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Hargrove, M.B., Nelson, D.L., and Cooper, C.L.

(2013) Generating eustress by challenging
employees: Helping people savor their work.
Organizational Dynamics. 42, 61-69.

ARTICLE in ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS · JANUARY 2013

Impact Factor: 0.79 · DOI: 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2012.12.008

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Organizational Dynamics (2013) 42, 61—69

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Generating eustress by challenging employees:

Helping people savor their work
Matthew Blake Hargrove, Debra L. Nelson, Cary L. Cooper

Top managers understand that the wellness and wellbeing of than 17 million packages. FedEx ships around 8.5 million
their employees is of prime importance. John Casey, the packages on an average business day. FedEx workers are
director of international benefits at Google, says as a part faced with processing millions of tasks, all under extreme
of Google’s big vision they are setting out to have the time pressure. Each FedEx operations employee is constantly
‘‘healthiest and happiest workforce on the planet.’’ Why driven by the ticking of thousands of countdown clocks
should Google care about the health and happiness of its commensurate with a worldwide logistics operation. Despite
people? Because healthier and happier people perform bet- this pressure, FedEx workers largely succeed at their tasks
ter, stay longer, and cost less than sick and unhappy people. and get the job done. FedEx places big demands on its
There is overwhelming evidence that work-based anxiety employees, yet they rise to meet the challenge.
and burnout cause detrimental physical and psychological This paper’s purpose is fourfold. First, we introduce the
disease. Wise managers ignore this evidence at their peril. A idea of eustress and its brief history in management research.
2012 survey published by the Society of Human Resource Second, we present two frameworks that inform our under-
Management indicates that employers are increasingly inter- standing of eustress, the Challenge Hindrance Framework
ested in offering wellness programs — 63 percent of compa- and the Holistic Stress Model. Based on the intersection of
nies now offer programs, up from 47 percent in 2005. The these two frameworks, we introduce a model for managers
Googleplex, with its many gyms, running tracks, bicycle who wish to build healthy and happy organizations by gen-
paths, and onsite yoga instructors, sets a bar for wellness erating positive forms of stress. In the fourth section, we
that few organizations can match. Fortunately, managers suggest methods for managers to help their people savor
need not have access to the resources of one of the world’s eustress at work and explore the positive possibilities of
largest firms to strive to create a workplace in which their eustress in the workplace.
employees can physically and psychologically thrive. The
purpose of this article is to offer one specific strategy for
managers wishing to achieve this goal. Specifically, we con- WHAT IS EUSTRESS?
tend that managers who wish to build healthy and happy
organizations must learn to differentiate between the types Working people know all too well the negative side of stress,
of demands they place upon their people and focus primarily which is distress. Less often discussed is the positive side of
on placing demands that employees can view as task-related stress, or eustress. Jim and Jonathan Quick, based on the
and linked to their own personal development. foundational work of Selye, included eustress in their pre-
FedEx is one of the world’s largest logistics companies. ventive stress management approach, describing eustress as
They provide overnight shipping across the globe and have the healthy, constructive outcome of stressful events and the
expanded extensively into the U.S. ground freight market. stress response. Bret Simmons and Debra Nelson further
One manager who deals with a demanding workplace is John refined the definition of eustress as the positive psychological
Dunavant, who serves as FedEx’s vice president of the World- response to a stressor, indicated by the presence of positive
HUB in Memphis, Tennessee. During the Christmas retail psychological states. Individuals experiencing eustress
season, worldwide shipping volume ramps up to double their describe the experience as being totally focused in a mindful
typical daily load. According to Dunavant, FedEx had its state of challenge, a healthy state of aroused attention on
busiest day to date on December 12, 2011, shipping more the task, exhilaration, and being fully present. Nurses, for

0090-2616/$ — see front matter # 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2012.12.008
62 M.B. Hargrove et al.

example, who have very demanding jobs, report eustress as challenge or hindrance stressors. In general, these findings
indicated by hope and active engagement in their work, have supported the notion that challenge stressors are posi-
which contribute to feelings of wellbeing. Among nurses tively associated with desirable behaviors and outcomes and
dealing with the death of patients, those who found meaning negatively associated with undesirable behaviors and out-
in work and were highly engaged still experienced eustress comes. Studies also indicate that hindrance stressors tend to
and its benefits. Athletes refer to eustress as being at the top be positively related to the undesirable and negatively
of their game, and performance artists like opera singers related to the desirable.
describe the feeling as being completely in synch with the Challenge stressors promote positive attitudes and other
audience, immersed in the performance. In short, eustress is desirable organizational outcomes. One recent finding among
related to health and wellbeing, and in turn to work perfor- a sample of governmental workers in New Zealand indicated
mance. Given these promising benefits, how can leaders that challenge stressors predict employee loyalty. This find-
draw upon the research on eustress to create ‘‘eustressful’’ ing suggests that challenge stressors may lead to a sense of
workplaces? commitment to the organization. In addition to loyalty,
We address the question by drawing upon two streams of challenge stressors have also been found to be positively
research on positive stress: the Challenge Hindrance Frame- correlated with motivation to learn, supervisor support, and
work and the Holistic Stress Model. The result of this inte- organizational support. These findings suggest that challen-
gration is a set of recommendations for managers who want ging workers produces desirable attitudes and builds align-
to generate positive stress in their organizations. ment between organizational and individual goals. Another
pathway through which challenge stressors seem to benefit
organizations is through their negative relationship with
CHALLENGE HINDRANCE FRAMEWORK undesirable behavior. To date, studies have found a negative
relationship between challenge stressors and job withdra-
The idea of challenging employees in the workplace is not a wal, job search behaviors, and intention to quit. All of these
new one. Smart managers have long understood that chal- findings support the idea that people who experience chal-
lenging people to push their capabilities often brings great lenge stressors are less apt to disengage with the organiza-
reward to their organizations. Having said this, we under- tions in which they work.
stand that today’s managers are increasingly concerned The first meta-analytic studies have been generally sup-
with building healthy organizations that do not place inap- portive of the differential outcomes hypothesis embedded
propriate demands on their people. The Challenge Hin- within the CHF and the positive potential of challenge stres-
drance Framework (CHF) is one novel theoretical model sors. A University of Florida based research team, including
that has the potential to provide guidance for management Marcie and Jeffery LePine and Nathan Podsakoff, have been
professionals. systematically studying the findings related to challenge and
The CHF was first introduced by Marcie Cavanaugh and hindrance stressors across the management and psychology
three other collaborators from Cornell University. This literature. In their first published meta-analysis, they found
research team conducted a study of 1,900 high level that challenge stressors had a direct positive effect on
executives. The results indicated that certain types of performance. This study also found indirect effects on per-
stressors were perceived by many of the executives to formance via strain and motivation. Challenge stressors were
be challenge-related and positive, while other types of negatively correlated with strain and positively associated
stressors were perceived to be hindrance-related and with motivation; hindrance stressors had the opposite cor-
negative. For example, most of the executives found work relations. In this research team’s second meta-analysis, they
deadlines to be challenging and administrative red tape to also found evidence that supported the hypotheses that
be hindering. challenge stressors are associated with positive outcomes.
As with any emerging conceptual framework, the CHF has The outcome variables tested in this second study included
received attention from numerous researchers and con- job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover inten-
tinues to develop theoretically. Subsequent contributors tions, and turnover. Thus, a broad view of existing data
have begun to build upon Cavanaugh’s work to carefully gathered to test the CHF has found that challenge stressors
define challenge stressors and hindrance stressors. Gener- are associated with positive attitudes and behaviors, and
ally, these researchers have tended to focus on the percep- that challenge stressors are negatively associated with unde-
tual nature of all stressors. In other words, within the CHF, sirable attitudes and behaviors.
individual perceptions of a stressor tend to predominate. Though most published research supports the contentions
One theoretical approach to the definition of these concepts of the CHF, several findings call into question the differential
was accomplished by Nathan Podsakoff, at the time a outcomes hypothesis. For example, both challenge stressors
researcher at the University of Florida. Podsakoff defines and hindrance stressors have been demonstrated to be posi-
the terms as follows: challenge stressors are ‘‘demands in tively correlated to psychological strain or burnout. Similarly,
the workplace that tend to be appraised as promoting the there is evidence to support that both challenge and hin-
accomplishment of job tasks and the personal development drance stressors are positively associated with exhaustion.
of the individual,’’ and hindrance stressors are ‘‘demands in Both of these findings suggest that even good stressors can
the workplace that tend to be appraised as barriers or lead to bad stress. Previous to the development of the CHF,
obstacles to the accomplishment of job tasks and personal many stress researchers had demonstrated that the quantity
development of the individual.’’ of stressors faced by an individual affected the response. It
Empirical findings have generally provided evidence to seems likely that challenge stressors are subject to quanti-
support differential outcomes based upon the presence of tative limits. In other words, challenge stressors may be like
Generating eustress by challenging employees 63

chocolate — too much of almost any good thing can lead to  Stressors are inherently neutral.
negative consequences.  The cognitive appraisal of any given demand or stressor
An important unpublished manuscript relevant to the produces a simultaneous positive and negative response.
discussion of the CHF is Nathan Podsakoff’s 2007 dissertation. It is the response to demands that has positive and/or
In this dissertation, Podsakoff rigorously develops improved negative valence and thus the response is of utmost
scales with which to measure challenge and hindrance stres- importance.
sors. Prior to performing comprehensive psychometric vali-  Individual differences affect the way in which demands
dation studies, Podsakoff reconceptualizes the CHF to are appraised.
include eleven dimensions (four challenge dimensions and  Positive and negative responses are complex and mixed.
seven hindrance dimensions). The four dimensions of chal- Degrees of both positive and negative indicators of re-
lenge stressors identified by Podsakoff are: Work Load, Work sponse can be present for any given demand.
Pace, Job Complexity, and Job Responsibility. We will discuss  Individuals select strategies to either eliminate or allevi-
each of these dimensions in further detail in a subsequent ate their negative responses to stressors, or to accentuate
section of this article. or potentially dampen their positive responses. These
In summary, the CHF framework’s contributions most strategies can be focused either on the perceived stressors
relevant to this work include identifying the stressors that or on the perceived responses.
many individuals perceive as positive, and elaborating on the  Positive and negative responses differentially affect val-
outcomes to be gained when employees perceive stressors as ued outcomes at work.
challenges rather than hindrances. Challenge stressors offer
an intriguing avenue to explore eustress within organiza- It is important to note that the HSM places heavy emphasis
tions. We next turn to a discussion of a theoretical model on the role of cognitive appraisal in the stress process. The
that offers an explanation of how eustress may lead to individual’s appraisal is the defining characteristic of a re-
desirable outcomes. sponse that is positive. In other words, individuals may
experience eustress if they appraise a stressor as benefitting
HOLISTIC STRESS MODEL the individual or his/her wellbeing.
Following the work of Jeff Edwards and Cary Cooper,
The Holistic Stress Model (HSM) was proposed by Simmons and Simmons and Nelson proposed that the indicators of eustress
Nelson with the goal of offering a more complete and com- are hope, positive affect, vigor, meaningfulness, and man-
prehensive view of the individual’s experience of work stress. ageability. These positive psychological states all represent
A broad version of the model is offered in Fig. 1. For the aspects of engagement. Positive affect indicates pleasurable
purposes of this article, we will concentrate only on the parts engagement in work, and feelings of enthusiasm, alertness,
of the model (in solid lines) that pertain to eustress. To and activity. Hope at work is a belief that one has both the
capture the essence of the HSM, it is important to understand will and the way to accomplish work goals. Vigor is a positive
some of the central tenets of the model that specifically psychological state at work that has three dimensions: phy-
address eustress. sical strength, emotional energy, and cognitive liveliness.

Figure 1 Holistic Stress Model

64 M.B. Hargrove et al.

Figure 2 A Managerial Model for Eustress Generation in Organizations

Vigor is, in essence, an energy resource, related to motiva- in Fig. 2 which is a managerial summary gleaned from the HSM
tion and sustained behavior. Meaningfulness is a sense of and CHF models of stress.
purpose or personal connection with work. Manageability is First, managers can identify which aspects of work
the feeling that one has the resources to meet the demands employees see as most engaging, and identify why the work
of the work situation, and leads to perceptions of control is so eustressful. Then managers can design ways to enhance
over the work setting. The authors note that these are not the the positive aspects of work. Based upon the work of CHF
only indicators of eustress, because other positive psycholo- researchers, four specific dimensions of stressors have been
gical states could also be indicators, and future research identified as challenging, and therefore generally positive for
should focus on identifying additional indicators. employees: Work Load, Work Pace, Job Complexity, and Job
The idea of savoring is unique to the HSM. In models of Responsibility. Managers who wish to build healthy and happy
distress, the related concept is coping with distress. Savor- workplaces are advised to concentrate their demands into
ing eustress is enjoying it with anticipation or dwelling on it these four dimensions rather than those demands that are
with delight and satisfaction. Individuals often try to perpe- perceived as obstacles. In the subsequent paragraphs, we will
tuate positive emotions by making them last. At work, discuss the pathways by which positive stress can improve
individuals may try to experience the positive, productive organizational function and the methods that managers may
state of eustress more frequently or for longer periods of use to help their employees savor the positive stress to which
time. This may occur when individuals enhance their expo- they are exposed. In addition, we will discuss the four types
sure to stressors they see as having the potential to be of challenges that are most likely to result in eustress.
positively stressful. The reader will remember that challenge stressors are
Although the HSM model has not been examined in its defined as ‘‘demands in the workplace that tend to be
entirety, several studies have demonstrated support for the appraised as promoting the accomplishment of job tasks
eustress components of the model. Specifically, support has and the personal development of the individual.’’ This defi-
been found for the indicators of eustress, and for the rela- nition contains four essential elements: appraisal, related-
tionship between eustress and health, wellbeing, and job ness, task accomplishment, and personal development. The
performance. The next section in this article will use the first element, appraisal, can be narrowly understood to be
lessons from the HSM and CHF to offer professionals in the either a cognitive step, or more broadly, as a psycho-phy-
field of management some concrete advice with regard to siological response. When understood as a cognitive process,
generating positive stress in the organizations they lead. an individual appraises a stimulus by thinking about it. In the
more holistic understanding of appraisal, an individual reacts
to a stimulus by thinking, feeling, and through physiological
GENERATING GOOD STRESS changes. Whether the narrow or broad understanding of
appraisal is employed, the important thing is an individual’s
In this section we offer an unconventional suggestion to response to a stressor is based upon a reaction. Managers
managers. We suggest that managers generate healthy stress wishing to promote positive stress should take every effort to
among their employees. Our recommendations are captured ensure that the initial reaction to a stressor be as positive as
Generating eustress by challenging employees 65

practical. When exposing employees to potentially stressful send his daughter to the private university of her choice?
stimuli, managers should attempt to frame the stimuli using Then, the employee needs to deliver the quality of service
positive terms, in a positive emotional state, and in as expected by the organization’s client consistently over a
pleasant an environment as possible. Steve Jobs had the sustained period of time. Successful managers know their
reputation of being an incredibly demanding boss. He reg- employees well enough to tie personal achievement, orga-
ularly asked his teams to do things that they simply did not nizational achievement, and specific stressors together; suc-
believe were possible. The late Apple executive believed cessful managers challenge their employees to create win-
that the key to challenging employees included the necessity win situations for the organization and their workers.
to sell a positive vision or dream. He believed that employees At this point, we offer some advice about the kind of
needed a hero or goal that they could emotionally rally challenges management professionals should present to their
around. Jobs understood that to effectively challenge associates. The reader will recall that Nathan Podsakoff
employees, he needed to manage their emotional reaction identified four specific categories of challenge stressors:
to the challenge. work load, work pace, job responsibility, and job complexity.
The second element is relatedness. Relatedness is based In the following paragraphs we will provide some practical
upon the term ‘‘promoting’’ found in the definition of chal- examples of how managers can present these types of chal-
lenge stressors. In order for a stressor to be regarded as lenges to their employees.
promoting, it must be appraised as being related to either Managers challenge their employees by giving them
task accomplishment or personal development. How do man- demanding workloads. The reader will recall that workload
agers relate a stimulus to outcomes salient to employees? demands are principally concerned with the qualitative
Good managers demonstrate the meaningfulness of the nature of work tasks. One significant achievement of the
demands they place upon their workers. Good managers take discipline of management in the 20th century was to recog-
the time to explain how these demands are connected and nize that humans are not machines, nor should they be
related to significant outcomes. Good managers orient their treated as mere means to an end. Managers can help their
employees within the broad context of the organization’s employees savor their work by assigning work that neither
mission. Good managers invest the resources and effort under stimulates nor overextends their capabilities. Asking a
necessary to demonstrate that work demands have a broader master carpenter to cut only one-foot boards or asking a
purpose of value to both the organization and the individual. registered nurse only to take vital signs will result in an
The third and fourth elements, task accomplishment and understimulated worker. Master carpenters must be given
personal development, tie a stressor to outcomes important tasks to which they can apply their broad range of skills;
to individuals. One basic definition of a healthy organization registered nurses must be allowed to employ their profes-
is a group of individuals joined together to achieve a sional expertise in order to remain engaged in their work. In
common purpose while achieving their own individual goals. fact, the most productive and engaged carpenters and
To one extent or another, every healthy organization pro- nurses will be those whose skills are being tested by the
vides a context for constituent members to achieve perso- work they are performing. The stress resulting from having
nal goals. In general, the relationship between an individual one’s capabilities pushed, but not overwhelmed, has long
and an organization breaks down and eventually ends when been recognized as an important predictor of success. Man-
individuals cannot both benefit from and contribute to an agers can help their employees savor their workloads by
organization. This symbiotic relationship is at the heart of knowing their employees’ capabilities and by assigning them
good management practices. Managers understand that work that stretches their capabilities.
their organizations must allow for personal development Perhaps the most prevalent challenge stressors presented
and goal attainment. Workers understand that they must to workers involves pace. To one extent or another, all for-
contribute to an organization in order to achieve their own profit organizations have productivity requirements. By defi-
personal goals. nition, productivity involves time. Almost all work involves
Given the nature of the underlying bargain between some rate calculation: units per hour, patients per day, sales
individuals and organizations, healthy stressors should be per quarter, transactions per year, etc. For many workers, the
tied to either a path of organizational task accomplishment clock is always ticking. Remember those FedEx workers fight-
or a path of personal development. Managers accomplish this ing the clock? They are constantly challenged by time, yet
by explicitly tying stressors to organizational objectives and they consistently rise to the challenge even as demands
by maintaining systems through which individuals achieve increase. Managers can help their employees achieve eus-
personal development within their organizations. Most con- tress by following two crucial steps. First, managers need to
structive managerial practices already are related to these communicate the rationale behind time requirements. Peo-
two pathways. For example, many organizations already ple understand the importance of scheduling and the value of
have systems in place such as compensation structures, time. After all, they deal with deadlines and time stress in
employee evaluation systems, employee assistance pro- their personal lives away from work. In general, workers are
grams, wellness programs, and retirement benefits that prepared to accept the necessity of time constraints as long
are specifically designed to align organizational and indivi- as they understand that those time constraints are not
dual interests. The task of managers wishing to promote arbitrary. The factory manager should explain to the
positive organizational stress is to systematically relate stres- piece-rate worker how the profit margin on the work being
sors to task accomplishment and personal development. Does accomplished is affected by time; the hospital administrator
the employee want to earn a bonus so that she can take her must explain the costs of the surgical theater, nurses, and
family to Hawaii? Then the job has to get done on time and to technicians required by a particular procedure. The second
specifications. Does the employee want to have the money to step managers should employ to help their workers savor
66 M.B. Hargrove et al.

their pace of work is setting reasonable and achievable time or professional expertise involve higher degrees of job
restrictions on work. Theories of motivation concur that responsibility. For example, an X-ray technologist is respon-
workers who do not believe goals can be attained will be sible for properly generating an image, while a radiologist is
demotivated to pursue those goals. Managers who place responsible for interpreting that image. If the radiation tech
unrealistic time stressors on their employees will not chal- fails to take a good image, the usual consequence is a
lenge these employees, but demoralize them. On the repetition of the X-ray of a patient. If the radiologist fails
other hand, managers who place time demands on their to interpret the X-ray properly, the consequence might even
employees that challenge their abilities, similar to workload include death of a patient. The two axes interact with one
demands, are likely to be pleased with the results. Employ- another in different organizations. For example, a charge
ees are likely to positively respond to difficult but attainable nurse who has less technical expertise than a surgeon may
time pressure. supervise 30 or 40 staff members on a hospital floor caring for
Job complexity is a third dimension of challenge stressors. dozens of patients, while a surgeon on the same floor has
Job complexity is similar to, but more comprehensive than, responsibility for one patient and for giving orders concerning
workload. While workload focuses on the particular tasks a that patient. Similarly, a newly minted M.B.A. project man-
person is called to perform, job complexity refers to the more ager may have responsibility for coordinating numerous che-
comprehensive nature of the job as a whole. To discuss this mical engineers and biomedical researchers on a drug
dimension of challenge stress, let us return to our example of development team, while the highly experienced chemical
the master carpenter. The workload of a master carpenter engineer only has responsibility for one discreet contribution
may be challenging or not challenging over any given period to the new drug.
of time. The job complexity of a master carpenter depends Managers can help employees achieve eustress by knowing
upon the overall design of the master carpenter’s position. A their employees and by assigning responsibility commensu-
master carpenter’s position must be suitably complex based rate with the capabilities of their workers. Wise managers do
upon the knowledge, skills and abilities of the carpenter. A not place responsibility on employees who lack the sufficient
master carpenter who, by the nature of a job description, is training to be responsible for an outcome. It is no surprise
never required to draw upon the full range of capabilities will that 24 year-old first lieutenants do not manage entire
not be challenged. Such an employee is likely to become military campaigns. Their relative inexperience and relative
disengaged and is unlikely to remain a productive member of low standing within a military organization make such a
the organization. Similarly, a master carpenter who, by the responsibility ill advised. Conversely, it makes no sense to
nature of a job description, is consistently asked to perform give a general officer the command of a small detachment to
tasks at which there is insufficient expertise will not magi- accomplish a routine mission. Responsibilities should fit the
cally rise to the occasion, rather will find the job to be too individual.
complex and therefore negatively stressful. Managers One final note to managers about introducing challenge
wishing to help their employees achieve eustress need to stressors: Don’t overdo it. As we mentioned before, too much
take a great deal of care with regard to some specific human of a good thing can turn bad. Few workers can maintain peak
resources practices. First, jobs should be designed with performance indefinitely. People need time to recoup and
utmost care. Job descriptions should accurately reflect the recover. Managers need to recognize that using challenge
range of essential functions within the position. Secondly, stressors is not a license to overburden their people. Our
persons recruited and selected for particular positions should management model suggests that overburdening employees
have sufficient capabilities to perform required duties. Man- with challenges will result in burnout. Managers should be
agers help employees savor complexity when they push or judicial in their introduction of stress into their workplace,
extend a person’s capabilities within a job; managers do their even when the stress is of a challenging nature.
organizations and employees no favor by hiring under or Now that we have offered some specific strategies by
overqualified individuals for a position. Finally, managers which managers can generate positive stress, we are pre-
wishing to help their employees savor job complexity should pared to discuss some of the potential positive ramifications
strive to build training and professional development pro- of introducing good stress into organizations. In the final
grams that will help employees develop new knowledge and section of this article we will discuss savoring and the positive
skills. Job complexity serves as a constructive source of stress potential of eustress on the individuals working in an orga-
when employees’ overall capabilities are stretched, but not nizational setting.
exceeded, within a position.
Job responsibility is closely related to job complexity.
Where job complexity concerns the qualitative nature of SAVORING
the work, job responsibility concerns the subjective level
of responsibility required by the work. Certain jobs contain In their recent article, Debra Nelson and Bret Simmons
more responsibility than others. Generally speaking, job suggest that employees positively experience stress through
responsibility increases along two axes. The first axis is a process of savoring. Savoring, in contrast to coping or
hierarchical position within the organization. In general, line avoiding, means that people are prepared not simply to deal
workers have less responsibility than supervisors, who have with stress, but may in fact enjoy and relish certain types of
less than middle managers, who have less than executives. eustressful stimuli. For example, successful Olympic athletes
The higher one goes in an organization, the more responsi- enjoy, not just tolerate, the grueling physical and mental
bility one acquires with regard to resources, production, and demands placed upon them during competition. An Olympic
profits. The other axis involves technical or professional swimmer spends literally months in a pool for every minute of
expertise. In general, jobs requiring high levels of technical world-class competition. It is inconceivable that a champion
Generating eustress by challenging employees 67

such as Michael Phelps merely endures training for the sake of skills, or adjust the individual’s skills, through training or
the competition. Michael Phelps savors each race and the coaching, to meet demands. Managing energy relates to the
multiple times of standing on the podium. vigor and manageability indicators of eustress.
How can managers help employees savor eustress? We Giving employees meaningful work, encouraging and
suggest three avenues: through meaningfulness, mindful- developing mindfulness in the workplace, and implementing
ness, and energy management. As an indicator of eustress, energy management practices are ways that leaders can
meaningfulness holds promise for eustress generation and encourage eustress and savoring. We believe, in addition,
savoring. Deeply meaningful work aligns with an individual’s that there are ultimate benefits of eustress at work.
values and beliefs. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, grew the
company by delivering happiness in that corporate setting. The Positive Possibilities of Good Stress
He created a culture that encourages happiness at work as a
part of Zappos’ business strategy. Happy employees lead to Combining the research from the Challenge Hindrance Fra-
happy customers. Hsieh describes three types of happiness, mework and the Holistic Stress Model, we see that the
with one being the most resilient and sustainable: higher positive outcomes of eustress at work are many. Health
purpose. Daniel Pink, who proposed a framework for intrinsic and wellbeing, job performance, organizational citizenship
motivation, claims that purpose is one of three key intrinsic behavior, and organizational commitment are outcomes that
motivators, fulfilling individuals’ desire to perform work in all organizations seek to maximize. We assert that the multi-
service of something larger than themselves. Work that has plier of these outcomes for organizations may be flow, as
purpose touches several of the indicators of eustress, includ- conceptualized by Czikszentmihalyi. Flow is the zone of
ing hope, positive affect, and meaningfulness. positive stress and peak performance in which time suspends,
In order to become in tune with the positive emotions individuals lose themselves in activity, and they perceive a
brought about by eustress, mindfulness is key. Mindfulness is great sense of control over work. In essence, flow is the
paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and ultimate eustress experience — the epitome of eustress.
non-judgmentally. Google uses a program called ‘‘Search Positive emotions are channeled exclusively in the energetic
inside yourself’’ that teaches mindfulness at work. The pro- pursuit of the task at hand. Daniel Goleman suggested that
gram has three phases: attention training, self-knowledge brain scans conducted on individuals during flow would show
and self-mastery, and creating useful mental habits. Parti- extreme activation of the left prefrontal area, which con-
cipants in the program learn to develop a state of mind that is tains the circuitry that lights up when positive emotions like
relaxed and alert at the same time. They also learn how to enthusiasm and engagement are active. He also suggests that
develop meta-attention, which is the ability to recognize during flow, brain chemistry would show higher levels of
when attention has wandered. Mindfulness improves focus, dopamine, which enhances both mood and performance.
which is key to experiencing eustress. Mindfulness can encou- We propose that eustress leads to savoring, which in turn
rage positive affect, manageability, and vigor at work, all of can lead to flow. In flow, there is a merging of action and
which are key indicators of eustress. awareness such that self-reflection is absent. In other words,
To savor eustress, individuals must understand their capa- demands and skills are in balance, so that self-reflection is
city to meet challenge stressors. One pathway to achieving this suspended, because all resources are focused on the task at
is through effectively managing energy. Tony Schwartz has hand. The work may seem effortless, because effort can only
written extensively about workplace practices for energy be assessed through self-reflection. On the website whole-
management. At Sony Pictures Entertainment, an energy living.com, Olympic Champion Allyson Felix described the
management program was implemented that helped boost difference between the stress of practice and the flow of
the company’s performance through better energy manage- competition by saying ‘‘When I’m at my fastest, it feels
ment on the part of employees. Two major shifts were made at peaceful, almost effortless, not like the crazy fatigue and
Sony. The first was to acknowledge that humans work best pain of practice.’’ She must have experienced flow in winning
when they alternate between periods of intense focus and three gold medals at the 2012 Olympiad.
renewal. The second was to move from a philosophy of getting Through enhancing employees’ experience of eustress and
more out of employees to a focus on meeting employees’ needs encouraging them to savor it, managers can strive for the
for physical health, emotional wellbeing, mental clarity, and multiplying effect of flow among their employees. And, we
spiritual significance. Sony employed simple rituals such as recommend that managers serve as role models of savoring
encouraging employees to take walks for emotional breathers, eustress and its benefits.
and turning off e-mail so they could concentrate better. In
addition to encouraging employees to understand their capa-
city and manage energy more effectively, managers must play
an active role in monitoring and managing the demands/ability
match. Managers can adjust demands to fit the individual’s
68 M.B. Hargrove et al.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
In the writing of this article we drew upon publically available CHF can be found in Nathan Podsakoff’s 2007 dissertation,
videos, interviews, articles, and other sources to provide the ‘‘Challenge and Hindrance Stressors in the Workplace: Tests
reader with examples. The information about Google was of Linear, Curvilinear, and Moderated Relationships with
drawn from a video interview with John Casey at the 4th World Employee Strains, Satisfaction, and Performance’’ (Univer-
Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress found on sity of Florida).
www.yotube.com. We found information about FedEx and The authors also recommend a number of articles that test
John Dunavant on a FedEx corporate blog. Steve Jobs’ gui- hypotheses related to the CHF. J.M. Harr presents some
dance for challenging employees with new ideas was pre- interesting findings regarding the relationship between chal-
sented by Business Week columnist Carmen Gallo and found lenge stressors and positive attitudes and undesirable beha-
on the www.fuelingnewbusiness.com website. When research- viors in the article ‘‘Challenge and Hindrance Stressors in
ing Tony Schwartz’s experiences at Sony, we turned to his June, New Zealand: Exploring Social Exchange Theory Outcomes,’’
2010 article in the Harvard Business Review entitled ‘‘The which can be found in The International Journal of Human
Productivity Paradox.’’ The Allyson Felix quote was found in an Resource Management, 2006, 17(11), 1942—1950. Boswell, J.
interview presented on the website www.wholeliving.com/ B. Olson-Buchanan, and Marcie LePine presented evidence of
178882/five-olympic-hopefuls. the effect of challenge stressors on job control and strain in
The statistics regarding wellness programs were taken their 2004 article ‘‘Relations Between Stress and Work Out-
from the ‘‘2012 National Study of Employers’’ by Kenneth comes: The Role of Felt Challenge, Job Control, and Psycho-
Matos and Ellen Galinsky. This comprehensive study spon- logical Strain,’’ Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64, 165—181.
sored by the Society of Human Resources Management can Podsakoff, Jeffrey LePine, and Marcie LePine collaborated on
found at the following publicly accessible website (http:// a series of meta-analyses designed to test the effect of
familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/NSE_2012.pdf). challenge and hindrance stressors on organizational vari-
The authors recommend several works by James Campbell ables. Their first article, ‘‘A Meta-Analytic Test of the
Quick, the editor of this special issue, and his collaborators Challenge Stressor-Hindrance Stressor Framework: An Expla-
for those readers wishing to explore eustress and workplace nation for Inconsistent Relationships Among Stressors and
wellbeing. First, we recommend The Theory of Preventive Performance,’’ appeared in the Academy of Management
Stress Management in Organizations (Washington, DC: Amer- Journal and explored the important variable of performance
ican Psychological Association, 2007). We also recommend (48(5), 764—775). Podsakoff, LePine, and LePine continued
‘‘Healthy, Happy, Productive Work: A Leadership Challenge’’ their meta-analytic studies with ‘‘Differential Challenge
by Quick and his brother Jonathan D. Quick, M.D., Organiza- Stressor—Hindrance Stressor Relationships with Job Atti-
tional Dynamics, 2004, 33(4), 329—337. For more background tudes, Turnover Intentions, Turnover, and Withdrawal Beha-
on eustress, the reader is directed to H. Selye’s ‘‘Confusion vior: A Meta-Analysis’’ published in the Journal of Applied
and Controversy in the Stress Field,’’ 1975, Journal of Human Psychology, 92(2), 438—454. Finally, the authors direct the
Stress, 1975, (1), 37—44. reader to ‘‘Challenge and Hindrance Stress: Relationships
Readers interested in fully exploring the Holistic Stress with Exhaustion, Motivation to Learn, and Learning Perfor-
Model as presented by Debra L. Nelson and Bret Simmons mance,’’ by LePine, LePine, and C. L. Jackson, also appearing
should read their excellent 2011 chapter ‘‘Savoring Eustress in the Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 883—891.
While Coping with Distress: A Holistic Model of Stress,’’ in the For readers interested in further exploration of savoring,
Handbook of Occupational Health edited by J. C. Quick and L. the authors direct you to the previously mentioned Nelson
E. Tetrick (Washington DC: American Psychological Associa- and Simmons (2011) chapter. For the positive potential of
tion). Another chapter of interest ‘‘Eustress at Work: Extend- savoring we suggest the ambitiously titled The Unexpected
ing the Holistic Stress Model’’ is found in the 2007 book Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (And World Peace) by
Positive Organizational Behavior edited by Cary L. Cooper Chade-Meng Tan (New York: HarperCollins, 2012).
and Debra L. Nelson (London: Sage, 40—54). For readers wanting more background in flow, we point the
For readers interested in a more complete discussion of reader to two book titles. The first, Flow: The Psychology of
the Challenge Hindrance Framework, the authors recom- Optimal Experience, by Mikaly Csikszentmihalyi, provides
mend several articles. The initial article by M. A. Cavanaugh, the reader with a thorough explanation of how and why
W. R. Boswell, M. V. Roehling, and J. W. Boudreau introduced people are able to achieve this highly desirable state (New
the CHF and is entitled ‘‘An Empirical Examination of Self- York: Harper & Row, 1990). The second, The Brain and
Reported Work Stress Among U.S. Managers,’’ Journal of Emotional Intelligence: New Insight, by Daniel Goleman,
Applied Psychology, 2000, 85(1), 65—74. Other important provides the reader with valuable additional information
theoretical contributions to the theory surrounding the on flow (Northampton, MA: More Than Sound, 2011).
Generating eustress by challenging employees 69

M. Blake Hargrove is an associate professor of management at the John L. Grove School of Business at Shippensburg
University. He holds a doctorate in organizational behavior from the University of Texas at Arlington. Hargrove’s
research interests include stress in organizations, positive organizational behavior, justice ethics in business, and
psychometrics. Prior to his academic career, he owned and operated a wood recycling business with more than 30
employees and served in the United States Navy Submarine Force as a sonar technician aboard the USS Stonewall
Jackson (Shippensburg University, United States. Tel.: +717 477 1440; e-mails: [email protected]).

Debra L. Nelson is a professor of management at Oklahoma State University, where she holds The Spears School of
Business Associates’ Chair in Business Administration. Nelson won a R. D. Irwin Dissertation Fellowship Award for
her groundbreaking research. She has been honored with the Faculty Outreach Excellence Award, the Greiner
Graduate Teaching Award, the Regents’ Distinguished Teaching Award, the Regents’ Distinguished Research Award,
and the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award at OSU. Her books include Organizational Behavior:
Science, The Real World, and You, Eighth Edition. She is a partner in NelsonQuick Group (Oklahoma State
University, United States).

Cary L. Cooper, CBE, is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University
Management School in England, is Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences (representing 44 learned societies and
88,000 social scientists), is editor in chief of the journal Stress & Health, and is a Fellow of the Academy of
Management, Royal College of Physicians (Hon), British Psychological Society, British Academy of Management and
the Royal Society of Medicine. In 2001 he was honored by the Queen as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of
the British Empire for his work in occupational health (Lancaster University, United Kingdom).