Stress Takes Its Toll: Solution

1. What signs of stress was Larry Field exhibiting? The signs of Larry Field’s stress is that Larry Field goes through a number of events that effect all aspects of his life and others over a short two-year period. The first stressor presented was when he graduated high school and he was given a job opportunity he felt he couldn't pass up. Larry felt it was necessary in order for him to achieve his main goal in marrying his high school sweetheart, Alice. From there, things moved rather quickly for Larry, all of which were rather unpredicted stressors for Larry. He attained his initial goal of marrying Alice and they married that same summer; a year later they had their first child. Having a family now greatly changed his social activities and there were now two others relying on his paycheck. These stressors then motivated Larry to ask for a raise at his job, which he received. But again, rather quickly, Larry was promoted to crew chief at the survey job. This is something Larry was again not prepared for and because of this, Larry experience a few organizational stressors involving Task Demands and Role Demands. First, Larry was stressed over his job security, because he knew other coworkers his age were more qualified than him and he felt he could easily lose his position. Second, Larry felt a degree of overload, feeling that he lacked the qualitative ability to be a "boss". These all made Larry very uneasy and to cope with everything he started smoking, even at work, which put off a few of his coworkers because it was affecting them. His personal life was suffering too, because he never really saw Alice and he could tell she was unsatisfied.
2. How was Larry Field trying to cope with his stress? Can you suggest more effective methods? I think if Larry had better coping methods, he could potentially save his personal and professional lives. It sounds like he needs to work on his time management and role management and possibility add in some