| Course | MGT 514 Human Relations Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | MBA reflective paper |
| Length | About 1,066 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 514 Module 6
Tax Season and a Hospital Waiting Room: Appraisal, Coping and Burnout When Work and Family Collide
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Aspen University
MGT 514: Human Relations Management
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Tax Season and a Hospital Waiting Room: Appraisal, Coping and Burnout When Work and Family Collide
I prepare tax returns and manage the office at Treasure Valley Tax and Accounting, a composite practice in Boise, Idaho, with three preparers, a receptionist and about 1,100 individual and small business clients. From February through April 15, the office runs six days a week, and I work about sixty hours. This March, my father had a stroke. For six weeks, I drove to the hospital and then a rehabilitation center three evenings a week, coordinated his care with my brother out of state and slept about five hours a night. I met every deadline, but by mid-April I was short with clients, forgot two appointments and cried in my car twice. This paper examines what happened and what I will do differently.
How Stress Works
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) located stress in the fit between a person and their circumstances: it arises when someone judges that what is being asked stretches or outruns what they can bring. In primary appraisal, a person judges whether something is a threat, a loss or a challenge. In secondary appraisal, they judge what resources and options they have. Then comes coping, which either goes after the source of the pressure or works on the distress the pressure produces. The same demand can feel like a challenge when resources seem adequate and like a threat when they do not.
Stressors, Appraisals and Coping
| Stressor | My appraisal | Coping I used | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clients dropping off documents in the last week | Threat: not enough hours | Worked until midnight | Problem-focused, unsustainable |
| Father's care decisions by phone at work | Loss of control | Took calls at my desk, distracted | Neither |
| Receptionist out sick for a week | Threat | Covered phones myself | Problem-focused, overload |
| Guilt about missing hospital evenings | Loss | Avoided thinking about it | Emotion-focused avoidance |
| A difficult client complaint | Challenge on a good day, threat on a bad one | Varied | Varied |
Was It Burnout?
Maslach et al. (2001) treated burnout as what long-running job strain leaves behind, made up of three parts: being worn out, pulling away from the work in cynicism and losing the sense of doing it well. They emphasized that burnout grows from mismatches between people and their work in workload, control, reward, community, fairness and values. By April, I was exhausted and somewhat cynical about clients, but I still felt effective and valued my work. My state was acute strain from a period of overload, not yet burnout. The danger is that each tax season repeats the workload mismatch, and without change, strain could become chronic.
What Helps
Richardson and Rothstein (2008) combined studies of occupational stress management programs and found that cognitive-behavioral interventions, which teach people to recognize and change unhelpful thoughts and build active coping skills, produced larger effects than relaxation, organizational or multimodal programs. Relaxation methods still helped, but less. For me, the evidence points toward learning to reappraise demands, rather than relying only on getting through the season.
Asking for Help
One of my mistakes was not telling anyone at work what was happening at home until April. Colleagues noticed I was distracted and assumed I was frustrated with them. When I finally explained, the owner offered to take two of my client meetings and a preparer volunteered to cover Saturday mornings. Lazarus and Folkman count social support among the resources people weigh in secondary appraisal. I had more resources than I knew, but I did not count them because I had not asked.
Personal Problems and Professional Limits
Personal problems belong at work only to the extent they affect it. I do not need to share details of my father's health with clients or the whole office. But telling the owner and one colleague what I was facing, and what help would make a difference, was professional, not a weakness.
Personal Plan
I will practice a short reappraisal routine when a demand feels overwhelming: name the demand, list the resources I actually have and choose one problem-focused step. I will protect seven hours of sleep from March onward by stopping work at 9 p.m. I will move two of three weekly family check-ins to video calls with my father's care team, and schedule care calls during lunch rather than at my desk. I will talk with a counselor through our insurance plan.
What the Season Cost
The cost of the spring went beyond my own exhaustion. Two missed appointments meant two clients filed extensions they had not wanted. A data entry error I made at 11 p.m. required an amended return and an apology. And I was less patient with the newest preparer than she deserved. Seeing these costs makes the plan less about self-care and more about doing the job well.
Workplace Changes
Some stressors come from how the practice works. I will propose a firm April 1 deadline for client documents, with an automatic extension for anything later, which removes the last-week crush. The practice will cross-train a seasonal assistant to cover the receptionist. And we will write a family leave guideline so a preparer facing a crisis can step back for a few days without guilt.
Why Cognitive Coping Fits
Richardson and Rothstein's finding favors approaches that change how people interpret demands. For me, the most useful shift was recognizing that a late client document is a scheduling problem with a known fix, an extension, rather than a test of my competence. That one reappraisal turned the April crush from a threat into a manageable task.
Checking Progress
Next season, I will track hours worked, sleep and the number of evenings missed with family, and ask a colleague to tell me if I seem short with clients.
Next Year's Calendar
In January, before the season starts, I will block the evenings my family may need, tell the owner which weeks I expect to be stretched and agree in advance which client meetings a colleague can take if needed. Planning for stress before it arrives turns secondary appraisal from a scramble into a list.
Conclusion
Lazarus and Folkman's model shows that my stress came from appraising demands as threats with too few resources, Maslach and colleagues' definition shows I was at risk of burnout and Richardson and Rothstein's evidence points to cognitive-behavioral coping. Combined with changes in how the practice works, the plan should make next season hard but manageable.
References
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Richardson, K. M., & Rothstein, H. R. (2008). Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 13(1), 69-93. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.13.1.69
Reading the MGT 514 Module 6 assignment instructions
Stress and personal problems are the focus of Module 6 in Aspen's MGT 514. A paper here commonly examines the writer's own stress, applies research on how stress works and builds a plan for managing it. The classroom's Module 6 prompt sets the details; this example comes from one office manager's spring. Describe the stressors at work and outside it, with specific examples. Explain research on how people appraise and cope with stress, including the role of support from others. Check for signs of burnout using a recognized definition. Review evidence on which interventions work. Set a plan that includes personal coping and changes the workplace can make, and name the evidence you will watch.
Inside the MGT 514 Module 6 example
The writer prepares returns and manages the office at Treasure Valley Tax and Accounting, with three preparers and a receptionist. From February to April, weeks run sixty hours, and this year the writer's father had a stroke in March. Lazarus and Folkman's book on stress, appraisal and coping describes primary appraisal of threat and secondary appraisal of resources, and problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Maslach, Schaufeli and Leiter's Annual Review of Psychology article describes burnout's three dimensions. Richardson and Rothstein's Journal of Occupational Health Psychology meta-analysis found cognitive-behavioral interventions had the largest effects. A table lists stressors, such as clients dropping off documents in April, with appraisals and coping used. The plan includes a reappraisal practice, a document deadline for clients, leave flexibility and moving two hospital visits a week to video.
Where the marks sit in the MGT 514 Module 6 rubric
Stress papers are judged on applying research to specific stressors, distinguishing types of coping accurately and setting a plan that is realistic and includes workplace changes. This example ties each stressor to an appraisal and a coping choice. Lazarus and Folkman's model explains why the same deadline felt different on different days. Maslach, Schaufeli and Leiter's definition helps the writer check honestly for burnout. Richardson and Rothstein's evidence guides the choice of coping methods. The plan addresses both the person and the work, and it treats asking colleagues for help as part of coping rather than a failure.
MGT 514 Module 6 help from the desk
Stress papers often list general tips, such as exercise and sleep, without analyzing specific stressors. Name the stressors and how you appraised them. Another weakness is treating stress as only a personal problem; many stressors come from how work is organized. Use research on coping and on burnout. Choose methods with evidence behind them. Include changes your employer could make. Keep the reflection professional when personal problems are involved. Finally, set a way to check whether the plan helps, such as tracking hours or sleep. Count the support you already have before deciding you must cope alone.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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MGT 514 Module 6 questions, answered
What does MGT 514 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's MGT 514 covers stress and personal problems in this module, so an MBA paper examining the writer's stress with research and a plan is typical. Look at your classroom prompt.
What is the appraisal model of stress?
Lazarus and Folkman's view that stress depends on how people judge a demand (primary appraisal) and their resources to meet it (secondary appraisal).
What is burnout?
Maslach, Schaufeli and Leiter describe burnout as a response to chronic job stress with three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional efficacy.
Where can I find a free MGT 514 Module 6 sample paper?
The example above reflects on stress when tax season and a parent's illness collided, with a plan for personal coping and workplace changes.
Which stress management programs work best?
Richardson and Rothstein's meta-analysis found cognitive-behavioral programs produced the largest effects on stress outcomes.