INTRODUCTION


WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress, very simply, is a built-in condition. Humans are hard-wired to have a physical and psychological “stress” reaction when facing a perceived threat, whether it is real or not. Specifically, the body reacts with the “fight or flight response” triggered by the sudden release of the cortisol and adrenaline hormones. These hormones keep the body and mind coiled, alert and ready for reaction to the threat. This reaction served as a useful, protective response when faced with primitive threats such as a saber-toothed tiger.

But even in the modern day work world, being under stress can serve as a useful motivator to perform, provided it is in the right degree and does not produce job strain. As far back as 1908, researchers discovered that once stress reaches a mid to high level, productivity drops off remarkably. And when productivity drops off, the bottom line suffers. Some effects of job stress are more easily quantified than others.

Stress at Work

EFFECTS OF STRESS ON HEALTH

Stress can lower the immune system and play a role in a person’s susceptibility to more colds, flu and other infectious diseases. Additionally, people who are stressed are more likely to experience pain-related conditions, and a host of other ailments, from teeth grinding and chest tightness to fatigue.

Hallmark signs that workers are experiencing mental duress include poor concentration, short temper, job dissatisfaction and low morale. Stressed workers have an elevated risk of mental health problems, ranging from anxiety and substance abuse, and perhaps, the most significant, depression. In fact, stress and clinical depression—the two often go hand-in-hand—trail family crisis as the second and third most significant problems in the workplace.

Most significantly, stressed workers incur healthcare costs twice as high than for other employees. All tolled, the consequences of stress-related illnesses, from depression to heart disease, costs businesses an estimated $200 to $300 billion a year in lost productivity. More employers are recognizing that now is the time for action. Workers who are stressed today can be disabled tomorrow. And, as society ages and elderly care-giving grows, stress is likely to grow as an issue, and along with it, inflated healthcare costs.

BACKGROUND: STRESS AND WORKPLACE WELL-BEING


The construct of well-being in the field of psychology has been in focus since empirical times, however, over the past few decades, the construct has seen an introduction in the organisational or ‘workplace’ setting. The core for workplace well-being comes from Keynes’ (1999, 2002) mental health continuum. CIPD’s (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2007) report defines workplace well-being as creating an environment to promote a state of contentment which allows an employee to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and their organisation. Well-being is more than an avoidance of becoming physically sick. It represents a broader bio-psycho-social construct that includes physical, mental and social health. (CIPD, 2007)

Since the introduction of strict health and safety and other relevant employment law, all organisations have been forced to focus on good health and safety management, prevention, and reducing exposure to risk of their employees. However, in order to realize the potential added value of raised productivity, organisations need to extend their agenda to health and well-being. The workplace can be a key setting for improving people’s health and well-being by providing access to better amenities to the employees, thus encouraging them to strive to maintain their health and well-being.

Previous literature reviews in occupational health services have shown the use of holistic approaches that focus on both the biological as well as social well-being of employees at the workplace. (Brookes, et al., 2013) Some of the initial researches into this broader construct look at stress. Stress is defined as the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response. (Brookes, et al., 2013) This change in organisational settings is normally referred to as stressors. Early researchers put forth numerous theories that were used for further empirical studies in identifying and overcoming stress at the workplace (c.f. Lazarus, 1966; Karasek, 1979; Siegrist, 1996). Maslach and Jackson (1986) observed the effects of increasing stress and put forward the construct of burnout, which occurs after extended exposure to stressors without the opportunity to recover. It is made up of exhaustion, reduced feelings of competence and cynicism. (Maslach and Jackson, 1986) Mind-body interventions are increasingly being used to assist with stress reduction. Relaxation is one modality that can be taught as a form of self-help to achieve a state of mental calm and its benefits have been supported in a systematic review evaluating the effects in relation to hypertension, headaches, insomnia and anxiety. (Gillani, 2001)

A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT STRESS RELIEF


DRUM CIRCLE AS A TOOL

Drum circles have been part of healing rituals in many cultures throughout the world since antiquity (Bittman, et al., 2001). The concept of modern drum circles was first coined by percussionist Arthur Hull in the early 1970s. The essence of the concept was to bring the community closer together and work towards experiencing ‘feeling happy’ (Hull, 1998) and also to introduce new and innovative Stress Reducing Activities. A drum circle is generally termed to a group of people coming together and creating music. Thus, Hull defines it as, ‘a fully participating group sharing a rhythmical and musical experience. This experience results in harmony, camaraderie, and a feeling of wellness amongst the participants’. Since the conception of the drum circle, the concept has evolved into stronger structured drum circles most commonly known as ‘facilitated drum circle’ that involves a facilitator guiding the group of participants into and out of rhythms (Hull, 1998).

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METHOD USED & OUTCOMES

A Team Drumming session was conducted with a group of 250 employees from a national manufacturing company as a part of Staff Motivation Activities for a duration of 45 minutes. The session was facilitated by a trained drum circle facilitator and included games, activities, rhythms and songs to engage the participants. The participants were given small wooden hand drums, called ‘Djembes’ along with other percussion instruments like the tambourine. The outcomes for the session were group cohesion, listening to each other, fun and motivation.

FINDINGS & OBSERVATIONS


Out of this large population, 31 sets of feedback were collected, which have been analyzed to get an overview of the impact of the drum circle.

The feedback was from the people who are at the higher level of organizational hierarchy, i.e. Managers, General Managers, Assistant General Managers, Officers, Deputy Managers, etc. and have been analyzed in SPSS, using paired t-test to compare the stress and happiness level of these participants before and after the drum circle and meditation activity.

STRESS AND HAPPINESS INDEX

Table 1

Outcomes

Drumming participants

Before

After

Mean

SD

Mean

SD

Stress

6.45

1.90

3.38

2.44

Happiness

5.59

1.54 8.86

0.91

For the above analysis, the null hypothesis was taken as, “Drum circle does not impact the stress level of the participants” and “Drum circle does not impact the happiness level of the participants”. After observing the SIG value at 95% significance level, it can be seen that the SIG value for both hypothesis is more than 0.05, stating that the null hypothesis is rejected. (see table 2)

Table 2

t-tests
Outcomes

t-test – t

Sig

(two-tailed)

Stress

Before-After

5.324

.000

Happiness

Before-After

-9.55

.000

Since the null is rejected, it can be said that drum circles do impact the stress and happiness levels, however to determine the impact is positive or negative, we can look at the mean values. In case of stress, the mean stress level before the session was 6.45 and after the session was 3.38, that is, stress is reduced to almost half. (see table 1) In case of happiness, the mean happiness level after the drum session is almost 1.6 times more than the initial happiness level. (see table 1)

Table 3

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To understand the level of satisfaction, the mean of ratings people gave about overall experience was taken. It was observed that to be 8.31/10. (see table 3)

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CONCLUSION


The present case can be regarded as a successful part of Stress Reducing Activities in a corporate setting using group drumming. This case encourages the use of art-based activities to be introduced at the workplace to manage stress and improve on workplace well-being regularly.
This white paper is a part of a larger ongoing longitudinal study of the use of group drumming vis a vis stress reduction and group cohesiveness.

REFERENCES


American Institute of Stress. “Job Stress.”

American Psychological Association. “Stress in America.” 7 Oct. 2008.

Bittman, B. B., Berk, L. S., Felten, D. L., Westengard, J., Simonton, C., Pappas, J., & Ninehouser, M. (2001, January). Composite Effects of Group Drumming Music Therapy on Modulation of Neuroendocrine-Immune Parameters in Normal Subjects. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 7(1), 38-47.

Brookes, K., Limbert, C., Deacy, C., O’Reilly, A., Scott, S., & Thirlaway, K. (2013). Systematic review: Work-related stress and the HSE Management Standards. Occupational Medicine, 63, 463-472.

Gillani, N. B. (2001). Zen meditation and ABC relaxation theory: An exploration of relaxation states, beliefs, dispositions, and motivations. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 839–846.

Hull, A. (1998). Drum Circle Spirit. White Cliffs Media.

NIOSH/U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Stress…At Work. Pub. 99-101. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1999.

The Kent Center for Human and Organizational Development. “Coping With Your Job: Stress and Depression in the Workplace.”

Wein, Harrison, Ph. D. “Stress and Disease: New Perspectives”. National Institutes of Health, The NIH Word on Health. October 2000.

Yerkes, Robert M. and John D. Dodson. “The Relation of Strength of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit-Formation.” Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 18 (1908): 459-462.

ABOUT TAAL INC.


WHAT IS OUR AIM?

Taal Inc. is an organization that brings people together in rhythm and positively influences the areas of health and well-being through music and the arts.

WHAT DO WE DO?

We conduct drum circles for a wide range of groups, teach drums and percussion instruments (mainly the Djembe), perform music with our band and conduct action-research into how the arts and music affect different populations.

Drum Circle

Drum Circle

By – Rajeshwari Baxi
Research & Training Executive
Taal Inc.