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by blocking out from consciousness those cognitive associations that are disturbing It is an unrealistic form of behavior because it implies that the problem will simply go away if one does not think about it
Withdrawal. In this type of behavior, the frustrated individual simply removes himself from the situation in question--either physi cally or psychologically A person who is not able to cope with a business adversary may avoid situations which would put him m contact with the individual An individual who is the butt of jibes and jokes may be come a loner
Emotion and frustration
Emotions can have a disturbing influence upon a person's behavior Anxiety is one emotional reaction which, because of its dis tracting influence, its stimulus to heightened reaction, and its generally upsetting effect, can make an individual more susceptible to accidents This general upsetting feeling can be spread to others working in the same situation and create an atmosphere not con ducive to safe procedures
Anxiety, however, is but one kind of emo tional pattern shown by individuals m the face of frustration The anxious individual is worried, circular m his thinking, and fearful in such a way as to make his behavior inade quate to reach his goal Even though he him self may realize that his behavior is getting him nowhere, he is unable to find a method that will solve his problem
In frustration, some people become angry, some fearful, and some accept frustration as a challenge and attempt to solve the problem Most people who react emotionally to frus tration and threat find it extremely difficult to cope with life situations It is not necessary to discuss the physiological pattern which develops m emotion for everyone is familiar with the feelings experienced during fear, anxiety, anger, shame, and other emotions Rather, one needs to recognize that over the years people have developed accepted social expressions for emotions To some degree, one individual can be aware of how another is feeling This is not to say that one cannot be fooled or that the outward expression al ways truly indicates the feelings of the in
dividual Many people learn to mask their real feelings
However, after day-to-day interaction over a long period of time, one may leam to tell the difference between true feelings and those shown This is useful to the foreman and the safety professional in his dealings with individ uals in the shop As they go about the plant carrying out their normal duties, they may discover those individuals having difficulties and take some extra precautions to avoid ac cidents
It seems important to make note of the problem of behavior disorders within the con text of employee problems Individuals whose normal behavior is senously disrupted or whose ability to react to frustration is seriously im paired mav require professional services be yond the scope of the normal supervisoryemployee relationship Although a supervisor should assist m directing the employee to mplant services or outside agencies, he should avoid attempting to deal directly with psycho logical problems requiring professional care While the current movement toward companysponsored psychological services may grow, it is unlikely to be the standard in all industries in the near future For a detailed discussion of industry piograms for drug abuse and alcoholism, see Chapter 21, "Occupational Health Services "
Non-directive counseling
Although no attempt can be made here to tram safety professionals or supervisors to be come personnel counselors, they can do much to help reduce the immediate result of strong emotion The supervisor is m the best posi tion to evaluate the emotional level of an in dividual worker and to do something about it
Everyone is familiar with the emotional outbursts of people who have had a trying and upsetting experience Such expression of emotion may take many forms from an out burst of invective, a torrent of tears, to physi cal assault on inanimate objects which cannot strike back The end result is the samerelief from the intolerable tension, and emo tional relaxation
In order to deal with a strong emotional response, the supervisor can engage in a type of client-centered counseling m which the employee is given an opportunity to talk about
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