Barb Cooper is the leader of a team of 15 high performing consultants at a Marketing Consulting firm. A member of her team, Ted Collins, comes into her office one morning looking red-eyed and unshaven and informs Barb that he is starting to feel at the breaking point of stress he has been experiencing. "Barb, I've been working 16 hours a day now, 6 days a week for almost two months on this project. With our new baby, an ill family member staying with us, and my wife trying to finish her degree, I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I'm exhausted. I'm worried that the quality of the work is suffering. And my wife is threatening to leave me if things don't change. I don't know what to do." Barb looks at Ted and shrugs. "Ted, I'm sorry you are so overwhelmed. But I'm not sure what to tell you. I can give you whatever guidance and structure you need on your project, but it's not my role to help you manage your stress...you need to figure that part out for yourself. You took this job knowing it would involve long hours. It's the nature of consulting. We all do it. There is not a day out of the year when I'm not working. I brought my Blackberry to the beach with me last summer. I came into the office on Christmas Day. We are all lucky to have a job in this economy."
Beyond the circumstances that Ted described, what are some of the other work stressors that may be contributing to Ted's level of stress? In what ways might his emotional well-being and stress level be impacting his motivation at work?