The Gold Standard Pressure Management Tool

The Pressure Management Indicator is a comprehensive questionnaire that measures the major factors involved in the stress process and delivers an accurate picture of a person or team’s pressure profile.

• Based on an extensive body of occupational stress research

• Extensively benchmarked - lots of comparative data

• The world's first questionnaire designed to measure all aspects of workplace pressure and stress

• Integrated - follows a clear model

• Valid and reliable - measures what it's supposed to measure

• Multilingual - available in a range of languages

The PMI is based on the four-way model of stress as outlined in Our Approaches. This model examines the relationship between four elements of the stress process.

Each participant receives a Personal Profile report which is divided into 3 main sections:

• Effects - satisfaction with their job and the company as well as their mental and physical wellbeing),

• Sources of pressure - where they perceive their workplace pressure to come from

• Individual differences - how their behaviour and coping skills help them to respond to the pressure they experience.

Background to the PMI

The PMI was developed from the OSI, the world’s first integrated occupational stress questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to provide a comprehensive, integrated, compact measure of the various dimensions of occupational stress and is used extensively throughout the world in the areas of organisational analysis, stress counselling, stress training and occupational health.

The full PMI takes between 15 to 20 minutes to complete, consists of 146 questions, and is grouped into 24 subscales consisting of a Demographic Details section plus eight further sections as follows:

The outcome scales measure job satisfaction and organisational satisfaction, organisational security, organisational commitment, anxiety/depression (state of mind), resilience, worry (confidence), physical symptoms and energy.

The sources of pressure scales cover pressure from workload, relationships at work, career development (recognition), the organisational climate, managerial role, personal responsibility, home demands and daily hassles.

The behavioural and coping variables measure drive, impatience, control, decision latitude and the coping strategies of problem focus, life work balance and social support (emotional detachment).

Home and Work Balance

The primary focus of the PMI is workplace stress but it is recognised that pressures originating from outside of the workplace can be an amplifier for workplace stress and in practical terms it is not appropriate to separate the two. The PMI therefore contains both a sources of pressure scale and a coping scale that that includes home / work balance.

In addition, the demographic section of the questionnaire investigates issues of personal wellbeing and enables factors such as significant life events, illness, and activity levels to be evaluated. It is therefore possible to attribute the negative effects of stress to specific work issues, non-work issues, or a combination of the two.

Data Analysis and Comparative Data

The Pressure Management Indicator is designed to provide useful information to individuals (the personal profile), workgroups (the group profile) and the organisation (a detailed overall report). This analysis is provided through the data aggregation systems built into the PMI survey methodology.

The PMI has an extensive normative database. Our current dataset is based on a working population of over 50,000 people, though it is thought the PMI has been used by in excess of 100,000 people world-wide. We are able categorise this population by industry sector, job type, grade, gender, age, length of service, working hours and a wide variety of other criteria.

Validity

The PMI, and its predecessor the OSI, have been subject to extensive academic scrutiny. The ongoing development of the instrument has significantly improved the validity and reliability of the scales. All of the PMI scales have acceptable levels of reliability.

Global Application

The PMI has been adopted as the global standardised stress measurement tool by several major UK and US corporations. The research version of the PMI has been translated into more than 20 languages and formed the basis of a major international study into occupational stress. The Collaborative and International Study of Management Stress (CISMS), involved researchers in over 23 nations including those from Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, and North and South America.

In summary, the PMI is a more powerful tool designed for groups and individuals who need a detailed understanding of the stress process and their group or personal stress profile.

Please contact us to discuss your requirements and how WorkingWell might be able to help you.