Read the following article and answer the following questions:

1. What are the causes of Julie's stress?

2. What are the potential outcomes if this workload con-tinues for Julie?

3. What could Rebecca (or the company) do to reduce the stress that Julie is experiencing?

4. What do you think it is like for the employees on Julie's team?

Article:

Stress in the Workplace

When Rebecca, WE Connections' new HR specialist, saw Julie Moore, the project manager, in the lunchroom, hunched over some papers and furiously scribbling some notes, her face broke into a grin. She hadn't seen Julie in weeks and was delighted for the chance to catch up with her. She quickly walked over and touched her on the arm. When Julie looked up, Rebecca almost gasped. The

woman looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. The last time they had spoken, Julie had been full of

life. Her face had been animated as she had excitedly talked about a new project that she was taking on. Due to an inter-nal staffing shortage, Alex had asked her to juggle two major projects at the same time. One client was in a city two hours north of WE Connections. The other was located an hour-and-a-half south. Both required a lot of face time with the clients, so Julie had been driving for hours almost every day. If she wasn't with one client, she was with the other, or she was on a conference call with a member of her staff. Sitting down at the table, and trying to hide her shock,

Rebecca said, "Julie, I haven't seen you in a few weeks. How are things going?" Julie managed a feeble smile. "Things are good, I guess.

I'm surviving." Rebecca's first instinct was to tell Julie that she looked

tired, but she bit her tongue. That kind of comment never helped anyone. It just let the person know they were not looking their best. Instead, she said, "How are the two projects going? I heard there were some hiccups, but you managed to keep everything going."

Living on the Edge of Disaster

Shrugging, Julie said, "Just barely. It feels like I'm always one moment away from disaster. Every moment I'm awake I'm either working or driving. My husband says he doesn't even recognize me anymore." With one hand, she attempted to rub some of the tension from her neck. "Well, it's great to see you here. I'm glad you finally got

back to home base. I hope that means things are slowing down for you." Rebecca smiled encouragingly. "I wish! If anything, things are ramping up. I just came

into town today because I had a doctor's appointment this morning that I had already rescheduled several times. I thought I'd use the chance to talk to my people here before I head out

again. We just worked through lunch, and I was just making notes on what I have to do next. It seems that every time there is a task that isn't getting done, it gets added to my list. I guess it's good to be needed. I just wish people would stop calling in sick all of a sudden. I've had three people call in this week. That's not really being a team player, is it?" Julie straightened the pile of papers that was in front

of her, and stuffed them into her bag. She added, "Well, I guess I better keep going. Nice to see you, Rebecca." Before she stood up, Rebecca put a hand on her arm, and said, "Hold up a second. Are you sure you're okay? I'm worried that you're doing too much. All of this pressure can't be good for you."

Physical Effects of Stress

Julie laughed, and said, "You sound like my doctor. She wanted me to take a week offstarting today. I guess my blood pressure is up, and she didn't like hearing about my headaches and insomnia. Obviously, she doesn't realize that this is all part of the job. Stepping away, even for a couple of days, just isn't possible." She stood up to go, but added, "Ha! Can you imagine

what Alex would say if I bailed in the middle of these two projects? He calls me seven times a day to get updates on everything, watching every single thing I do to make sure I'm not messing up, freaking out when I miss anything. If I stepped away, even for a day, he would be the one with the real medical emergency!" She chuckled at the thought and waved as she walked away. Rebecca watched her go, troubled by the conversation.