This is a straightforward exercise. It makes use of the “How Well Do You Handle Stress” test. Learners are asked to develop a plan for coping more effectively with stress. They then discuss their plans with a classmate. This concludes the exercise as written. You might want to consider this as Phase One of a two-phased exercise. Here is why. 

1. A plan is a promise. In this instance, learners are accountable only to themselves. The focus of Strategic OB is upon human capital applied to competitive advantage. 

2. Consider this suggested extension of the exercise as Strategic IB, strategic individual behavior. Individuals represent human capital to an organization.  It has been established in this chapter’s Strategic Lens that human capital is important because it holds much of the knowledge of an organization and applies this knowledge to performing tasks and solving problems. 

3. Each of your learners is a source of human capital to any organization to which they belong. You can reinforce this in how they are included as learning resources in your class. The more able they become in managing to reduce distress in their lives and increase eustress to bolster their creativity, the more strategic and the more essential their conduct will be to these organizations. 

4. Thus, to state plans to become and remain free of excess stress is a strategic promise to themselves (and their careers) to become an ever more valued source of human capital. 

5. A suggested Phase Two of “Dealing with Stress” is to actually deal with stress according to plan. 

a. Ask learners to choose one of the stressors they plan to reduce and concentrate on accomplishing this over the coming week. 

b. It need not be removed by week’s end, but there should be a noticeable “dent” in it. 

c. It should be one likely to be happening to them now. 

d. Have them identify their target stressor to their Phase One partner. 

e. Ask them to communicate via email during the week, checking in with each other on how they are doing. 

i. Have them report and discuss if the stress-reducing actions they envisioned are actually working. 

ii. If not, what can be done on the fly to still accomplish the objective?

f. Request a brief oral or written report of this Strategic IB experiment.

6. Closure on this now two-phased exercise is that reading and discussing this chapter on workplace stress is not just an important intellectual activity, it is for personal development. The benefits of living and working free of excess stress can be experienced first-hand. As stressors are tamed, this action phase of learning is rewarded in real time.