Abstract
Employees with high levels of distress are subject to greater health risks, productivity loss, low morale, and increased costs compared to those with normal distress levels. To address this, a work-site stress management intervention program (SMIP) must be able to reduce distress levels and engage individuals so that ultimately employees’ psychosocial well-being is improved and the organisation’s productivity increases. In this quasi-experimental study, our primary objective was to implement and evaluate the effects of a SMIP among hotel employees. A total of 126 hotel employees from two hotels (A & B) were assigned to the experimental group (Hotel A) (n = 68) and control group (Hotel B) (n = 58), respectively. The experimental group was given the SMIP whilst the control group was given a talk on stress management only. The SMIP consisted of three sessions: (a) deep breathing and progressive muscular relaxation exercises; (b) cognitive behavioral training (CBT) covering communication & interpersonal skills; and (c) emotional intelligence at work, goal setting and changing dysfunctional thought patterns. A validated Malay short version of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS21) was self-administered before (Pre) and after (Post 1 and Post 2) each intervention for both experimental and control groups. Time and group interaction effects were calculated using a mixed within-between subjects ANOVA analysis. There were significant interactions between intervention program type and time, for stress, anxiety and depression. There were substantial main effects for time for the intervention group but not for the control for stress, anxiety and depression. There were no significant reductions in stress, anxiety and depression scores in the control group at post 1 and 2. The main effects comparing the two types of intervention were significant for anxiety but not for stress and depression. This suggests that there was no difference in the effectiveness of the two types of intervention with respect to reducing stress and depression levels but the SMIP was effective in the reduction of anxiety levels among hotel employees. These findings suggest that the SMIP is effective in reducing the anxiety levels, but not stress and depression levels, among hotel employees. The limitations, recommendations needed for future research and implications conclude the article.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aziah, B. D., Rusli, B. N., Winn, T., Naing, L., & Tengku, M. A. (2004). Prevalence and risk factors of job strain among laboratory technicians in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. Singapore Medical Journal, 45(4), 170–175.
Bobinet, K. J., Fekete, E., Kusnick, C. A., Mackenzie, E. R., McCabe, K., & Wolever, R. Q. (2012). Effective and viable mind-body stress reduction in the workplace: Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17(2), 246–258.
Bond, F. W., & Flaxman, P. E. (2010). Worksite tress management training: Moderated effects and clinical significance. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(4), 347–358.
Brown, L. (2013). Keeping employees engaged: What does it take? www.towerswatson.com. Accessed 19 Aug 2013.
De Vente, W., Kamphuis, J. H., Emmelkamp, P. M. G., & Blonk, R. W. B. (2008). Individual and group cognitive-behavioral treatment for work-related stress complaints and sickness absence: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 13(3), 214–231.
Downey, R. G., Mills, A. J., Rasmussen, J. L., Smith, M. R., & Wefald, A. J. (2012). Stress and performance: Do service orientation and emotional energy moderate the relationship? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17(1), 116–128.
Edimansyah, B. A., Rusli, B. N., Naing, L., Mohamed Rusli, B. A., Winn, T., & Tengku Mohamed Ariff, B. R. H. (2008). Self perceived depression, anxiety, stress and their relationships with psychosocial job factors in male automotive assembly workers. Industrial Health, 46, 99–100.
Gard, T., Brack, N., Holzel, B. K., Noggle, J. J., Conboy, L. A., & Lazar, S. W. (2012). Effects of a yoga-based intervention for young adults and quality of life and perceived stress: The potential mediating roles of mindfulness and self-compassion. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 165–175.
Hewitt, A. (2011). Trends in the global employee engagement. White paper available at www.aon.com. Accessed 12 Sept 2011.
HRM Asia. (2013). Managing stress at work. http://www.hrmasia.com/resources/work-life-balance/managing-stress-at-work/175492/. Accessed 01 July 2013.
Idris, M. A., Dollard, M. F., & Winefield, A. H. (2010). Lay theory explanations of occupational stress: The Malaysian context. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 17(2), 135–153.
Klainin, P. (2009). Stress and health outcome: The mediating role of negative affectivity in female health care workers. International Journal of Stress Management, 16(1), 45–64.
Lazarus, R. S., & Falkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
Leung, S. S. K., Chiang, V. C. L., Chui, Y. Y., Mak, Y. W., & Wong, D. F. K. (2011). A brief cognitive-behavioral stress management program for secondary school teachers. Journal of Occupational Health, 53, 23–35.
Mahto, R. A. (2006). Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory. http://ananda.mahto.info/albert-banduras-social-cognitive-theory/. Accessed 20 Aug 2013.
Murphy, L. R., & Sauter, S. L. (2003). The USA perspective: Current issues and trends in the management of work stress. Australian Psychologist, 38, 151–157.
Regus. (2012). Work is primary source of stress for Asia-Pacific employees. SMB WORLD ASIA Business & Technology Portal for Asia’s SMBS. http://www.smbworldasia.com/en/content/work-primary-source-stress-asia-pacific-employees. Accessed 22 Aug 2013.
Richardson, K. M., & Rothstein, H. R. (2008). Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 13(1), 69–93.
Shimazu, A., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2007). Does distraction facilitates problem-focused coping with job stress? A 1 year longitudinal study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30, 423–434.
Stein, B. D., Jaycox, L. H., Katoaka, S. H., Wong, M., Tu, W., Elliot, M. N., & Fink, A. (2003). A mental health intervention for schoolchildren exposed to violence. JAMA, 209, 603–611.
Umanodan, R., Kobayashi, Y., Nakamara, M., Kitaoka-Higashiguchi, K., Kawakami, N., & Shimazu, A. (2009). Effects of a website stress management training program with six short-hour sessions. A controlled trail among Japanese employees. Journal of Occupational Health, 51, 294–302.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Biding, C., Nordin, R.B. (2014). Effects of a Stress Management Intervention Program on Self-Perceived Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Hotel Employees: A Quasi-experimental Study. In: Dollard, M., Shimazu, A., Bin Nordin, R., Brough, P., Tuckey, M. (eds) Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8975-2_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8975-2_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-8974-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-8975-2
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)