The effectiveness of stress management psychoeducation for reducing work stress among employees

Abstract

Background: Environmental work stress has been recognized as a major contributor to reduced psychological well-being among employees. Increased workload, job pressure, and organizational changes may elevate stress responses that negatively affect mental health. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of stress management psychoeducation in reducing work stress among employees. Psychoeducation is designed to improve awareness, coping skills, and behavioral strategies for handling workplace stressors. Methods: This study used a pre-experimental approach with a One Group Pretest Posttest Design involving 20 employees as participants. Work stress was measured using the perceived stress scale (PSS) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test to evaluate differences in stress levels across time. Findings: The findings indicate a significant reduction in perceived work stress after the psychoeducation program (p < 0.05), supporting the premise that improved knowledge and coping strategies contribute to better mental health outcomes. The results also align with the stress and coping theory, confirming that effective cognitive appraisal and coping mechanisms can mitigate stress responses in workplace settings. Conclusion: The findings provide preliminary evidence that stress management psychoeducation may contribute to reducing perceived work stress among employees. However, the absence of a control group, the small sample size, and the short-term assessment period require cautious interpretation. Future studies should employ controlled and longitudinal designs to strengthen causal inference. Novelty/Originality of this article: This study contributes empirical evidence on the application of stress management psychoeducation as a practical intervention for reducing perceived work stress in an organizational setting, particularly by integrating psychoeducation with stress and coping principles to strengthen employees’ coping strategies.