Summery and reaction of the article.

Academy of Management Insights https:Hiaumals.aom.orgfdoil1D.5455/amj.2016.0346.summary .ACADEMY OF .Mrmagement INSIGHTS , Actionable Evidence for the Workplace aom.org/insights Summary Pressuring Employees to Rise to the Challenge Work faster. smarter. longer. With corporate eyes fixed on profits. everyone seems to be fo- cusing on performance. While some employees ' rise to the challenge, others underperform and act out in response to the pressure. Performance pressure. it turns out, is a _ double-edged sword, according to an Academy , of Management Journal article. It either moti- vates people to achieve or it undermines their productivity. "The biggest takeaway is that periomance pres- sure can be good and bad.\" said Marie S. Mitchell of the University of Georgia. "For organizations, un- derstanding performance pressure and its effects is critical because it has a denite impact on how employees pertorm." Mitchell coauthored "Can You Handle the Pressure? The Effect of Performance Pressure on Stress Appraisals, Selt-Regulation. and Behavior" with Rebecca L. Greenbaum of Oklahoma State University. Ryan M. Vogel of Temple University. Mary B. Mawritz oi Drexel University. and David I. Keating of Bridges and Bourbon. After recruiting 266 people through Craigslist to participate in a 10-day study. the researchers registered 144 individuals ages 29 to 59. Participants completed a one-time registration survey. then two daily surveys for 10 consecutive workdays. Participants ranked how closely they related to questions ranging from, "Today I feel tremendous pressure to produce results." to "The demands of work hindered my abilities today." Responses showed that employees interpret pressure as either threatening or challenging. Those perceptions fluctuate over time. Employees who interpret performance pressure as a threat become drained and engage in incivility. while those who see it as a challenge become engaged and improve their work pertormance. How employees respond to that pressure hinges on two main factors: the individual's perception of the pressure and that person's level of resilience. Pressure Is an Opportunity to Succeed Because employees who perceived performance pressure as a challenge yielded positive outcomes. managers who exert pressure on employees to perform should frame those discussions in a way that invites the employee to "rise to the occasion" and shine. 1 Copyright at the Academy of Management. all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied. emailed. posted to a listserv, or otherwise trcmsmitted without the copyright holder' s express written permission. Users may print. download. or email articles tor individual use only. AOM Insights INSIGHTS ANAGEMENT RIGHT&WRONG day wenovel byna organizations use rmal performance 90% the Talia Performance by their peers. systems Low-ranking workers were fired. Former GE CEO Jack Welch ranked employees this way. Middle Academic performance In Kraft Heinz's management by objectives (MBD) system- texts. and GPS locations first outlined by management guru Peter Drucker in his 1954 book rees goals are dis "as an invasion of privacy at their desks and executives' goals are posted on walls. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DONE RIGHT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT GONE WRONG V and develops davidcal and learn performance , and aligns performance with organizational strategic go Drain motivation POORLY IMPLEMENTED SYSTEMS CAN. hagrease job satisfaction Damage rotation * wake lawsuits more likeflow ORGANIZATIONS WITH EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ARE meetings are often the achilles heel of the process Many managers are uncomfortable giving honest "is more likely to error on tied employee retention feedback , creepy when performance is low FORTUNE 500 CEOS WITH HR BACKGROUNDS (CURRENT AND RECENT) and development"ement with learning Samuel R. Allen. John Deere Steven L. Newman, Transocean year without ongoing effort to provide feedback and James C. Smith, Thomson Reuters true performance management system- Setting challenging and specific goals. performance. SMART goals (Specific, consequences for poor performance, high Measurable: Achievable. Results Based. ediocrity is tolerated. many others. he absence or's god read decisions are arbitrary in Conversely, employees who interpreted pressure as a threat showed signs of stress, incivility, and reduced productivity. Organizations can absolutely use performance pressure to their advantage," Mitchell said. "The key is reorienting performance pressure as a challenge stressor-an opportunity for development and growth." Because performance pressure is common in all kinds of workplaces, how it influences employees and workplace culture runs the gamut. For employees who perceive pressure as a threat-"You might lose your job"-employees reacted negatively, which hurts their organizations. Negative reactions include criticizing, sabotaging, or belittling coworkers, the researchers found But employees who interpreted pressure as a challenge responded more functionally and collabora- tively, and that positivity took root. "When the pressure is seen as a challenge, the positive effects rolled over to the next day," Mitchell said. Resilience also is a critical factor that helped employees deal with performance pressure. The researchers found that resilient employees were: . More likely to perceive pressure as challenging, enabling them to handle it effectively . Less likely to perceive pressure as threatening, making them less likely to be drained and engage in dysfunctional behavior Modulating pressure also enhances how people respond. Performance pressure should not be intense all the time. Effective managers know when to apply pressure to motivate their employees to knock it out of the park, as well as when to dial it down for a seventh-inning stretch. Effective managers also can teach employees how to adapt to and handle pressure, Mitchell said. Over time, in environments where perfor- mance pressure fluctuates, employees become more resilient and better able to perform well under pressure. 'Managers who know how to read their employees can cultivate leaders who use performance pressure to their advantage and the organization's advantage," Mitchell said. "You can build employees to be more resilient." Copyright of the Academy of Management, all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied, emailed, posted to a listserv, or otherwise transmitted without the copyright holder's express written permission. Users may print, download, or email articles for individual use only.AOM Insights Managers and leaders can also use performance pressure to create a more civil and productive workplace. "Performance pressure is not going to go away," Mitchell said. "Organizations have to be competitive and outperform to succeed. To do that, employees have to perform. This is where we're at. Managers who take afresh look at performance pressure and learn to use it to challenge employees, instead of scare them, will get more out of their employees." 3 Copyright at the Academy at Management. all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied. emailed. posted to a listserv, or otherwise tmismitted without the copyright holder' s express written permission. Users may print. download, or email articles to: individual use only