, absenteeism, resistance to organizational change and a drop in labor productivity are generated by professional neurosis and stress. American economists estimate the annual national damage from stress factors at 500 million dollars! In Russia, according to sociological surveys, every third worker experiences severe stress at least once a week, and 13% of workers - almost daily.

Everyone, who works, sets goals for himself, but does not achieve what he wanted at all (and in business this is the norm), who communicates and periodically experiences any problems in communication can trace how he goes through three stages of stress in the process of work. If the load at work exceeds his capabilities, then a person begins to experience unhealthy excitement, anxiety, some kind of painful activity that does not resolve into a healthy action, but remains at the level of unexpressed feelings. This is the first phase of stress, accompanied by a feeling of discomfort. It becomes more difficult for a person to work and communicate both with others and with himself. If we have a responsible person and a disciplined worker in front of us, then he begins to deal with stress, resist excitement and discomfort, and tries to extinguish excitement and anxiety. This struggle can be expressed in various forms - an escape from stress in any occupation and action and an irritated release of stressful experiences outside during work and communication. These two responses (“fight” and “flight”) refer to the legacy left to modern man by his primitive brother. But if at the dawn of history a person was not required to comply with the norms of civilized behavior, and it was enough to act based on the balance of power (i.e., attack in response or run away), then today you need to play a role, be politically correct and restrained.

All this determines the relevance of the topic of work, the role of stress in human life.

The purpose of this work is to study the concept of stress and its role in human life.

The subject of the study is stress in human life. The object of practical research is the insurance company "Northern Kazna", which is engaged in insurance, where professional stresses can occur.

The task of the course work is the following:

Give a complete description of the concept of stress;

Identify the causes of stress;

To study the causes and signs of stressful tension;

Describe the effects of stress in the workplace and methods for preventing and "fighting" it;

The course work includes an introduction, three chapters, each of which is divided into subchapters, a conclusion and references.

In preparing the term paper, the literature of Jewell L., Kartashova L.V., as well as periodicals - articles by Kiryanov E.N., Serdyuk V.G., Vedenyapin O. and others were widely used.

1. The concept of stress. The main causes of stress

1.1 The concept of stress

One of the most common types of affects today is stress.

Stress plays a significant role in modern life. They affect a person's behavior, his performance, health, relationships with others and in the family.

Stress is a state of excessively strong and prolonged psychological stress that occurs in a person when his nervous system receives an emotional overload.

Any event, fact or message can cause stress, i.e. become a stressor. Stressors can be a variety of factors: microbes and viruses, various poisons, high or low ambient temperatures, trauma, etc. But the same stressors can be any emotiogenic factors, i.e. factors affecting the emotional sphere of a person. This is all that can excite us, misfortune, a rude word, an undeserved insult, a sudden obstacle to our actions or aspirations. At the same time, whether this or that situation will cause stress or not depends not only on the situation itself, but also on the person, her experience, expectations, self-confidence, etc. Particularly important, of course, is the assessment of the threat, the expectation of dangerous consequences, which the situation contains.

This means that the very occurrence and experience of stress depends not so much on objective as on subjective factors, on the characteristics of the person himself: his assessment of the situation, comparing his strengths and abilities with what is required of him, etc.

Stressful situations arise both at home and at work. From a management perspective, the most interesting are the organizational factors that cause stress in the workplace. Know these factors and pay special attention to them. This will help prevent many stressful situations and increase the efficiency of managerial work, as well as achieve the goals of the organization with minimal psychological and physiological losses of personnel. After all, stress is the cause of many diseases, which means it causes significant harm to human health, while health is one of the conditions for achieving success in any activity. Therefore, the work also considers personal factors that cause stress. In addition to the causes of stress, the stress state of the body is analyzed - stress tension, its main signs and causes.

Translated from English, stress is pressure, pressure, tension. According to G. Selye, stress is a non-specific (i.e., the same to various influences) response of the body to any requirement presented to it, which helps it adapt to the difficulty that has arisen, to cope with it. Any surprise that disrupts the usual course of life can be a cause of stress. At the same time, as G. Selye notes, it does not matter whether the situation we are faced with is pleasant or unpleasant. What matters is the intensity of the need for adjustment or adaptation. As an example, the scientist cites an exciting situation: a mother who was informed of the death of her only son in battle experiences a terrible mental shock. If many years later it turns out that the message was false and the son suddenly enters the room unharmed, she will feel the greatest joy.

The specific results of the two events - grief and joy - are completely different, even opposite, but their stressful effect - the non-specific requirement of adaptation to a new situation - may be the same.

It is difficult to find a scientific term that is used as often as the word "stress". By using this term, people usually mean that they are in a state of nervous tension, that they are tired or depressed. Meanwhile, stress is not a "painful" condition at all, but a means by which the body fights against undesirable influences.

Sometimes stress can be useful, as it helps to use the resources of the body if necessary. But excessive stress leads to exhaustion, which can cause physical and mental illness. Very often people go to the doctor with complaints of physical ailments, while the real cause of their condition is stress. Stress is among the top ten causes of disease.

The most painful and dangerous is traumatic stress, which occurs as a result of such life-threatening events as wars, natural disasters, car accidents, criminal violence, etc.

1.2 Main causes of stress

Stress is a common and common occurrence. We all experience it at times—perhaps as an empty feeling in the back of our stomach when we stand up to introduce ourselves in class, or as increased irritability or insomnia during an exam session. Minor stresses are inevitable and harmless. Excessive stress is what creates problems for individuals and organizations. Stress is an integral part of human existence, you just need to learn to distinguish between an acceptable degree of stress and too much stress. Zero stress is impossible.

Currently, scientists distinguish between eustress (positive stress, which is combined with a desired effect and mobilizes the body) and distress (negative stress with an undesirable harmful effect). With eustress, cognitive processes and processes of self-awareness, comprehension of reality, and memory are activated. Distress that occurs in the work environment tends to extend to non-working hours. Such an accumulated consequence is difficult to compensate during leisure hours, it must be compensated during working hours. The most general and complete is the classification of life stress.

In the inner square, the very essence of our existence is indicated, which is called "I am strength", "mental strength", mental energy, or internal resources. This is what allows the individual to overcome the crises of life, which determines the intensity of resistance to stress. A decrease in the resource contributes to an increase in vulnerability to various stress-related disorders, such as anxiety, fear, despair, and depression.

The next area is intrapersonal stress. Most of our demands on the outside world and its effects on us are related to this kind of stress. This area is, as it were, a centrifugal force that influences all spheres of our life. If we are not at peace with ourselves, then our inner confusion, experience manifests itself in a negative attitude, impacts on the outside world and disrupts interpersonal relationships. This category of stress includes such events as unfulfilled expectations, unfulfilled needs, senselessness and aimlessness of actions, painful memories, inadequate evaluation of events, etc.

The area of interpersonal stress interacts with certain areas of life. Since each person has to constantly solve various social issues in their activities, interaction with other persons and its assessment have a significant impact on our perception, experience, attitude to events and are problems of relations between people.

Personal stress has to do with what an individual does and what happens to him when he does not perform, violates certain prescribed social roles, such as the role of a parent, husband, employee, etc. It manifests itself in connection with phenomena such as impaired health , bad habits, sexual difficulties, boredom, aging, retirement.

Family stress includes all the difficulties in maintaining a family and relationships in it - housework, marital problems, conflicts between generations, living with young people, illness and death in the family, alcoholism, divorce, etc. Work stress is usually associated with a heavy workload, lack of self-control over the result of work, role uncertainty and role conflict. Poor job security, unfair assessments of work, violation of its organization can become a source of stress. Social stress refers to problems that large groups of people are experiencing, such as economic recession, poverty, bankruptcy, racial tension and discrimination.

Environmental stress is caused by exposure to extreme environmental conditions, the expectation of such exposure or its consequences - air and water pollution, severe weather conditions, unfriendly neighbors, crowding, high noise levels, etc.

Financial stress is self-explanatory. Inability to pay bills, non-coverage of expenses with income, difficulties in obtaining debt, inconsistency in the level of salary for results of work, the occurrence of additional and financially unsecured expenses, these and other circumstances can cause stress. Intrapersonal stress deserves detailed consideration, not only because it has received insufficient attention, but also because it can be projected onto various life events and influence the attitude towards them and the behavior of the individual.

1.3 Stress factors

Factors that cause stress, or the so-called stressors that affect workers today, include:

- stressors outside the organization;

- group stress factors;

- stress factors associated with the organization;

Consider them in more detail.

Stress at work should not be limited to the events and conditions that take place directly in the workplace. Any organization is an open social system, and its elements - employees - are naturally affected by external factors, such as changes in society, economic and financial conditions, changes in their personal lives (family problems, aging, the death of a close relative, the birth of a child, etc.). P.).

Thus, it can be said that a poor financial situation can encourage people to take on additional work, resulting in reduced rest time and increased stress. Family crises are also a serious stress factor for workers. There is also evidence that in families where both spouses work, a husband who is under stress can “transfer” his stress to his wife.

The group stress factors include the following:

1) lack of group cohesion - the lack of an opportunity for an employee to feel like a member of a team due to the specifics of the workplace, due to the fact that the manager does not allow or limits this opportunity, or because other members of the group do not accept him into their ranks, can be a source high stress, especially for employees with a high desire for affiliation;

2) the presence of intrapersonal, interpersonal and intragroup conflicts - the presence of serious contradictions or incompatibility of individual characteristics of the employee's personality, for example, his personal goals, needs, values, with socially approved ones in the group where he works, which means that he is forced to constantly be, communicate, interact is also a major stress factor.

The causes of work-related stress have been studied for a long time, and the list of potential stressors is long. It contains physical factors that turn the workplace into a hostile environment (elevated temperature, noise, crowding, etc.), as well as a host of psychosocial factors due to a specific combination of labor, organizational and social characteristics of the workplace. The most well-established stressors associated with the work environment include:

Uncertainty about the future - for many workers, a constant stressor is the fear of losing their job due to layoffs, inadequate performance, age, or for other reasons;

The inability to influence one's work - as many researchers note, the extent to which a person influences his work can be associated with a stressful state. Monotonous mechanical work and responsibility for things that people cannot influence are especially stressful factors for some workers;

The nature of the work performed - the complexity of the tasks to be solved, independence in work, the degree of responsibility, working conditions: the degree of danger in the performance of work, the noise level, etc., as shown by the results of numerous studies, can also be attributed to factors that often provoke stress among workers ;

Role ambiguity and role conflict are both conditions most often perceived as stressors. Here, role ambiguity refers to uncertainty in relations with a person performing a particular role, and role conflict refers to various incompatible expectations regarding significant people at work;

Specific organizational structure - for example, the matrix structure of the organization, which involves dual subordination, is often a source of stress for an employee who is forced to simultaneously carry out the orders of two managers;

Stressful management style - frequent use of methods of unjustified pressure and threats is one of the strongest stress factors for subordinates;

Work Schedule Pressure - Shift work, and staggered work in particular, often creates a need for a range of psychological and extra-work related changes that are potential stressors. On the other hand, a very busy work schedule, which makes it difficult or impossible to simultaneously meet production and personal needs, can also be a strong stressor for people in a variety of work situations.

All of the above conditions are potential stressors, not factors that automatically cause stress. Reactions to these stress factors are individual. Sensitivity (sensitivity) or stress resistance (tolerance) is influenced by a number of situational and personality variables.

The above factors (extra-organizational and group) in a certain sense manifest themselves at the level of the individual. Studies also show that the development of stress is influenced by both individual situational factors and the nature and characteristics of the personality.

For example, for a person who is unable to set clear priorities for himself, the need to coordinate the roles of an employee and a family member (when the time factor and the corresponding requirements at work conflict with the requirements of the family and vice versa) can become a severe stressful situation.

As factors contributing to susceptibility to stress, researchers also name such individual character traits as authoritarianism, rigidity, imbalance, emotionality, excitability, psychological stability and the need for achievements, etc. However, most attention has been paid to the nature of the so-called type A.

As early as the 1950s, experts in cardiovascular disease took up the study of various types of character and corresponding behavioral patterns in order to predict the possibility of heart attacks. In the late 1960s Friedman and Rosenman began to study polarity types A and B in terms of susceptibility to stress. They defined the Type A personality as “the combination of action and emotion that can be observed in every person in a state of constant and tireless struggle to do more and more in the shortest possible time and even, if necessary, against the efforts of other people and circumstances. ". Initially, on the basis of research, it was considered that type A is most susceptible to stress and one of its most serious consequences - heart attacks.

However, some modern studies do not confirm these data. Such results may be due to the fact that type A people, while often "designing" stressful situations for themselves, at the same time usually know how to release their stress and cope better with it than type B people. It is believed that susceptibility to stress contributes not so much the type A impatience as anger, hostility and aggressiveness.

Another important personality trait is the individual's perception of control over the situation. Although control over the situation in the workplace is often institutionalized, phenomena such as the individual's predisposition to take responsibility and the so-called "learned helplessness syndrome", the seminal study of which was carried out by Seligman, cannot be ignored.

Important factors are also:

The nature of the stressor is one of the most important situational factors that determine how people react; the fear of losing a job is probably a greater stressor than, for example, being assigned an unwanted shift. But this factor is not some exclusive threat that causes the occurrence of stress; A combination of different factors can just as well lead to stress. Small daily annoyances, superimposed on each other, can lead to the same result as in the case of any one serious event.

The combination of present and non-present stressors is also important in determining individual responses. Bad relationships with colleagues and others at work, for example, are a potential source of stress, but it has also been pointed out that good relationships can help reduce negative reactions to other stressors.

The duration of exposure to a stressor is another situational factor influencing individual sensitivity. The daily lack of opportunity to influence the demands of work is more likely to lead to stress than temporary overload at work, caused, for example, by the illness of a colleague. Finally, as the researchers point out, the predictability of the stressor is also important: unpredictable stressors are more likely to cause negative reactions.

1.4 Signs of stress

By reducing the efficiency and well-being of the individual, excessive stress is costly for organizations. Many employee problems that affect both their earnings and performance, as well as the health and well-being of employees, are rooted in psychological stress. Stress directly and indirectly increases the costs of achieving organizational goals and reduces the quality of life for large numbers of workers.

Signs of stress

1. Inability to focus on something.

2. Too frequent mistakes in work.

3. Memory worsens.

4. Too often there is a feeling of fatigue.

5. Very fast speech.

6. Thoughts often disappear.

7. Quite often there are pains (head, back, stomach area).

8. Increased excitability.

9. Work does not bring the same joy.

10. Loss of sense of humor.

11. The number of cigarettes smoked is sharply increasing.

12. Addiction to alcoholic beverages.

13. Constant feeling of malnutrition.

14. Appetite disappears - the taste for food is generally lost.

15. Inability to finish work on time.

Causes of stress.

1. Much more often we have to do not what we would like, but what is necessary, which is part of our duties.

2. Constantly there is not enough time - we do not have time to do anything.

3. Something or someone is pushing us, we are constantly in a hurry somewhere.

4. It begins to seem that everyone around is caught in the grip of some kind of internal tension.

5. We constantly want to sleep - we just can’t get enough sleep.

6. We dream too much, especially when we are very tired during the day.

7. We smoke a lot.

8. Drinking more alcohol than usual.

9. We don't like almost anything.

10. At home, in the family - constant conflicts.

11. There is a constant feeling of dissatisfaction with life.

12. We make debts without even knowing how to pay them off.

13. An inferiority complex appears.

14. There is no one to talk to about your problems, and there is no particular desire.

15. We do not feel respect for ourselves - neither at home nor at work.

2 The role of stress in human life

2.1 Characteristics of the insurance company "Northern Treasury". Possible stresses of an insurance agent

In 1992, two graduates of the Sverdlovsk Law Institute - Yuri Sorokin and Konstantin Kozlov created the CENTER insurance company, which, despite its loud name, did not take a leading position in the market, due to its inability to compete with Gosstrakh. In early 1994, Mr. Kozlov received an offer from VF Frolov, chairman of the board of Severnaya Kazna Bank, which had existed since 1992, to buy an insurance company. The amount of the deal is still kept secret. The insurance company acquired a new name "Northern Treasury" and joined the financial group of the same name.

At the beginning of the journey, only seven people worked for the insurance company. There were few contracts. But already in the summer of 1994, the first employees of the insurance department were hired. The company's management decides on the development of personal types of insurance: property of individuals (insurance of transport and household property). Since 1995, in parallel with the insurance company, there was a medical company "NORTH KAZNA - M". Its functions included the development of voluntary health insurance, the promotion and lobbying of compulsory health insurance, as well as the provision of medical services. Merenkov Alexander Vladimirovich was the General Director of the company.

In the fall of 1996, two companies merged - insurance and medical. A. V. Merenkov became the General Director of IC "NORTH KAZNA". With the advent of a new progressive-minded top manager, the life of Kazna has intensified. There is a rapid growth in the percentage of contracts, especially that part of the insurance portfolio that concerns individuals.

The geographical expansion of the company is also underway: departments "UKTUS", "Elmash", an office on the street. Sony Morozova, 190. Geographic expansion is also taking place in the region: in the city of Polevskoy, the local branch of the ASKO insurance company is merged into the Northern Treasury, and all communications developed by employees are preserved. A branch is opened in Nizhny Tagil - an employee of ASKO goes to work at Severnaya Kazna and organizes an agent network. A branch is opened in Kamensk-Uralsky.

In 1998, IC Severnaya Kazna ranked third in terms of insurance after Gosstrakh and ASKO. But it happens DEFAULT. IC Severnaya Kazna also suffered: the situation especially affected the insurance of people traveling abroad, cars and household property. After all, tariffs were calculated at one price, prices rose, and payments had to be paid completely different. It was very difficult. And, nevertheless, the company not only survived, but, having managed to reorganize in time, took a significant share of the market in Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region, opened branches in other cities.

The year 2003 for IC "NORTH KAZNA" passed under the sign of compulsory motor third party liability insurance (OSAGO). The efforts of the top management of the company to join the Russian Union of Motor Insurers were not in vain, the company was the first of the regional insurers of the Sverdlovsk region to receive a license for OSAGO, moreover, on June 10, before the entry into force of the Law. (The law came into force on July 1). From July 1 to January 10, 2003, the company insured about 70,000 clients under OSAGO and paid out 10.57 million rubles.

In 2005, a branch was opened in Chelyabinsk. In addition, the IC "NORTH KAZNA" successfully passed the stage of reorganization, a matrix management system and business process management were introduced, a contact center was opened, a CRM system was installed and an internal website was created for the company's employees to maintain communication links.

In 2006, the company introduced new insurance products to the market: updated package transport insurance, Sezon (home property insurance for vacations), an improved Antiklesh program and Avtoreserve (voluntary civil liability insurance for car owners. In 2006, an active reorganization took place divisions in the Sverdlovsk region so that the "enlarged" offices could provide customers with more qualified and high-quality assistance in case of insured events. In Moscow and Perm, divisions of IC "SEVERNAYA KAZNA" were opened. The restructuring was also carried out as part of the company's main strategy - to maintain the policy fair payouts and become a benchmark in customer service.

The main event of 2007 is the affiliation of IC "Gamma" to the IC "NORTH KAZNA". Recall that the merger occurred for the following reasons: in Gazprom (Uralgazinvest, which owned Gamma, is a structure of Uraltransgaz, which in turn is a structure of Gazprom), there was a campaign to get rid of non-core assets, so a decision was made sell the insurance company. In the process of negotiations, the buyer was IC "SEVERNAYA KAZNA". Gamma joined the NORTHERN KAZNA with all debt obligations and assets. Also significant was the restructuring of assets: the insurance company KRONA, which specializes in voluntary medical insurance, was sold, a part of the company MEDINCOM was acquired, and the medical center SK-Med was acquired.

The company continued its territorial expansion into the regions: a representative office of the company was opened in Magnitogorsk. A new sales office "Ural" (P. Togliatti, 28a) began work in Yekaterinburg, as well as a division in the city of Berezovsky. In 2007, the existing insurance products were modified. This year, the company has been actively investing in automation. Now many processes are automated, and it has become easier for customers to work with us. The company has become more accessible on the Internet, both to customers through an external site and to employees through an internal site. A project is underway to accept applications for insurance payments through our contact center, that is, customers can apply online, by phone, send a letter by mail or come to the company's office. In addition, in 2007, a quality service appeared - a separate structural unit that controls business processes and the quality of service for external and internal customers.

In 2008, for the first time, the annual collection of IC "NORTH KAZNA" exceeded one billion rubles, the company collected 1,074.012 million rubles (of which 773.022 million rubles were for voluntary types of insurance; 300.990 million rubles for OSAGO). In 2008, IC "NORTH KAZNA" celebrated its 15th anniversary. Numerous events and promotions for customers were dedicated to this holiday, such as “Sale Days”, “Magic of Numbers” and “Business”. During these campaigns, customers purchased insurance on very favorable terms.

It was in 2008 that IC "NORTH KAZNA" received the title of "Best Regional Insurance Company in the Ural Federal District in 2007" ("Golden Salamander").

2.2 Analysis of stress in the workplace on the example of employees of the insurance company "Northern Kazna"

Employees of the insurance company often have to deal with difficult situations related not only to personal circumstances, but also the forcing need to withstand the burden of information and problems of their clients on a daily basis, which often eventually leads to stressful situations. Based on this, let's consider professional stress, problems that arose at the initial stage of development of this insurance company "Severnaya Kazna".

To determine the impact of stress on a person, we analyze two employees of an insurance company: insurance agent Kuznetsov O.Yu., accountant Baranova E.P.

In order to withstand the psychological stress and not become a victim of professional stress (namely, this is what experts call the condition associated with situations that arise at work), it is necessary first of all to “know the enemy by sight”. After all, the consequences of stress can be very serious. The resulting tension spoils life and harms health, affects professional success and interpersonal relationships. Of course, you are unlikely to be able to completely avoid stressful influences, but you can minimize them, learn how to respond to them correctly and not allow them to significantly affect your life.

The work of an insurance agent causes a daily collision with stressful situations. The reasons that can cause stressful situations in the professional life of an insurance agent can be divided into several groups. The first of them includes internal experiences: fear of failure, self-doubt and others. Of course, novice insurance agents most often face such problems, but for aces they do not lose their relevance. “Will it be possible to find clients?”, “Will it be possible to get a meeting with him?”, “What if the deal does not go through?”. As a result, the concentration of mental strength occurs around the solution of far from the most important tasks. Psychologists believe that the correct formulation of the question already helps to cope with self-doubt.

The second group of reasons that cause stressful situations is related to the fact that the work of an agent involves constant interaction with a variety of people. The main actor, and therefore the main source of stress, for the agent is the client. Situations that can cause stress are many. First, the work of an agent often involves a one-on-one meeting with a client. In this situation, the agent has no one to share responsibility with and it is impossible to get support from colleagues. Secondly, the agent needs to follow the standards of behavior, no matter how polite and tactful the client is. Obviously, not every client is a standard of politeness. Numerous sociopsychological studies show that unfounded and unfair accusations from clients are one of the strongest stress factors.

Other problems arise, and among them one of the most common is the emergence of an emotional attachment to the client. You can, for example, “get used” to regular customers and get upset and “bored” if such a client does not appear in the company for a long time or does not agree to a meeting. Of course, this happens unconsciously, but psychological research shows that such emotions can be strong enough to interfere with communication with other clients.

The stress factor is the inclusion of the agent in the emotional state of the client. A client may worry about a lot of serious and not very serious problems, starting with a broken heel and ending with the wedding of a son or the illness of a relative. And very often he does not hide the reasons for his anxiety at all. On the contrary, most clients willingly share their problems and experiences with agents. But you need to be able to defend yourself from other people's problems.

Even more stressful, but also inevitable in the work of an agent, are situations that can lead to frustration. For example, you spent a lot of effort, familiarized the client with your proposals, and he expressed his willingness to close the deal. You call at the appointed time and find out that the deal has already been closed with your competitor. Unpleasant, but disappointment will be much less if you try to use this situation for work.

And another important stress factor. Often the agent has to experience frustration and get rejected. Responding calmly to many failures is also part of professionalism.

To determine the psychological state of the tested employees of the company, testing and analysis of their behavior were carried out. The test contained the following questions:

1. Try to determine how much you feel about the following events. Rate each event on a 10-point system, putting any number from “1” (it doesn’t hurt at all) to “10” (very disturbing and annoying):

1.1 High prices (for transport, food, clothing)

1.2 Sudden bad weather, rain, snow

1.3 The car that spattered you with mud

1.4 Strict, unfair boss (teacher, parent)

1.5 Government, deputies, administration

2. Mark on a 10-point system which of the following qualities are inherent in you (10 points - if this property is very pronounced in you, 1 - if it is absent).

2.1 Overly serious attitude to life, study, work

2.2 Shyness, timidity, shyness

2.3 Fear of the future, thoughts about possible troubles and problems

2.4 Poor, restless sleep

2.5 Pessimism, the tendency to notice mostly negative traits in life

3. How do your stresses manifest themselves on your health (evaluate the signs on a 10-point scale):

3.1 Palpitations, heart pain

3.2 Labored breathing

3.3 Problems with the gastrointestinal tract

3.4 Muscle tension or trembling

3.5 Headaches, fatigue

4. How typical is the use of the following stress relief techniques for you (mark on a 10 point system, where “1” is not typical at all, and “10” - I almost always use it).

4.1 Alcohol

4.2 Cigarettes

4.3 TV

4.4 Delicious food

4.5 Aggression (to throw out evil on another person)

5. How typical is the use of the following stress relief techniques for you (mark on a 10 point system, where “1” is not typical at all, and “10” - I almost always use it)

5.1 Sleep, rest, change of activity

5.2 Communication with friends or loved one

5.3 Physical activity (running, swimming, football, rollerblading, skiing, etc.)

5.4 Analysis of your actions, search for other options

5.5 Changing your behavior in this situation

6. How has your constant stress level changed over the past three years? (mark V).

Significantly decreased-20

Decreased slightly -10

Has not changed 0

Slightly increased +10

Significantly increased +20

Calculation of results:

In fact, this stress evaluates the level of stress sensitivity - an indicator that is the opposite of stress resistance. Therefore, the higher the performance of this test, the lower the person's stress sensitivity.

Sum the results on the first 4 scales. You will receive an amount that will vary from 20 to 200 points. This is a basic indicator of stress sensitivity. The value of this indicator in the range from 70 to 100 points can be considered satisfactory.

Then the indicator of dynamic sensitivity to stress is calculated. To do this, the sum of the results for item 5 is subtracted from the base result (it shows the ability to resist stress with the help of adequate behavior).

Then, the indicator of the 6th point (with + or -) is added to the result obtained, depending on the choice of the subject. If stress has bothered a person less lately, then the result will be negative and the final result will decrease, and if stress increases, then the final indicator of stress sensitivity will increase.

Table 1. - Average test results:

Interpretation on individual scales:

The first scale determines an increased reaction to circumstances that we cannot influence. Average scores are from 15 to 30 points.

The second scale shows the tendency to over-complicate things, which can lead to stress. Average scores are from 14 to 25 points.

The third scale is predisposition to psychosomatic diseases. Average scores are from 12 to 28 points.

The fourth scale defines destructive ways of coping with stress. Average scores are from 10 to 22 points.

The fifth scale -- defines constructive ways to overcome stress. Average scores are from 23 to 35 points.

As a result of testing the insurance agent Kuznetsova O.Yew. The following signs of stress were identified:

1. Inability to focus on something specific;

2. Too frequent mistakes in work;

3. Deterioration of memory;

4. Frequent feeling of tiredness;

5. Frequent pains (head, back, stomach area);

6. A sharp increase in the number of cigarettes smoked;

7. Lack of appetite;

8. Inability to finish work on time;

9. Changeable mood.

An analysis of stressful situations and the psychological state of the accountant E.P. Baranova was also carried out.

Stressful situations for an accountant arise primarily during the reporting period. You need to prepare the documents, fill them out correctly, finally hand them over. In addition, daily shake-ups in the course of work.

The causes of stress for the accountant were also: incorrectly executed documents, delays at work, which leaves no time for personal life, conflicts with the chief accountant and other specialists.

As a result, the following signs of stress were identified:

1. Feeling of loss of control over what is happening.

2. Lack of concentration.

3. Lethargy, apathy.

4. Insomnia.

5. Too frequent mistakes in work;

6. Memory impairment;

7. Frequent feeling of tiredness.

3 Tips for managing stress in the workplace

Stress disorganizes human activity, disrupts the normal course of his behavior. Stress, especially if it is frequent and prolonged, has a negative impact not only on the psychological state, but also on the physical health of a person. They are the main "risk factors" in the manifestation and exacerbation of diseases such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.

Some life situations that cause stress can be foreseen. For example, a change in the phases of development and formation of a family, or biologically determined changes in the body that are characteristic of each of us. Other situations are unexpected and unpredictable, especially sudden ones (accidents, natural disasters, death of a loved one). There are also situations caused by human behavior, the adoption of certain decisions, a certain course of events (divorce, change of place of work or place of residence, etc.). Each of these situations can cause mental discomfort.

In this regard, a person needs good adaptive abilities that will help to survive the most difficult life situations, to withstand the most severe life tests. These adaptive abilities we ourselves can educate and improve with the help of various exercises.

It is very useful to prevent production stress by creating favorable working conditions, including good lighting, fresh ventilated air, unobtrusive and unsharp wallpaper color, and the maximum possible reduction in sound background. Where the manager does not neglect ergonomics, labor productivity and work efficiency are always higher. To prevent conflicts that lead to stress, it is useful to correctly seat employees, spreading those who are in a relationship of antipathy and antagonism to different corners of the room or placing their backs to each other. At the same time, events that unite a disparate team are good, for example, organizing children's drawing contests among employees' children with their subsequent discussion. In general, improving the microclimate in the team is one of the most important and serious methods in the company's anti-stress strategy. The first violin here is rightfully played by the head of the company, who must master the democratic style of communication. An authoritarian leader almost always becomes a source of stress for his employees. I had more than a dozen times to advise people who got "on the tooth" to the boss. Almost all of them received mental trauma of one degree or another, from which it was not so easy to free themselves later. Psychologists consider the most effective option for criticizing a subordinate to be one that is produced according to the plus-minus-plus formula. It begins with the recognition of the merits of the employee in the past and with a statement of a positive attitude towards him from the boss. Then critical remarks are made on a specific occasion, after which the leader expresses confidence that the subordinate will cope with the problem. If another formula is used, for example, "minus-plus-minus", then stress is guaranteed for many subordinates. According to psychologists, 1 minute of conflict with a leader knocks out a subordinate, on average, for 15-20 minutes. A democratic style of management with resorting to an authoritarian style only in extreme cases reduces stress in organizations.

A very important element of the company's anti-stress strategy is testing when hiring. It allows you to filter out people who are unstable to stress and prevent a large number of such workers from being gathered in a team. In my memory, there were several firms where the necessary proportion turned out to be shifted. As a result, the leaders became hostages of the situation and got out of it with huge losses. Now there are many tests for stress resistance, which are actively used during interviews with HR managers who want to find a job. As practice shows, it is important not only to identify a person's tendency to stress, but to determine his psychotype. The schizoid will experience stress in a completely different way than the epileptoid. And hysteroid and hyperthym will find fundamentally different ways to get out of a stressful experience than an asthenic. However, there are very few tests that determine the stressful psychotype of a person and help to correctly distribute people with certain character accentuations next to people with weakened stress resistance.

To combat stress, the insurance agent Kuznetsov O.Yu. and accountant Baranova E.P. the following methods can be suggested:

1. Motor activity . Exercise helps the heart and lungs do their job better. Nutrients and oxygen can more easily reach various parts of the body. Waste products are easier to remove. The enzyme system is better balanced so the muscles can be more fully relaxed. The body recovers better during sleep. Endurance increases. In a word, the whole body is significantly strengthened. In addition, under the influence of physical activity, a significant part of emotions simply “burns out”. You can recommend yoga, swimming.

2. Nutrition . It is necessary to eat more vegetables and fruits, quality cereals and less animal products. It is better to replace coffee with tea.

3. Water procedures .

4. The body recovers the more fully, the more relaxed it is. He relaxes best in a dream, which means you need to get enough sleep.

5. Suppression of negative emotions.

6. Do not get irritated when communicating with others .

7. Learn to say no. Many people don't know how to say "no". They are afraid of being thought badly of them. A clear unwillingness to comply with constant requests, and at the same time the inability to say "no" can lead to stress. Think about it, because there are people who are almost never asked for, but this makes them no less loved and respected. You are asked precisely because you agree all the time. If you calmly but decisively say that you are busy today, then no one will ever doubt. Talk like you really need to see a doctor, for example. And you don't have to apologize.

stress factors

For full functioning, a person, like any living creature, adapts to the environment. It is affected by the following groups of factors:

Physical: fluctuations in temperature, atmospheric pressure, ultraviolet radiation.
Chemical: exposure to toxins, aggressive substances.
Biological: penetration into the body of bacteria, viruses.
Mechanical, such as trauma.
Psychogenic. This group plays a special role in the life of modern man. It is because of psychogenic factors that he experiences the greatest stress. Stress at work, the fast pace of cities, difficult events in life, information load - all this affects us, if not every day, then regularly and often.

Biochemistry and the positive role of stress

Stress plays a positive role. Suppose we are affected by a conflict situation when it is necessary to act quickly - an attack by a wild animal. The sympathetic nervous system is activated, the adrenal glands secrete the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline, which increase blood pressure, speed up breathing, mobilize glucose reserves, and suspend the digestion process in order to save energy for protection.

If the stress is prolonged (for example, psychogenic), other hormones, glucocorticoids, are used. They affect human life in the long run by stimulating metabolism and switching the body to use reserves such as glycogen, which is broken down into glucose. Thus, stress, whatever its origin, gives us an impetus to fully function and get the job done.

Stages of stress

In 1936, Hans Selye, a famous physiologist, put forward a theory according to which three stages of stress were distinguished:

Predisposition to develop pathological stress

Without exception, all people experience stress throughout their lives. Hans Selye compared it to seasoning, salt, without which the dish becomes tasteless. Stress gives a taste to life, and those who never experience it and live in ideal, “hothouse” conditions do not feel joy. They develop depression, dysphoria (morbid mood), apathy towards everything.

For example, in O. Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World, people lived in an ideal society where any aggression and tension were excluded. However, they were periodically prescribed a dose of "experiences" in the form of a drug that stimulated the production of stress hormones in order to protect them from depression.

People, due to their mental and characterological characteristics, experience stress in different ways. One person acts, uses external circumstances to cope with the problem that has arisen. The other one falls into despair, exhausts himself with constant thoughts and gradually passes into the phase of decompensation.

According to Pavlov, this is due to the type of our nervous system - temperament. Sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric people solve the situation in different ways. For example, let's compare the problem with a stone on the road. A phlegmatic or sanguine person will bypass him, a choleric person will do it quickly and with lightning speed, with an admixture of aggression directed at an inanimate object, and a melancholic person will begin to accuse himself of failure and doom, which will ultimately lead to a return back.

Of course, such a division is rough and inaccurate. We have different temperaments intertwined, and we develop under the influence of the social environment. Therefore, there are anxious, neurotic, suspicious personalities who are predisposed to stress.

Also plays an important role upbringing. Stress resistance of a person depends on his faith in his own strength and ability to soberly assess the situation. But if a child is instilled with an inferiority complex from childhood or surrounded by hyper-custody, preventing him from coping with difficulties, then he will not respond correctly to stress in adulthood.

Symptoms of stress and distress

Positive stress stimulates us. We feel good and orderly because we are in control of the situation. Thought processes are accelerated, and physical activity increases.

However, distress leads to the following groups of symptoms.

Selye believed that complete freedom from stress meant death. Stress not only helps to cope with an acute critical situation, but also - when it is repeated or prolonged - contributes to the effective launch of specific, as a rule, more economical adaptive reactions. Stress is formed in a child in the prenatal period. Their cause may be the movements of the mother, creating a moderate deficiency of O 2, in the struggle for which the child develops motor activity, and this accelerates the formation of many systems of his body. If the mother overeats and her blood contains excess nutrients, the motor activity of the fetus, on the contrary, decreases, and its development is inhibited.

Childbirth creates stress not only for the mother, but also for the newborn. Moderate childhood stresses that arise during children's play communication, positive and negative emotions that form in the process of a child's acquaintance with the outside world, motor activity and periodic cooling can contribute to physical, emotional and intellectual development. Children who swim regularly start walking 3 months earlier than usual; they get sick 3 times less often, and their vocabulary is 3-4 times greater than that of children who do not swim.

Moderate stress can improve mood and performance, provide an analgesic effect, which is important during periods of increased demands on the human body: during exams, when a surgeon performs complex operations, in public speaking. Hence, it can be assumed that the insufficient severity of stress reactions can be a factor unfavorable for health.

4. Danger of stress for health

The adverse effects of stress on health can be contributed to by:

hopelessness or uncertainty of the situation, to which it is difficult to adapt (natural disasters and wars, loss of loved ones);

high intensity or duration of the stress reaction, culminating in the depletion of adaptive reserves;

personal or biological characteristics that determine the weakness of anti-stress protection;

use of techniques dangerous for health and life to protect against stress.

Adverse effects on human health are inherent in physical and, more often, psycho-emotional stress. So, noise, in itself not associated with any danger to a person, nevertheless, can cause a state of anxiety and, like other stressors, inhibit the activity of the stomach, disrupt digestion in general and cause neuroses.

To emotional Signs of chronic stress include:

mood changes,

increased anxiety and antipathy towards people,

the appearance of irritability, fatigue and absent-mindedness.

To behavioral Symptoms of chronic stress include:

appearance of indecision

sleep disturbance,

overeating or loss of appetite

a decrease in the quality of work and an increase in the number of absenteeism,

an increase in accidents

more frequent smoking and drinking alcohol.

To somatic signs of stress include:

cardiac arrhythmias and palpitations,

pain and a feeling of tightness in the chest,

labored breathing,

bloating,

abdominal pain and diarrhea

frequent urination,

decreased sex drive and impotence,

violation of the menstrual cycle,

tingling in hands and feet,

pain in the head, neck, back, lower back,

sensation of "lump" in the throat,

double vision,

blurred vision, skin rashes.

Assessing the diagnostic role of these phenomena, it is noted that - fatigue, hopelessness, depression - more often than chest pain, are prognostic symptoms of sudden death. The above phenomena, however, most often form a picture of neuroses.

Women tend to experience acute stress easier than men; they adapt to stress factors more economically physiologically, but at the same time experience greater mental discomfort than men. Women are more likely than men to suffer from neurosis. Some acquired personality traits also matter. Personal "type A", characterized by a 3-7 times greater tendency to stress and the development of coronary heart disease in connection with this, compared with the parameters of "type B". Type A people are characterized by a high pace of life, competitiveness, a persistent desire for recognition from others, aggressiveness, and leadership qualities.

People are divided into externals and internals.

Externals are characterized by avoiding difficult situations, blaming other people or "rock" for their difficulties, low achievement motivation, and a desire to obey other people.

Internals they prefer constructive strategies of coping with difficulties, trying to see their source in themselves. (Chinese proverb says: a wise man looks for errors in himself, an unwise one in others). Internals are confident in their abilities, they are distinguished by high responsibility and stress resistance. They consider any event as an incentive for the development of their own capabilities. This type is formed in childhood under two conditions:

a) the presence of an object of imitation;

b) providing parents with independence in solving life problems.

The type of adequate strategy in stressful situations is obviously determined by the strength, mobility, balance of nervous processes and other properties of the organism. In people, psychological methods are often used to assess the tendency to stress, for example, the assessment of anxiety on the Spielberger and Hanin scale, the analysis of color preferences - the Luscher test.