One of the newest problems in the workplace is increased levels of violence. One of the common methods organizations are using to address, or prevent, problems of this type is to identify stressful situations and develop new methods of dealing with conflict and stress in the workplace. The focus of this paper is on stress reduction in the workplace from both the behaviorist and humanist perspectives.
Behaviorism focuses on externals, rather than on internal thoughts process, feelings, values, and beliefs. The essence of behaviorism is that behavior can be modified externally by the appropriate manipulation of reinforcers, both rewards and punishments. Behaviorist approaches to stress reduction do not focus on the causes of problems, or destructive reactions to stress, but on solutions and on altering people's behavior to be more adaptive.
Behaviorist approaches use such things as exercise, breathing techniques, biofeedback, and other clear cut processes in order to reduce stress. In one discussion, the focus is on relieving stress by paying attention to breathing (Santorelli, 1996). The author noted that the individual can release excess tension by monitoring the body and consciously relaxing tense muscles.
There are several different kinds of breathing techniques to use, but the simplest one is just concentrating on the breath, often repeating the word "relax" on each exhale. Breathing techniques have several purposes, including distracting the person from negative or anxious thinking and helping to relax the muscles.
Most of the techniques that are associated with the behaviorist approach focus on modifying the physiological response to stressors and altering the body's alignment. The focus is on providing a technique that enables the person to gain control of their response to stress by learning how they currently react to stressors and changing that response in some way.
For example, Carpi (1996) talked abou...