Workplace stress and stress management

Stress is a common phenomenon not only in life, but also at work. A huge number of cases and tasks, plans and reports, management requirements, proper performance of one’s duties, associated problems and troubles - this is only a small part of the array of stress factors that can affect us, and this cannot but worry us.

At the same time, this issue worries not only ordinary people who want to live and work without stress, but also many executives, HR managers and other specialists around the world. It is for this reason that the concept of “stress management” comes into use today, going hand in hand with the problem of overcoming stress in the workplace.

In this article, we will talk about what stress management is, and also learn what measures organizations and their employees can take to reduce the negative impact of stress, remain productive longer, maintain a positive attitude and not feel exhausted and deathly. tired from work.

And in the “Mental Self-Regulation” program you will learn practical techniques for coping with stress and strong psycho-emotional states in order to remain calm in life and at work.

What is stress management

To begin with, let us remember that stress is a general reaction of the body to a strong physical or psychological impact. It also refers to the depressed state of the human body and nervous system. As for stress management, it concerns specifically stress at work, which, according to statistics, occurs most often (by the way, we covered other interesting statistics in the article “Stress resistance. How to remain calm and productive”).

So, the term “stress management” appeared in Russia not so long ago, and, like many similar concepts, it came to us from the West. It does not yet have any generally accepted definition, but most psychologists and personal effectiveness specialists understand it as managing oneself when exposed to stress, allowing one to overcome its consequences.

We think that this is a completely correct interpretation, and even if we pick up some modern book related to overcoming stress, we will see that stress management is interpreted this way. If we simplify the interpretation a little, we get that stress management is stress management.

The process of stress management occurs in three basic directions:

prevention of stress factors;
reduction of tension from stress factors that cannot be eliminated;
organization of a system for overcoming the consequences of stress factors.

But since, according to the title of the article, we are talking about stress in the workplace, it would be more appropriate to narrow the scope of the topic. And in professional activities, stress management has two main levels:

stress management at the organizational level;
stress management at the personal level.

Next we will talk about each of these levels separately.

Ask colleagues for help

If you feel like you're stuck at work, ask your colleagues for help. It's funny, but it's women who usually neglect the help of their colleagues, not men. Men are generally less likely to suffer from stress at work, because they often skillfully shift it onto the shoulders of other people, for example, the same women who simply cannot refuse a male colleague who has given them a compliment.

But for women it is more difficult to ask for help. Therefore, if you are a woman and want help in difficult times, try to help your colleagues yourself at a time when you are relatively free. Just come up and offer help. Then you will have every moral right to ask for a favor in return.

Stress management at the organizational level

Stress management at the organizational level involves changing the organizational climate and anti-stress support for employees within the framework of special programs. Understanding the negative consequences of stress is of great importance at this level, because Only with its help can the organization’s management and HR specialists organize stress monitoring and develop measures to minimize, mitigate and prevent the consequences of stress factors.

Creating a favorable organizational climate is one of the primary tasks of effective stress management in an organization, because such a climate serves, perhaps, as the best prevention of stress in general.

If a stressful situation arises, the climate in the organization can either enhance its impact or transform negative reactions of staff into positive ones. Interestingly, difficult situations can have a beneficial effect on team cohesion and enhance its creative potential.

Based on this fact, the management of many organizations today is taking all measures to create an atmosphere of trust and respect for each other within their teams, and this applies not only to employees at the same levels - constructive relationships are also built between managers and subordinates.

However, creating the right favorable climate is not an easy task, and “little things” that seem insignificant at first glance play a huge role in solving it. Therefore, to achieve this goal it is customary to use special methods:

organizing a feedback system using corporate communications (website, mail, press);
involving employees in making important decisions for the organization (reorganization of the structure, refinement of the technological process, etc.);
the use of team and project forms of labor organization.

Today, great hopes are also placed on corporate events aimed at uniting the organization and strengthening the corporate spirit, but this approach is no longer something innovative - rather, it can be called standard. Therefore, experts warn that when using it you may encounter all sorts of difficulties and troubles.

Yes, you can organize a lot of interesting and fun holidays for employees, but at the same time do not have an established feedback system that allows management to have an idea of the needs of the staff and the staff to understand the real business tasks that the organization poses. Such a policy will only lead to employees turning into consumers of entertainment and salaries who do not take any responsibility for what happens in the company.

The example is, of course, particular, but it perfectly highlights the impossibility of creating a favorable climate using standard schematic approaches. Moreover, two important principles are not taken into account here:

The principle of respect for the individual and granting him rights and responsibilities. People employed in the company must understand its main goals and objectives, be involved in its victories and achievements, and be aware of the reasons why certain decisions are made.
The principle of developing measures to create a favorable corporate climate. At the same time, the mood, interests and needs of the staff should be studied. Understanding these features helps you choose the best methods to interact with employees by meeting their basic needs.

Methods for creating a favorable climate are described in specialized literature devoted to organizational climate research. With the right approach, a favorable climate can become an effective measure to prevent and mitigate stress factors, as well as a way of relaxation and recovery.

Another stress management factor at the organizational level should also be mentioned. It is to provide staff with greater responsibility for the results of their activities. But this factor will only act in conjunction with a clear distribution of functionality and workload, which makes it possible to prevent both insufficient workload and overload with work.

If employees decide for themselves what and how to do while working, the negative consequences of stress will decrease significantly. However, in practice this is very difficult to achieve, although there are still some ways. For example, scheduled meetings to discuss tasks with each specific department.

The redistribution of responsibilities is no less important. Of course, this is not always possible, but managers involved in stress management should always keep this issue in mind. And to solve it, you can use a variety of work situations, for example, the dismissal of one of the employees.

Upon dismissal, a workplace is freed up, and this can easily be used as an occasion to revise job descriptions and work assignments in order to make other jobs more interesting for the rest of the staff, as well as to optimize the workload. In this case, various methods of job analysis are used, such as expert assessment, timekeeping, photography of the working day, etc.

Another great way to prevent stress in the workplace is to implement flexible working hours. It is possible to minimize stress loads and increase job satisfaction if you give at least some employees the opportunity to independently arrange their schedule, based on production needs and functionality.

In addition, a significant organizational factor that can mitigate stress at work is social support for employees provided by immediate managers and close-knit teams. Many researchers believe that they act as a buffer between people and stress.

It is important to note here that in order to provide social support, stress management managers should first of all master anti-stress programs. Today, many such programs are available in foreign companies. They include behavioral and cognitive methods of coping with stress, and their use has been shown to reduce stress, improve sleep and increase the body's resistance to stress at work.

A lot of research has been done on this topic. For example, an experiment was conducted in the Netherlands where 130 people took part. He showed that corporate programs to train staff in stress management methods not only reduce nervousness, but also lead to psychological comfort, increase self-confidence and even increase productivity. Moreover, this effect lasted for six months, after which it was necessary to simply apply anti-stress methods again.

To make such programs more effective, you can initially teach them to more sensitive employees - later they will help their less susceptible colleagues to learn to cope with stress. And the accompanying positive impact of this approach is expressed in significant cost savings on the development and implementation of stress management programs, as well as in increasing the status of employees who train other people.

It is worth mentioning one more anti-stress factor - these are fitness programs provided to employees by organizations - they help improve physical health. But this is not their only purpose, because moderate physical activity is known to have a beneficial effect on the psyche (read more about this in the article “Preventing stress and developing stress resistance”).

However, these programs differ in an important nuance - responsibility for attending classes, maintaining a routine and maintaining a healthy lifestyle lies with the employees themselves. While it is still possible to track people's attendance at fitness programs, it is not possible to force them to attend them. But speaking more objectively, introducing stress management methods into an organization and training staff in them is several times cheaper than organizing a fitness program.

Therefore, such means of reducing the impact of stress as seminars, master classes and trainings, where employees can learn relaxation techniques and behavior change methods, master business communication skills and useful behavior techniques in conflict situations, are still considered more effective.

As you can see, there are quite a lot of ways to manage stress at the organizational level, but this information is still more useful for managers and executives than for ordinary employees who simply go to work every day and perform the functions assigned to them. At the personal level, the benefits will be much greater if individual stress management measures are applied.

Causes of stress in the workplace

Factors that contribute to increased mental stress are called stressors. Let's consider the main stressors in professional activity.

Interaction with people. This factor includes communication with the team within the organization, and contacts with outsiders if the work involves providing services or establishing partnerships with other companies.

Read: How to deal with intrigue at work

Lack of self-realization. If an activity is not to your liking, it will not be performed with maximum effort and enthusiasm. This is very depressing for many and makes them think about changing jobs. Stress can also be caused by a discrepancy between the organization's goals and a person's values. For example, if a person is not close to the field of sales or he generally considers it a “bad” business, then he is unlikely to be able to achieve success in it.
Read: How to change jobs painlessly
Dissatisfaction with work results. Here, either the employee makes little effort, or places very high demands on himself, or does not value enough what he has already achieved. Or perhaps he wants to get results too early. Be sure to figure out the reason.
Lack of time. Time management trainings are becoming increasingly popular, aimed at teaching employees how to correctly prioritize tasks and use time more efficiently. For many, staying late at work is becoming the norm. Although in most cases this has an adverse effect on family relationships.
Read: Procrastination - what it is and how to get rid of it
High responsibility. For many people, their work involves responsibility for their lives or the lives of others, as well as great financial risks. This usually results in significant stress.
Low earnings. The purpose of any work activity is to earn money. Dissatisfaction with salary often affects self-esteem and mood. Especially for men.
Read: How to increase your money without risk - 15 ways
Insufficient understanding of professional tasks. Here we are faced with either an unclear formulation of these tasks, or a lack of skills to perform the work. Most often, such a stress factor occurs at the beginning of a career or when changing professional activities.
Working conditions. An uncomfortable workplace, insufficient lighting in the room, lack of fresh air, unpleasant odors, noise, prolonged use of the computer, etc. do not have the best effect on health. The inconvenient location of the enterprise (being far from home or in an industrial area) is also stressful for some people.
Intensive work. High load leads to depletion of the body's strength. Sooner or later, resources run out and rest is required. It is important to understand this before the critical point comes.
Monotonous work or, conversely, the need to constantly switch from one task to another. Everything here is individual. Some people cannot stand routine activities, while others find it difficult to be flexible and multitask.

Stress management at the personal level

Prevention, prevention and minimization of the negative impact of stress in the workplace at the individual level is achieved through specialized training. They are either organized by the management of organizations, or completed by employees individually, i.e. on one's own. One of the most effective measures to achieve the desired result is relaxation.

The benefits of relaxation techniques when dealing with stress have been known for a long time. Back at the beginning of the 20th century, when working with patients, specialists taught them to sequentially concentrate on different parts of the body, simultaneously tensing and relaxing them. The goal was (and is now) to focus on the sensations that arise during relaxation, which subsequently makes it possible to achieve complete relaxation of the body and psyche.

Naturally, since that time, relaxation techniques have become more advanced, and today many of them include two basic approaches - auto-training and meditation. By the way, you can get acquainted with some good techniques in the article “Exercises for relaxation and relieving emotional and muscle tension.”

The second option for an anti-stress program at the individual level is behavior modification. To a greater extent, this option is necessary for people who are characterized by excessive assertiveness, increased activity and a constant feeling of rush and workload. But, of course, everyone else’s behavior can be modified.

Behavior modification implies that a person begins to learn new forms of behavior - to react differently to stress factors and circumstances. You can learn this by turning to specialized literature, audio and video materials, trainings, and useful articles on the Internet.

If such tasks are solved at the organizational level, any activities for the development and implementation of relevant programs should be organized only after a detailed study of the factors and level of stress in the organization itself. At the same time, stress management managers must solve a number of important tasks:

Determine the composition of employees for training: will it be managers, employees most susceptible to stress, employees with the most stressful jobs, or all personnel in general? To answer this question correctly, you need to have a good understanding of the characteristics of each specific organization. However, in practice, the effectiveness of training anti-stress programs specifically for managers has been proven. Plus, the mere fact of introducing anti-stress programs into the organization does not allow the stressful situation to worsen.
Determine the content of the program and subjects of training. The program must be adequate and reliable, and this can be achieved if an expert group (heads of HR services, top managers, line managers) participates in the development. This approach helps to achieve a balance between the main employee training program and stress management training, and also allows you to optimally select specialists teaching stress management (note that the latter should be selected on a competitive basis in order to understand what approaches they use and ensure their professionalism and estimate future costs).

We must also remember that in order to prevent stress at work at the individual level, each employee must understand the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, maintaining good health and providing themselves with an adequate level of physical activity.

That is why employees of those companies that offer access to gyms and swimming pools and organize outdoor games are highly resistant to stress. Such things allow people to become more physically resilient, maintain vitality, increase energy and immunity, and reduce the risk of many diseases.

And, summing up the issue of preventing and combating stress at work at the personal level, we note that each person has his own personal time threshold for stress. Some people are able to work under high loads for a very long time, while adapting to stress quite easily and quickly, while others, even with a light load, quickly lose their ability to work. There are also those for whom stress serves as a stimulus, and such people work best under stressful conditions.

These features must be taken into account both by the heads of organizations when developing anti-stress programs, and by the employees themselves - in order to correctly assess their strengths and select optimal and effective methods for increasing stress resistance (we wrote about some of them in the article “Stress resistance: characteristics, advantages, methods of increase”).

How to relieve stress and calm your nerves at work

If you don't have enough vacation days to deal with stress, you can still find ways to de-stress while at work. There are several simple ways to calm yourself and fulfill your responsibilities.

Just breathe

It may sound funny, but deep breathing can relieve some of your stress. Try it: take a deep breath and imagine how the air inflates your stomach. Hold your breath for three to four seconds and then exhale as if you are clearing your lungs. Repeat at least four times or until you feel a little more relaxed.

There are a number of benefits of deep breathing. On the one hand, it helps relieve tension in your body. And relaxes the body and mind and also helps relieve body pain.

Listen to music

Music is a universal language that helps us cope with any situation in life. Music is known to slow down your heart rate and reduce the release of harmful stress hormones. Unfortunately, there are offices that require silence so as not to distract other team members.

In this case, take headphones. This will relieve you of stress and help you get the job done. If you need something more uplifting, you can turn to your favorite playlists to relieve stress.

Watch a funny video on YouTube

There are millions of videos on YouTube that amuse everyone. When you find it difficult to concentrate on work, you can take a few minutes off the load and go to YouTube.

You can watch some funny videos online that can help relieve stress or even inspirational videos that will give you a positive boost for the rest of your work day.

When turning to YouTube to relieve stress, there are a few basic rules to follow. While at work, plug in headphones to enjoy video without distracting other employees. When watching funny clips, keep laughter to a minimum. Finally, YouTube is addictive, so set a timer to watch no more than 10 minutes of video so you can get back to work.

Clear desktop

Get up in the morning, wash your face, put yourself in order - and immediately put your planet in order. Antoine de Saint-Exupery. A little prince

We all remember that order on the table means order in the head. And how to relieve stress by putting things in order?

When stress sets in during a long workday, you can take a few minutes to unwind and clear your desk of unwanted items. Organize all documents into a neat pile and remove anything you don't need right now. A cleaner desk can help relieve some of the stress you're feeling.

Another way is to clear your desktop on your laptop or PC. We tend to fill our desks with documents when we need to find them faster. You can create folders on your hard drive to organize documents and also delete unnecessary items.

Turn off the monitor

Staring at a computer monitor for hours can not only damage your eyes, but also increase your stress levels. One way to relieve stress while at your desk is to turn off your monitor and look away from it for a few minutes.

This is the perfect time to take a tea or snack break while looking out the window. Or you can close your eyes and meditate for a few minutes. You may remember your dream vacation or happy moments in your life. This will reduce your stress levels and you will be able to continue working.