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We usually assume that it's important to reduce stress to prevent burnout. It is important to note that while burnout is the more commonly discussed extreme of stress, the opposite might also occur. Rustout is defined as the situation when the demands placed on the individual are much less than his or her capabilities. Rustout can be just as bad as burnout.
In chapter 9, "Motivation," we discussed the theory of optimal arousal, which states that performance is best when the arousal level is medium. This concept has been applied by Walter Gmelch in his 1982 book, Beyond Stress to Effective Management. Stress is a fact of life, and it is important to learn how to use stress constructively to improve performance. We now look at Gmelch's ideas for optimizing performance through stress. The relationship between stress and performance can be divided into several sections. First is the perceived ability of an individual to accomplish a task. Next is the work to be accomplished. How difficult is the work, and how much effort is required? Then we need to look at the individual's actual capacity to perform the assigned work. For example, if your capacity is greater than your work, you may experience rustout. If your capacity equals your work, you may experience peak performance. And if your capacity is too low for the work you're trying to accomplish, then you may experience burnout. How can you utilize the concept of stress to maintain high performance? Gmelch gives several suggestions. If you are experiencing rustout (work is less than capacity), then you need to take risks, try new techniques, meet new people, and stay alert. In other words, you need to do whatever is necessary to increase stress or arousal to its optimum level. If you are at peak performance (work is equal to capacity), you need to continue to remain in control. You should practice time-management skills, establish goals, and become aware of your stress points. In other words, you still have to work actively to keep performance at its peak level. If you don't, rustout or burnout will most likely result. If you are experiencing burnout (work is greater than capacity), you need to reduce stress in order to optimize performance. You should learn the causes of your stress and take steps to reduce it. You need to learn to say no to additional requests and delegate responsibility to others. You should learn time-management skills and practice dividing up large projects into smaller ones. The more you become aware of the relationship between stress and performance, the more you can make stress work for you. |
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