swinburne university emotional intelligence development programs the swinburne stress management...

Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Development Programs

The Swinburne Stress Management Program

• Aim– Develop new method to reduce occupational stress in

Australian organisations

• Preliminary study– How are EI and stress related?

Swinburne Stress Management Program

How are EI and stress related?

Study involving 321 teachers around Victoria (primary, high and tertiary) found:

• Higher levels of EI were related to lower levels of stress

• Higher levels of EI were related to better health (psychological and physical)

• Higher levels of EI were related to higher job satisfaction and organisational commitment

Program Development

• These results guided program development– The EI dimensions of emotional recognition and

expression, emotional management and emotional control - particularly important in the occupational stress process.

• Psycho-educational program– Teach employees to manage occupational

stress through the development of EI– Incorporates:

• traditional stress management techniques (Identify stressors, relaxation techniques)

• Learning how to deal with emotions effectively

– Combination of skills training and practice of learnt skills

– Based around the Swinburne model of EI

Program Development

• Gardner (2006) piloted this EI training program in teachers from different educational sectors (primary; secondary; tertiary).

Evaluation

Evaluation

• Seventy nine teachers (59 females) participated in the 5-week (2 hours per week) psycho-educational EI training program.

• Teachers were recruited from the primary (N = 24), secondary (N = 27) and tertiary (N = 28) education sectors.

• Questionnaires were completed pre-program, post-program and at a 5-week follow up time interval.

Results

• The EI training program was successful in improving measures of EI and employee strain, and decreasing measures of occupational stress and the outcomes of stress.

EI improvedEmotional Intelligence

165

170

175

180

185

190

195

200

Pre-Program 1 Pre-Program 2 Post-Program Follow-Up

Data Collection Interval

Stress decreasedOccupational Stress

15

18

21

24

27

30

33

36

Pre-Program 1 Pre-Program 2 Post-Program Follow-Up

Data Collection Interval

Role Overload Role Insufficiency Role Ambiguity

Health improvedEmployee Health

5

10

15

20

25

30

Pre-Program 1 Pre-Program 2 Post-Program Follow-Up

Data Collection Interval

Psychological Health Physical Health

Development and evaluation

• Suggests that behaviours related to the dimensions of EI can be learned.

• Also suggests that training programs focused on the emotional experiences of employees can be effective in reducing occupational stress and increasing feelings of well-being.

Any employee but targeted at:• Employees working in “high risk” industries• Employees who feel an element of stress on

a daily basis• Employees who are interested in learning

more about EI• NEW Employees-build resilience

• Tailored for specific organisations e.g., IAG license

Who is the program for?

• Attendance (flexible design)• Participation in discussions

– Openness, honesty, confidentiality

• Questionnaires – including follow up– EI (SUEIT)– Occupational stress (ORQ)– Psychological health (GHQ)– Physical health symptoms

What is required from attendees?

• An understanding of what EI is and why it is a useful skill in the workplace

• An understanding of the causes and consequences of stress at work

• Ways to develop EI and to use these skills to assist in managing stress in self and others at work

The aims of the program

• The employee manual– Session by session information– Additional Exercises

• Questionnaires • Additional reading

Program materials

Program Structure

• Overview of occupational stress• Overview of EI and interpreting self-reports• Developing ERE and UE• Developing ER, EM and EC• Summary and plan to move forward

•Aim of the program

•Program material

•What the program is about

•Program structure

•Who the program is for

•What will be required of you

Introduction to the program

• An understanding of what EI is and why it is a useful skill in the workplace

• An understanding of the causes and consequences of stress at work

• Ways to develop your own EI and to use these skills to assist you in managing yourself and others at work

The program aims

• Manual• Powerpoint slides• Worksheets• Questionnaires and Feedback reports

Program materials

• Our work so far• Where we are now• What the program aims to examine• Psycho-educational

What the program is about

Program Structure• Session 1

– Overview of EI and interpreting self-reports

• Session 2– Overview of occupational stress and linking stress to the EI facets

• Session 3– Developing Emotional Recognition and Expression, Understanding

Others’ Emotions and Emotional Reasoning

• Session 4– Developing Emotional Management and Emotional Control

• Session 5– Summary and plan to move forward

Any employee

• Employees working in “high risk” industries

• Employees who feel and element of stress daily

• Employees who are interested in learning more about EI

Who the program is for

• Attendance – 5 weeks• Participation in discussions• Openness• Honesty• Questionnaires – including follow up• Homework!!

What will be required from you?

•Brief history of EI

•Development of the Swinburne model of EI

•EI characteristics and behaviours

•EI in the workplace

•Interpreting self-report profiles

Week 1

Interpreting self-report profiles

34

45

12

83

92

0 20 40 60 80 100

Emotional Self-Control

Emotional Management

Emotional Reasoning

Emotional Aw areness of Others

Emotional recognition and expression

Personal Development Plan

• In terms of my personal EI development, the areas I would like to focus on are …

• In focusing on these areas my goals are to …• Some of the specific activities I am going to try

and enact, or do differently, in the immediate future so as to attain these goals are …

• The support (both people and systems and processes) I may need to enlist in order to realise these goals are …

Things to do this week

Personal Action PlanSection 9, page 62

Identify from your own EI profile which dimensions in particular are your strengths and weaknesses – don’t necessarily pick the ones that are the highest and lowest.

Which ones would you like to focus on?

•What is occupational stress?

•What are some causes of stress?

•What are the consequences of stress?

•High vs Low stress

•How can we deal with occupational stress?

•How is occupational stress measured?

Week two

What is occupational stress?

Perceived workplace demands

Perceived ability to cope with these demands

imbalance

What is occupational stress?Understanding stress involves assessing each facet of the stress process:

Event Occurs

Interpretation of event

Emotional and physiological arousal

Long Term Consequences

FOR EXAMPLE:

You can’t find a students’ final exam paper

Interpretation of event

Emotional and physiological arousal

Long Term Consequences

What is occupational stress?

FOR EXAMPLE:

You can’t find a students’ final exam paper

I won’t be able to generate a final result for the students’ report

Emotional and physiological arousal

Long Term Consequences

What is occupational stress?

FOR EXAMPLE:

You can’t find a students’ final exam paper

Worry. Frustration. Increased heart rate.

Long Term Consequences

I won’t be able to generate a final result for the students’ report

What is occupational stress?

FOR EXAMPLE:

You can’t find a students’ final exam paper

Worry. Frustration. Increased heart rate.

Poor psychological health

I won’t be able to generate a final result for the students’ report

What is occupational stress?

What is Occupational Stress?

• Stress is a personal experience• No two people will have the same reaction to

the same workplace environment

A – B – C

Modify your environment Master other skills

Modify your perceptions

How do we deal with occupational stress?

A – B – C

Modify your environment

How do we deal with occupational stress?

Traffic stresses you out? Leave home earlier.

Deadlines stress you out? Finish the project early.

But what if you can’t change the situation?

A – B – C

Modify your perceptions

How do we deal with occupational stress?

Traffic stresses you out?

Forget about being frustrated. Listen to your favourite music ortalk show. Will getting somewhere five minutes quicker reallymake that much of a difference?

A – B – C

Master other skills

How do we deal with occupational stress?

Can’t change the situation? Can’t change the way you perceive the situation?

Try to master other skills. Learn relaxation and calming techniques. Learn to ‘switch off’ your mind.

Find your stress balance

Step 1 – Rate your stress level

Rate the amount of stress you are feeling about a particular situation”

10

9 I was extremely distressed

8

7

6 I was moderately distressed

5

4

3 I was a little distressed

2

1

0 I wasn’t distressed at all

Worksheet 4

Incident Importance level Stress level

Lift broken, you have to take the stairs

Salesperson serves someone else even though you were first

You get cut off in traffic

You lose your house keys

It takes forever to be served in a restaurant

Regaining balance

Some suggestions:Let go of the tension - 1 minute body scan

Breathe effectivelyTense to relax

Quiet your mindStress reducing organisational skills

Facets of occupational stress

Role overloadRole insufficiencyRole ambiguityRole boundaryResponsibilityPhysical environment

Linking EI and stress

• How are each of the EI facets related to resilience and stress management?

Managing Occupational Stress through developing Emotional Intelligence.

WEEK 3

• The five dimensions - review

• What skills can you develop?

• Your own action plan

• Developing Emotional Recognition and Expression

• Developing Understanding Others’ Emotions

• Developing Emotional Reasoning

In this session

• Have you identified from your own profile which area/s you would like to focus on particular?

• What made you choose those?

Your own plan

• Emotional Recognition and Expression (ERE): the ability to identify one’s own feelings and emotional states, and the ability to express those inner feelings to others.

• Understanding other’s Emotions (UE): The ability to identify and understand the emotions of others.

• Emotions Direct Cognition (EDC): The extent to which emotions and emotional knowledge are incorporated in decisions and problem solving.

• Emotional Management (EM): The ability to manage positive and negative emotions within oneself and others.

• Emotional Control (EC): The ability to effectively control strong emotional states experienced at work.

The Five Dimensions - Review

Managing Occupational Stress through developing Emotional Intelligence.

WEEK 4

In this session:

• Emotional Management Vs Emotional Control• Emotional Management• The ABC model of emotion• Improving your Emotional Management• Emotional Control• Improving your Emotional Control

In this session:

• Summary of the program• Discussion about the program• Where to now?