Managing Personal Stress in the Workplace

A general background to the issue of stress in the workplace

The issue of the incidence of high levels of stress and stress-related illness in relation to the workplace are increasingly important.  There are three principle elements to be considered in addressing the issue of personal stress in the workplace.

•  Prevention of stress

-                     Reduction of stressors

-                     Increased ability to cope

• Stress management
• Practical personal, social and commercial consequences of stress

Essentially we need to find ways of stopping it happening, dealing with the stress we cannot eliminate, and handling the consequences of that which we do not manage effectively.  All three of these elements within the context of workplace activity are significant.  However, in all scenarios we must recognise that stress exists within the person, not within the workplace and as such its prevention and management is an holistic exercise not simply a workplace issue.

Three points are important to the issue of effective management of personal stress in the workplace.  First is the understanding that certain levels of stress are essential to effective operation and motivation.  Second is that clinical stress is a different condition from what we have come to regard as 'the stress of life', which we will term common stress.  Clinical Stress is not a condition treatable by effective management in the workplace, whereas common stress can be significantly countered through various preventative and management techniques.  We must also recognise that prolonged exposure to common stress can be a foundation for the development of clinical stress and, as such, its prevention and management are vital.

The third point is an awareness of the implications for the organisation of the consequences of unmanaged stress. In legal terms, the recognition of stress as an industrial disease and the responsibilities of the employer in this respect are considerable.  In organizational terms, and to date there is limited work done on the subject, the spectre of team and even corporate stress may prove to be a manifestation of significant proportions in the future.

Much of the more invasive, longer term implications of stress at both personal and organizational level are build on a solid foundation of a failure to recognise and prevent/manage common personal stress and inadequate support given to the individual at their workplace.

The impact of the workplace on personal stress

While the top stress scorer remains life events such as divorce, moving home, changing job and marriage, the following rank as some of the next highest on the list, contributing significantly to an individual's state of relationship with life:

•  Increased workload due to downsizing/restructure
• Job insecurity
• Rapid Change
• Long working hours
• Difficult work/life balance
• Managers having unrealistic expectations
• Poor management practices
• Productivity/performance targets

Some studies suggest that factors such as 'Job Insecurity' will be quoted as contributors to personal stress by approximately 50% of the population.

While the above has been extracted from research conducted in Western European workplace environments, I would suggest, the lessons learned and the concepts are transferable to any environment across the commercial and industrial world. 

Included in consequences if stress goes unaddressed is heart disease, which is the biggest killer in the Western world.  Less dramatic, but equally worrying problems are high blood pressure; skin disorders; reduced immunity; anxiety; depression; irritability and fatigue. At a psychological level, stress may translate into substance abuse, relationship problems and sleep difficulties.  Many of these consequences, although not immediately life threatening, can lead to an incapacity to meet the normal demands of an employed role. 

The impact of personal stress on the workplace

The following have been extracted from UK reports published as long ago as 1996, giving an indication of the background to the problem and the fact that it has been building for some time.  It is my contention that the situation in most commercialised and industrialised communities is likely to be no better than that in the UK. 

• The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) tell us that in 2005/6 work related stress, depression and anxiety cost Great Britain in excess of £530 million.  The number of workers who had sought medical advice for what they believed to be work-related stress increased by 110,000 to an estimated 530,000. The HSE estimates that in 2006, 14 million working days were lost due to stress-related absences.
• A 1997 survey by a long-term disability insurer found claims for compensation arising from mental problems had increased by 90% in the previous 5 years.
• A 1996 survey on working conditions by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions showed that 28% of European workers consider their health to be affected by stress at work.  The foundation's 1998 report found 'high stress' working conditions on the increase in Europe with women suffering to a greater degree than men.

The impact of the working environment on stress

A good working environment might be said to be founded on positive positions existing for, at least, the following factors:

1. Having equal opportunity
2. Effective processes in place by an employer to meet business needs
3. Good conditions of employment
4. Health and safety
5. Well thought out job design
6. Training and development
7. Communication
8. Grievance and discipline procedures in place
9. Performance review
10. Rewards and recognition

Each of these points will be impacted by and/or have an impact on personal stress levels in the workplace.  However, it is important to recognise that what may be a stressor for one person, could be either an issue of no real concern or an exciting challenge for another.  Stress is, essentially, caused by a person's belief in their inability to cope in a given situation.  Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to such a situation, or a cumulative effect of exposure to several stress inducing situations, will ultimately turn the stress into a more generic feeling of inability to cope.  This is the point at which an individual can take the first step on the clinical stress ladder when normal decisions like 'what to wear today' or 'what to have for diner' start to become more difficult.  At this point, work-based decisions and issues can take on levels of difficulty for the individual that maintain their physiological condition in a state of high stress: the whole position can start to snowball.  Any of the above listed points will contain issues or concerns for many individuals that, in normal circumstances are easily dealt with, but which, in a stressed state, may represent insurmountable barriers to effective performance.

The opposite of a feeling of inability to cope is, obviously, a feeling of ability to cope.  In psychological terms this is commonly regarded as self-efficacy (a belief in one’s own ability to achieve in a specific situation).  The important point is that self-efficacy is affected by both internal and external stimuli.  Self-belief and recognition by others are both contributors to increase in self-efficacy and, by implication, contributors to effective management of personal stress levels.

The importance of good practice in the work environment now becomes obvious in terms of stress reduction and management of personal stress in the workplace.  The message is that application by an employer of the principles normally associated with ‘a good working environment’ helps people in their management of personal stress in the workplace.

Where does the responsibility lie?

A detailed answer to this question will depend on the behavioural style of the individual and the culture of the organisation.  Nevertheless, at a general level most managers would agree that, however one balances or allocates the degree of responsibility it is, to some extent, shared between the individual and the organisation.

Sharing in this sense is not a separating of responsibilities but rather an integration or joining to form a team-based partnership.  This in turn requires an understanding of personal behavioural styles, development of inter-personal skills and team operation, all within the context of sustained, improved organizational performance.  In forming that partnership it is necessary to examine the behavioural style of individuals and the organization culture.  However, this must be achieved using a process that can match the two in some coherent manner.   In this way we can identify actual and potential areas of harmony and/or conflict, enabling us to,

•  reduce the risk of potential future stressors, and
•  effectively address existing stress issues.

I have found the most effective way of addressing this process is a method that profiles preferences for:

•  task/people orientation - essentially this examines how we prioritise getting the job done v. how people feel about things, and
•  risk/caution orientation - essentially this examines how much information is required before a decision is taken.

Forming a grid from these two scales enables us to plot characteristics that can be applied to individuals, operational teams and organizations.

Using this analysis we can see that organizations operating a people and caution focused culture will naturally regard their responsibility for stress management issues to be greater than organizations operating a task and risk based culture.  Similarly, individuals displaying behavioural characteristics that prefer, say, a task and caution orientated approach to life may be more susceptible to certain types of stressor than those who have a relatively risk and people orientation.  This model is available on the market from a number of sources and is frequently known as the ‘DISC’ profile.

Fundamentally, the issue of responsibility rests not with who does what, but with both the organization and the individual striving to better understand their own characteristics and the way in which these inter-relate and inter-act. 

Stress management techniques

Stress, as we have discussed, manifests as both physical and psychological responses to our changing environment, and how this impacts on our perception of ‘being able/not being able to cope’.  As a positive influence, stress can help spur us on to achieve; it can result in a new awareness and an a new perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, fear and anger, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, digestive issues, skin irritation, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, and worse. 

As I have suggested above, positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life.  Achievement targets, personal objectives, performance, confrontations, successes and even failures all provide learning opportunities.  Our aim should not  be to eliminate all stress but to identify how to minimise factors (stressors) that over-stretch our ability to cope - the negative stressors - and to manage the positive stressors that help to make us feel motivated.

Insufficient stress acts as a de-motivator and may make us feel bored or dejected; on the other hand, excessive stress, even that which is potentially positive, can leave us not knowing which way to turn.  We need to find the optimal level of stress that will individually motivate but not overwhelm us.

There is no ‘normal’ level of stress that is optimal for everyone.  We are each unique with our own personal requirements.  What is a negative stressor to one person, may be a positive challenge another, or indeed, maybe something to which another may be completely indifferent.  Even in the event we agree that a particular factor is distressing, we are likely to differ in our physiological and psychological reaction to it.

Simply identifying unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on our lives is not sufficient for reducing its harmful impact.  In order to eliminate the negative and manage the positive stressors we need to take certain conscious steps:

• Recognise the stressors in your life and how these impact on you, physiologically and psychologically
• Determine what you can change and what (and how) you might avoid negative stressors you can’t change.
• Change the intensity of your emotional reactions to stress by realistically examining the true impact and/or consequences of those stressors to you life?
• Stop trying to please everyone all of the time.  Stop saying ‘yes’ to every request made of you.
• Make a clear distinction between what is ‘important’ and what is ‘urgent’.  Confusing these will lead you into a constant hyper-active mode.
• Consciously monitor and control your physical reaction to stressors – look at some of the techniques suggested later in this article.
• Look after yourself from a health and body maintenance point of view.  Address diet, sleep, alcohol consumption, exercise.
• Equally, address your emotional condition.  Maintain friendships, share your feelings with others, ask for advice and help and also be your own friend.
• Set and pursue your own targets and objectives, not those others have set for you.  If you don’t own your objectives you are unlike to want to achieve them.
• Set plans for how you will deal with disappointment and frustrations – things won’t always go according to plan.
• Reward yourself for achievement.

There are a number of relatively easy ways to carry out techniques of stress management.  You will find information on the internet if you search.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Autogenic Training

Diaphramatic Breathing

Quieting Reflex

Imaging/Visualisation

Transcendental Meditation

Yoga

Chris Warren

Author and Freelance Writer (and HR/OD Specialist)