Handling Stress at Work

by Karen Klemm, B.A.

In 1930, my father's dad worked in a flour mill in a small, south-Missouri town. He worked a 12-hour shift for $1.00 a day. Each morning, he listened for the whistle to blow, indicating whether or not work was available. Health insurance was non-existent; if he became ill or was injured, he was unable to earn the wages necessary to support his family. My mother's dad, an Irish immigrant, lived in Detroit and worked 10-12 hour days in the growing auto industry. He earned higher wages, but didn't have much better job security or working conditions.

They probably both considered themselves lucky just to be working and wouldn't classify themselves as suffering from work stress.

Until recently, both men and women typically worked physically demanding jobs directly linked to survival. Men farmed and provided food for the family or worked in factories to earn a paycheck. Women managed the home--bore and cared for children (and had little or no control over the number born nor the interval between births), pre- served and prepared food, sewed, washed, and ironed clothes, and more. There was little or no time to ponder the questions of whether or not they were stressed--they were simply too busy.

Since the early nineties, "Stress in the Workplace" has become a common theme in boardrooms and lunchrooms. When I ask employees to list what they think of when they hear the word "stress," most answer with predictable, negative, responses: pressure, frustration, anger, change, unpredictability, overwhelmed, miserable, and burn-out. Very rarely do I hear positive words like creative, invigorating, growth, and innovation.

Certainly, today's men and women have much greater and higher expectations than our grandparents in almost every aspect of life. Historically, most people viewed life as difficult; hardship was normal. Additionally, stressors--as we now call them--were primarily external and believed to be outside of a person's control. There were no miracle drugs to heal sick children, nor protection from drought, flood, or economic disaster. Acceptance was easier in those circumstances. While we now measure time in computer micro-seconds and master ever-changing technology, we probably feel less "in control" than our grandparents.

Expectations vs. Control
Our higher expectations may make us vulnerable because one definition of stress is: the conflict between our expectations and the resources we have available to meet those expectations. Today's men and women perceive that they have more resources--therefore more control over most aspects of life--to meet expectations. We depend on vaccines to prevent illness and on antibiotics and vitamins to heal sickness. We have instant access to weather maps to predict a rainstorm or blizzard and take precautions to stay safe, warm, and protected.

Yet this very information that enriches us can stress us. Given the technology at our disposal, we can be exposed to more information in 24 hours--through TV, radio, the Internet, newspapers--than our great-grandparents received in their entire lives. Since the human brain by nature orders information, we are subject to information overload and the stress it produces.

Stress, by another basic definition, is the body's reaction to change. Change is constant, unavoidable--and often unpredictable. Our body's reaction is measured in symptoms--some of which are distressful like nausea, headaches, rapid heartbeat, sweating, irritability, forgetfulness, and confusion. And some are eustressful (the opposite of distressful, meaning "good stress") or desirable--like exhilaration, sweating and rapid heartbeat (especially after the exertion of participating in sports), nervousness (following a promotion) or forgetfulness (while planning a major celebration). Notice that some symptoms are the same, but the cause may be positive or negative.

One place where change is inevitable and the body's stress reaction is likely to be more negative than positive is the workplace. Workplace stress has its own characteristics and varies greatly from other stressors in our lives.

There are primarily four basic factors that create workplace stress. Insecurity, lack of control, unreasonable expectations (both personal and corporate), and self-image.

Insecurity
Insecurity takes many forms. It causes great anxiety when there is ambiguity about the job-role and uncertainty about what the employer's expectations actually are. Additionally, when employees perceive little or no job security, it's unlikely they'll experience job satisfaction or a corresponding personal commitment to the position.

Employees need assurance that they are valued. Affirmation by co-workers, supervisors, and other managers is essential to minimize an atmosphere of stress.

Lack of Control
Webster's Dictionary defines control as the power to direct or regulate. Employees carry day planners and prioritized daily task lists in an attempt to maintain some semblance of order in lives that are often out of balance. It is their perception that somehow time can be controlled, massaged, managed, and regulated that stimulates the stress response.

Time is a resource--24 hours of which are universally allocated to each of us every day--that is a predictable constant in life. The amount, nature and intensity of the tasks that fill those hours and the corresponding perception that with the proper management we can actually do each task on the list creates an enormous internal conflict. Additionally, the workplace tasks frequently spillover into personal time--even if that means just constant thinking about work.

And the opposite is true, too. Employees rarely leave personal problems at home. Problems occupy thoughts and cause worry and anxiety during work hours. Parents concerned about child-care or a sick child, worries about elderly parents, genuine anxiety about teenagers alone at home after school are but a few of the intrusions during the day that contribute to work-stress.

Another worksite variable that affects stress levels and also are outside of the employees' control is environmental conditions. Studies show that excessive noise, poor or inadequate lighting, and uncomfortable temperatures elicit the stress response in employees.

The work environment also can be expanded to include issues of interpersonal relationships between co-workers. On-going conflict between employees or poor relationships between employees and supervisors or managers are some of the most frequent complaints Employee Assistance Program professionals hear in work-related visits. Individuals work best in an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and camaraderie. When this congenial atmosphere is absent, work becomes a dreaded place to be rather than a supportive environment.

Recently, an unexpected and troubling dimension has been added to the workplace. Until the very end of this century, violence was almost unheard of in American worksites. Now workplace violence is a common story on the nightly I news. Employees need to feel safe and have a sense of security for optimum productivity. Companies are rushing to establish policies and protocols to address the issue of violence in all its forms.

Workplace Expectations
Expectations in the workplace are two-fold--those that are personal and those that are corporate. Often they collide, creating distress. Most workers expect they will be productive, competent, cooperative (and cooperated with), congenial, appreciated, and rewarded. The corporation's expectations include cost-effective, timely work and workers who are expendable (due to changing economic variables), flexible, willing, available, and willing to do more with less. The resources available for both are the health, well-being, and stamina of the individual, the skills needed to fulfill the job's requirements, and adequate time to accomplish the tasks.

Too often there is a major discrepancy between these expectations and resources. The resulting stress can  be debilitating to the worker as well as the organization. In recent years, as a result of the need to compete in the world market, many companies have down-sized or experienced staggering rapid growth to the point of expecting productivity of their employees at an unrelenting pace. This can lead employees to a three-stage response.

Individuals vary widely in the time and pressure they need to move from one phase to the next based on their personality type, past experiences, age, gender, and other factors. However, unrelenting stress will eventually cause any person to go through the "human stress response."

1. First is the response's alarm stage. People can rise to the challenge and perform admirably for a period of time.
2. Ultimately, however, they reach the resistance phase where symptoms of distress are evident, if not debilitating, and productivity is compromised.
3. If either the organization or the individuals themselves don't address the stress, workers reach the exhaustion phase. This seriously affects health and well-being--sometimes permanently.

Self-Image
Perhaps the factor that has the greatest impact on the individual's personal work stress experience is the person's self-image. Employees who define themselves by the work they do at the expense of all other aspects of their life are at great risk of experiencing symptoms of distress. Individuals need a balance in life that includes time to play, reflect, and relax.

A self-image that doesn't allow for those aspects consequently places all expectations of fulfillment in work alone. This isn't to suggest that hard work and dedication are undesirable because both can be enriching and fulfilling. It's essential, however, that individuals evaluate all aspects of themselves to include family, personal relationships, pleasurable activities, and spirituality, as well as career.

The absence of balance con- tributes to the growing phenomenon of modem times that most illness is no longer caused by external (microbes, bacteria, virus, and parasites) but internal forces. Heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune disorders are growing at an alarming rate. Many experts agree that the evidence is obvious, and it is imperative to address.

We each bring our unique personalities, needs, and strengths to the job. It is, therefore, essential to find an appropriate fit between individual and career. Frequently, the greatest cause of occupational stress is that workers are not fundamentally suited to the job to which they are assigned or have chosen.

Consider the emergency service worker. A typical day is anything but typical. There can be long stretches when nothing happens followed by a call to a grinding accident that requires life-and-death decisions and actions. Most EMS workers love their jobs and are stimulated by the urgency of the tasks required. Contrast those individuals to lab technicians or research scientists, meticulously measuring, evaluating, and documenting in their daily tasks. The very situations that would stress one worker would be fulfilling to the other.

Handling Workplace Stress
How, then, does an individual deal effectively with work stress? Like our grandparents before us, we all need to work to meet basic needs as well as to live the increasingly affluent American lifestyle. Most of us do, in fact, work for the financial compensation. But we work for a variety of other reasons, too.

Many employees perform job functions that enhance the well-being of others--those in health care, teachers, law enforcement officers, and many more. Others work at jobs that allow them to create, build, or otherwise produce goods and services that are an integral part of the community. Hopefully, most people work at jobs that allow them to use their talents and ability or to practice a profession for which they have trained. Few employees, however, find that work provides all the fulfillment an individual needs in life. Most people need to find and sustain a balance in life that promotes health and well-being.

Beyond the common suggestions such as good nutrition and adequate exercise, there are other strategies that help to cope with stress. Since stress is triggered by a stimulus and information is a stimulant, consider the amount of information from TV, radio, newspapers, the Internet and more that contemporary Americans are exposed to in a single day. Try limiting the amount of information you "ingest" and attempt to build a few minutes (or hours) of reflection or daydreaming. Studies show that the calming effect of vivid imaging of a quiet, beautiful place (like a beach at sunset) is as effective as actually experiencing it.

Organizations also can contribute to reducing their employees' stress by providing wellness programs that encourage exercise and health education. They also may contract for an Employee Assistance Program for employees to access with personal problems.

Work can, indeed, be stressful. But understanding the stress response, recognizing the symptoms of stress, evaluating the factors that cause the stress, and devising (and sticking to) strategies to minimize the effects of stress can both improve the quality of the individual employee's life and increase the productivity of the organization that provides employment.