Avoiding and Managing Stress

Giving employees a sense of autonomy is another thing that organizations can do to help relieve stress. It has long been known that one of the most stressful things that individuals deal with is a lack of control over their environment.

Research shows that individuals who feel a greater sense of control at work deal with stress more effectively both in the United States and in Hong Kong. Similarly, in a study of American and French employees, researchers found that the negative effects of emotional labor were much less for those employees with the autonomy to customize their work environment and customer service encounters. Employees' stress levels are likely to be related to the degree that organizations can build autonomy and support into jobs.