Stress
Stress is the harmful and natural response that occurs when something unexpected happens that is against to the victim’s nature (Stress in the workplace, 2007).
Workplace Stress
Workplace is the physical and injurious reaction that happens as soon as there is a poor and destructive match between the job demands and your expertise, reserves, strain and desires of the work done.
Problems during work are mostly connected to the adverse physical condition; moreover arise because of financial troubles or sometimes because of some inheriting issues. Most of the studies prove that job stress increases the risk for development of back and upper-extremity. The elevated stage of stress occurs in significant rise in health examination exploitation. Employees with workplace stress moreover prove disproportionate health care exploitation.
When one goes to job, stress is waiting for him in various shapes. Manager, workers, team members are under-pressurized by workload and hence stress arises automatically in their mind. Therefore, they must relax their mind and generate useful thinking in order to solve the problems to overcome stress. Due to stress, one feels helpless and cannot solve any of the issues in real, infect easy situations become puzzled stuff. It has also being found that shift jobs also increase the level of stress in employees (Workplace stress, 2008).
Reactions of Workplace Stress
The following are the some core reactions of stress at work:
- Blood regulation system is totally disturbed and blood regulation to brain affects. This problem causes severe headache or nervous down problems.
- The veins of brain don’t work as per their natural activeness due to stress which results in facial expression having unreleased vision. However stress sharpens hearing and vision.
- Vitamins in our body steam up due to stress.
- Blood pressure also rises due to stress. Severe heart problems like heart attack are observed in employees due to excessive stress.
Causes of Workplace Stress
It has been found out that people at work have been facing supreme and dominant problems (Babcock, 2009). Job stress rises due to the condition of work. The diverse perspectives propose unusual causes of workplace stress. Following are some major causes of workplace stress;
- When job conditions do not fulfill the demands of workers ans when the workers are not physically as well as mentally fit.
- When workers have been facing some severe family issues and they feel unable to solve them.
- When workers face financial issues.
- When salaries of the workers don’t fulfill their total expenses.
- Future-oriented workers have much more stress because they always think to move up and up in very short span of time.
- Greedy workers are always under stress because they cannot be satisfied with their present statuses and they always want to achieve higher positions. Ultimately, this causes them severe work stress.
- Workers who have very little control on individuals, who are organization’s decision makers, are also in stress.
- Female worker usually bear a nature of competition with other female workers in different aspects. This could be in terms of dressing, fashion or in terms of looking different. Such competition causes stress in women at workplace.
British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy
People under this association conducted a survey of about 1440 workers and found that majority of them admire the counseling service. About 84% of the employees believe that the workers need proper counseling so that the recession is reduced (Kadu, 2002).
Rick Hughes, the workplace leading advisor at the British Association for counseling and psychotherapy said that beside the organizational work, employees also needs some counseling, social and moral support so that they are efficient in their work.
Symptoms of Excessive Job and Workplace Stress
- Loss of decision making power that causes a big loss especially when you are at workplace.
- Feeling anxious, irritable and tired or depressed.
- Social withdrawal or lack of social gathering.
- Using alcohol or drugs to attain mental relaxation.
- Apart of it, loss of interest in work.
- Sleeping after hearing the problems.
- Fatigue. Loss of capability to take any powerful decision by themselves.
Workplace stress is identical in genders
Gender disparity pressurizes workplace stress. The Kenexa Research Institute conducted a survey in which it was found out that stress of women workers is 10% greater than the stress in male workers. Numerous studies prove that workplace stress in women is greater than of the workplace stress in men. This can be the result of sensitive nature. In general, female employees are not as regular as male employee.
Ladies are more in to household activities that may result in absenteeism or irregularity. Psychologically, they realize the consequences of their work behavior. Secondly, female employees are more sensitive than male employees. It has been notices that probability of weeping at workplace is excessively found in female workers as compare to male workers. However, women are more conscious and sincere with their work as compared to man.
Workplace stress in the occupation of nursing:
Researchers from different research centers and institutions proved that the profession of nursing is more stressful occupation as compare to the other occupations. Nurses at work do not have time to take rest or to take some break in order to relax. In general, there are three shifts of nurses like morning, evening and night.
Nurses who work in the evening and night shifts are in much stress than the nurses in the morning shifts. In night shifts, nurses can’t take proper sleep. This is the most important reason of stress. Proper sleep is the important source to regain strength not only for job, but also for other routine activities. There is a requirement for the nursing staff to be taught with proper methods of coping with stress as well as providing a positive work environment.
How to reduce workplace stress?
Following are some major suggestions to prevent workplace stress;
Create a balanced schedule
Worker must analyze the schedule, daily task and orders. He should take care of his responsibilities. It is very important to analyze and classify social tasks / activities and private quests.
Don’t over commit yourself
Stay away from setting up things back-to-back or hard to meet appointments within short span of time. Drop the tasks that aren’t necessary in the list of today’s work.
Plan regular breaks
Breaks play a very creative role in coping with the workplace stress. Due to break, employees relax their mind and regain their lost energy and power. Therefore, worker must take a break during work.
Breaking projects into small steps
If an employee is assigned with some crucial projects, then he must schedule and break his tasks in chunks to avoid stress.
Clean up your act
If you are always running late then you must pay proper attention to your schedule out some time for you in order to maintain your personality, cleaning up your act also relaxes your mind.
Flip your negative thinking:
If you have negative thinking or have negative approach for others, then it is quite common to feel stress, because negative thinking brings a person in complex and puts negative effect on work.
Try to leave early in the morning:
The basic reason of stress is going late to office. Try to keep yourself punctual and regular to your workplace as this leave positive impact on your mind. Employees who are not punctual not only leave negative impact on office by violating office environment, but also bring themselves in stress.
This is because they do realize the consequences of their behavior. There could be several reasons for getting later. Late comers can either be habitual or are late for some genuine reason. However, consequences do not really change for both the types. One must tend to schedule his routine in order to be punctual so that to avoid such stress.
Develop a responsive, easy and social environment:
Present chances for communal and group communication among workers. Friendly relations reduce stress because sharing problems with each other helps feeling light and relaxed.
Must take a break:
Workers should take break during work because human mind needs break to relax.
Keep yourself ready to face any kind of problem:
Ambitious and work-oriented workers always prepare themselves for facing any kind of problem and they energize themselves with the ability to solve their problem peacefully.
Reducing working hours
The main reason of stress is to do work in the time limit. Continuing work in tiredness causes excessive stress. If a mind is relaxed, one can do more and more work in short period of time than a person in stress at workplace who wastes time and energy to do the same work. To increase efficiency and effectiveness, one must work without stress.
Conclusion
Workplace stress is nothing, but it is made by us only. If we take care of a few small, but noticeable points, then we surely can get rid of this psychological illness. (Stress, 2008). Sometimes it happens due to some severe health issues, but most of the times, it is generated by us uselessly. If someone is unable to manage work with other issues, then he should break his work in short terms instead of taking stress.
Some organizations and institutions provide proper lectures and take classes of workplace stress and discuss all points and weaknesses that cause hyper stress during work. One must know his prior task and the time limit.
Workers must work hard to get rid of stress. They must tend to be goal-oriented, target-oriented and well-wisher for other employees working in the same field and departments. Workers must create a friendly and peaceful environment which also removes stress to the great extent.
People who take extra hypo-tension can neither perform big tasks nor can they be able to complete simple and small tasks. Workers must keep their mind relax so that they do their work efficiently and effectively. Workers must have a proper checkup if they are not fit physically. It is important to take care of health. Stress affects less on a healthy and fit employee than a sick individual. So if we take proper care of our health, we can cope up with stress and can easily face the workplace stress.
References
Babcock, P. (2009). Workplace Stress? Deal with It! HRMagazine. Alexandria , 54 (5), 67, 4.
Kadu, D. (2002). Human Buildong Report. Background Papers and Student Essays , 11.
Stress in the workplace. (2007). Health Minutes . Workplace stress a hidden injury. (2008). AAP General News Wire .