By SCOTT BELLOWS
In Summary
- Know the effects of anxiety and seek guidance if you or your employees experience burnout.
He tried every relaxation technique that came
to his mind. HoweverNgugi paced up and down the halls of his office
building. His palms perspired, his heart rate accelerated, and he found
himself unable to eat. , try as he did, Ngugi dreaded an upcoming
meeting with his boss.
Many of us sympathise with Ngugi’s predicament. He
suffered from work-related stress affects. So, how might we define
stress? Psychologists dictate that stress entails an adaptive response
to a situation that someone perceives as challenging or threatening to
their well-being.
Perhaps no job exists on the planet that does not
entail some levels of stress. Our brains take our bodies through three
stages as we adapt to stress.
First, we react to the stressor in the alarm
reactor stage. Our reactions drop below our normal resistance level.
Next, we experience heightened resistance in the second stage.
Then, our body lowers its resistance in the
exhaustion stage. If you find yourself going through the stages with
intensive frequency, you must implement a change at work. Science shows
us that stress stages cause three main problems in our lives.
First, stress leads to physiological consequences
including cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, headaches, and of course
sexual dysfunction. Second, the behavioural consequences of stress
include diminished work performance, accidents, poor decisions,
increased absenteeism, and workplace aggression. Third, psychological
consequences of stress include depression, moodiness, and emotional
fatigue.
High tension
Now hopefully we may all agree in unison that we
should not allow a constant state of stress as the modus operandi in our
workplaces. So, let us examine how we, along with Ngugi, may reduce
stress in our work environments.
In so doing, we m
ust first understand the causes of workplace stress. The physical environment, job role, organisational, and interpersonal conditions all play large parts in impacting our tension levels.
ust first understand the causes of workplace stress. The physical environment, job role, organisational, and interpersonal conditions all play large parts in impacting our tension levels.
If a workplace involves taxing conditions, they
certainly lead to stress. Alternatively, an open floor plan office
layout may cause significant stress to introverted employees.
Stress related to your job role takes root in the
ambiguity of your job description, too much or too little workload, no
control over your work schedule, and internal conflict between your
personality type and the role.
Stress involving interpersonal issues emanates
from conflict with your co-workers, too much team work required at your
office, and bullying along with the more extreme sexual harassment and
workplace violence.
Employees often carry non-work stress into the
workplace which accentuates office pressures. Sometimes ridiculously
long work hours exacerbate tension.
Often working parents do double duty by going home
and managing children and a household after work hours. All such
personal strains may impact stress at work.
Each of us perceives stress differently.
Employees with high self-efficacy have a greater view of their own
skills and capabilities that, in turn, causes stress levels to reduce.
Also, those closer to the locus of control in an organisation exhibit
less stress as they feel more influence over their situation.
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