Stress is a part of life. It can be experienced in all aspects of life, but is most prevalent in the workplace. Exactly what is stress and how common is it in the workplace? What are the psychological and physiological stressors of stress? What are the consequences of stress? What are some ways you can manage stress?
What is Stress?
Stress is the wear and tear on the body and mind, caused by life's many changes and demands. The body can only deal with continual stress for a short amount of time before becoming exhausted. Stress is the product of how we perceive and respond to an event, rather than the event itself. Thus events are referred to as stressors.
The process of stress involves a stressor, experiencing stress, and then experiencing strain. A stressor refers to events or conditions in the environment that have the potential to create stress. Stress refers to the psychological and physical reaction to events. A strain refers to physical and psychological consequences to stress (Landy & Conte, 2004).
There are both good and bad types of stress with the psychological factors associated with the stress playing an important role in the resulting physical afflictions. The two different kinds of stress are:
- Eustress: challenging and motivating with positive outcomes. For example your stress level may become heightened because you have a deadline coming up. This heightened level of stess then motivates you to meet the deadline.
- Distress: overwhelming with negative outcomes. For example, a person perceives he or she does not have the resources to cope effectively with the demands and the outcomes is personally important.
How Common is Stress in the Workplace?
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that:
- 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful
- 25% viewed their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives
- 26% of workers said they were "often or very often burned out or stressed by their work"
- 75% of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago
Warning Signs of Someone who is Distressed at Work
There are many warning signs that an employee is suffering from distress in the workplace. These warning signs are:
- more errors and accidents;
- missing deadlines and appointments;
- difficulty making decisions;
- decrease in quality/quantity of work;
- speech or written work has a disconnected quality;
- no sense of humour;
- angry outbursts;
- difficulty communicating or getting along with other co-workers;
- increased days off work.
Short term stress is acceptable however long term stress can have serious ramifications on physical, mental, emotional and behavioural consequences.
Physical Stressors Involved in Work Related Stress
If you know of someone suffering from stress in the workplace, he or she may have been affected by the following physical stressors:
- exposure to low level noise is associated with elevated stress hormones and lower task performance. For example, low level noise is frequent in manufacturing environments and open plan offices;
- job demands can contribute to stress. The demands can include workload, the pace of the job and the number of hours required to work.
The Physical Consequences of Stress
- nausea
- headaches
- sleep disturbance
- indigestion and lack of appetite
- muscular tension
- increased heart rate
- lethargy and fatigue
- tightness of chest
- sexual dysfunction
Psychological Stressors Involved in Work Related Stress
- Role conflict: incongruity between expectations and what an employee actually does
- Role ambiguity: duties and performance expectations are not clearly defined
- Role overload: the individual perceives that they don't have the skills, resources, or time to complete the required tasks
- Change: such as downsizing, restructuring, or job insecurity
- Emotional labor: suppressing emotions or showing false emotions takes considerable cognitive and physiological effort
- Relations with others: this can include work-family conflicts and relationships with management and co-workers
- Lack of control over work, or the perceived lack of control
Psychological stressors can lead to mental, emotional, and behavioural consequences (or strains).
The Mental Consequences of Stress
- poor concentration
- confusion
- memory lapses
- disorganisation
- inability to make decisions
- rigid attitudes
- racing thoughts
The Emotional Consequences of Stress
- anxiety
- job dissatisfaction
- mood swings
- anger
- irritability
- depression
- feeling isolated
- feeling numb
- lack of motivation
- over-reacting
- burnout
Burnout is becoming more and more common in today's working world. The characteristics of emotional burnout include:
- lack of energy
- feelings of frustration, tension and emotionality
- dreading going to work
- absenteeism and turnover
The Behavioural Consequences of Stress
- weeping or emotionality
- nail biting
- reduced exercise/inactivity
- aggression/violence
- social withdrawal
- inability to concentrate
- increased use of stimulants
Ways you can Manage Stress
- Become aware of your stressors and your emotional and physical reactions. What are you telling yourself about the meaning of these events?
- Recognise what you can change. Can you change your stressors by avoiding or eliminating them completely?
- Reduce the intensity of your emotional reaction to stress. Are you exaggerating/over-reacting and viewing things as absolutely critical and urgent? Try and put the situation into perspective.
- Learn the moderate your physical reaction to stress. Try some deep breathing exercises and relaxation techniques.
- Build your physical reserves. Try and exercise regularly to build your cardiovascular fitness. Eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet. Try to build a consistent sleeping routine.
- Maintain your emotional reserves. Build a strong social support network. Pursue goals that are realistic and which are meaningful to you, rather than goals others have for you.
Stress is a natural part of life. Short term stress is experienced regularly by people however if this is not dealt with appropriately, it can turn into long-term stress which can have serious consequences on physical and mental health.
Becoming more aware of how you react to what you perceive to be stressful situations and developing some effective coping mechanisms will allow you to handle stress better in the workplace.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cdc.org/niosh/. [Accessed 23 March 11]
Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2004). Work in the 21st Century. 1st ed. New York:McGraw Hill
Amy Clare Macdonald - Bachelor Behavioural Science (Psychology) Graduate Certificate of Arts (Writing)
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