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Sharing Garden

Sharing Garden

In the Sharing Garden, there gathered people from all around the world. When they felt that they were suffering from the emotional flu some time in their lives, they sought help, complied with proper treatment, changed their thinking style, and exercised physically; they eventually recovered. These people were sitting around the tree and sharing their pathways to the recovery of the flu. Depressed Little Prince joined the discussion, learned the experiences, and gained insights.

Fiery Colleague

Every time Fiery Colleague goes home after work, he put plenty of chill sauce in this dinner and roared in rage

“Obeying my bosses drives me crazy!”

“The everyday tedious tasks drive me crazy!”

“The hypocritical colleagues are driving me crazy!”

“Taking care of the bills drives me crazy!”

“Working in this dreadful environment is driving me crazy!”

Job Stress

Stress in Relation to Work Type — change type → change stress
Job Type Analysis
Job Demands Low Job Demands High
Job Control High Leisurely Jobs Active Jobs
Job Control Low Passive Jobs Demanding Jobs
  • As you move from “leisure” towards “demanding” jobs, you will be tensed up by the increasing strains. This is accompanied by increased chances of physical illness and psychological problems, including stress.
  • As you move from “active” towards “passive” jobs, you will become less involved in in leisure and social activities, affecting your psychological health.
Traditional Work Design — “Top-down organization, Repetition, Close Supervision”
Management approach Effects on workers
1. Top-down management → Reduce workers? sense of involvement and sense of worthiness
2. Specialization → A major stressor as a result of boredom
3. Technological dominance → Lower self-esteem as workers are valued less than the machines in the context of efficiency.
4. Repetition → Reduce creativity and contribute to boredom and apathy.
5. Lowered skill requirements → Stifle any desire to learn more about the work, adding to more boredom and apathy.
6. Equalized, distributed workloads → Take away any sense of belonging or responsibility for the outcome of hard labour.
7. Productivity measurement → Lack of incentive to do more than the allocated workload. Increase distrust among bosses and employees.
8. Hard work equates rewards → Reinforce the notion of money as the sole reward of their hard work, resulting in an unhealthy and competitive atmosphere which lacks a sense of community.
9. Minimal social interaction → Reduce social support in the workplace.
10. Close supervision → Take away workers’ initiative and create resentment and rage against the supervisors.

Job Redesign

The Smart Boss — “Job Restructuring”
  • A job restructuring in a company can increase motivation and improve productivity.
  • Job restructuring proceeds through a series of meetings intended to gain the involvement and support from management, workers, and unions; through a series of practical research projects, gaps can be identified for restructuring.
  • A successful implementation of a job restructuring yields genuine cooperation throughout the company.
The Assumption: I must always do what people expect me to do.
Advantages of Agreeing Disadvantages of Agreeing
1. If I’m able to meet people’s expectation, I can feel I’m in control. This feels good. 1. I sometimes end up doing things not in my best interest and not that I really want to do.
2. When I please people, I feel secure and safe. 2. I never know if I could be accepted as who I really am. I always have to earn love and the rights to get close to people by doing what people want me to do. I become like a slave.
3. I can avoid guilt and confusion. I don’t have to suggest a solution, since all I have to do is what others want me to. 3. It gives people power over me. They can coerce me with the threat of disapproval.
4. I don’t have to worry about people being upset with me or looking down on me. 4. It makes it hard to know what I really want. I’m not used to setting priorities and making decision for myself.
5. I can avoid conflict and I don’t have to be assertive nor to speak up for myself. 5. When people, at times inevitably, disapprove me, I experience severe guilt and depression. This puts my emotion under the control of other people.
6. What other people want me to do may not always be the best for me since, naturally, they represent their own interests.
7. I end up seeing those who depend on me as weak. They would be upset if I let them down.
8. I am afraid of taking risks; I live a stagnant life. I don’t feel motivated to change, to grow, or to do things differently to enrich my life experiences.

References:

Burn, D. (1999 ) (3rd ed.). Feeling good: The new mood therapy. New York: Avon.

Montgomery, B. & Evans, L. (1993). (2nd ed.). You and stress. Melbourne: Viking O’Neil.
Montgomery, B. (1986). Working together: A practical guide to collaborative decision-making. Mebbourne: Nelson.

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