Job-Related Stress Addressing in Sales and Marketing Positions

Introduction

Sales and marketing jobs are very demanding in that employees usually have to meet ambitious targets, put up with changing customer demands, and often perform well in highly competitive environments. The pressures suggest a high level of job-related stress that might influence the well-being of employees and the productivity and morale within an organization. With that in mind, today's workplace faces a growing need for HR to address and alleviate stress among sales and marketing teams. But how does HR effectively mitigate such issues while managing to create a positive atmosphere?

In this line, it will be useful to rely on the Demand-Control Model for understanding and attempting to reduce work stressors in sales and marketing positions (B.Bakker & E.Demerouti, 2007). The model assumes that stress from the job results from situations when the demands of the job are greater than the individual's control over the job. For instance, sales jobs require great performance from their employees, and at the same time, employees are expected to take part in an extensive level of client communication. This demands much from them while significantly limiting employee control. When the employees have low control over their tasks and high pressure of meeting the sales target, the level of stress is high; this often results in burnout (Karasek, 1979).

Going further, the JD-R Model by Bakker & Demerouti (2007) supports this thinking by underlining that demands must be well-matched with resources. Resources for sales and marketing teams could include clear performance expectations, supportive managers, regular training opportunities, and flexibility in work arrangement timing, which can buffer stress significantly. The role of HR is, therefore, to ensure that such resources are made available to employees to help them cope with high-level demands. 

Companies like Salesforce have implemented efficient human resource policies to help them handle their sales and marketing teams with things like mental health days, workshops on setting goals, and access to certain resources. This hasn't occurred for all businesses. With that in mind, reflect on how your company handles job stress of the sales and marketing teams. Is there an opportunity to enhance support either by increasing resources or offering greater job demands control?

Conclusion

One final thought: managing job-related stress in jobs of sales and marketing requires a thoughtful human resources approach that balances challenging job demands with enabling resources. Integrating models such as Demand-Control and JD-R into its development of the work environment, human resources can create better opportunities for employees to successfully do their jobs.

What methods has your organization tried to support high-stress roles?

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

 

References

B.Bakker, A., & E.Demerouti. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309-328. 

https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115

Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285-308. 

https://doi.org/10.2307/239249