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Work Stress: What is it and how to detect it early?

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Personal Mastery
Work Stress: What is it and how to detect it early?

Work stress is one of the epidemics of the 21st century, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Not surprisingly, stress has already been quantified as the second cause of health problems related to work, this being the origin of 28% of them, according to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound).

In India, we are especially vulnerable to stress at work. According to data from ADP, 60-70% of professionals suffer from work stress. And the Indians have become aware of it. In a study on the perception and habits around stress, 9 out of 10 professionals between 18 and 65 years old claim to have felt symptoms of work stress in the last year, and 4 out of 10 believe that they have experienced it frequently or continually.

But, what is stress at work? It is possible that taking into account the statistics, on some occasions you have suffered stress. Personal Mastery will help you learn about work stress, its symptoms, repercussions, possibilities, and tools to prevent and detect it in time.

What is work stress?

Let's first see what work stress is. The first time the term "stress" was used was in 1936, by Hans Selye, physiologist, and physician, Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery at the University of Montreal. Already then, Selye defined stress "as a nonspecific response of the body to any request for change."

This doctor and researcher were even able to establish what the stressors are. These can be biological agents, environmental conditions, external stimuli, or events.

When we talk about work stress specifically, we define the reaction that a person can have to work demands and pressures, which do not fit with their knowledge and/or abilities. This makes it unable to cope with the situation. Or to do it in normal conditions, with stability and integrity.

Symptoms of work stress or work anxiety can also be aggravated when a person does not feel that they cannot cope with the demands of their position, as they are not supported by their supervisors, team managers or co-workers.

The trivialization of stress

We use the word "stress" so many times and for so many circumstances that this term has often been trivialized. In fact, on many occasions, it serves to excuse inappropriate practices on the part of companies. Practices or neglects that should be overlooked, neither by Human Resources experts nor by the professionals who suffer them.

 

The WHO recognizes that a certain level of stress, as long as the professional considers it acceptable, can be useful to maintain alertness, motivation, and predisposition to continue learning. However, it is easy for this degree of stress to escape our control and generate an imbalance in the health of the person. This is why it is so important to watch for symptoms and learn to recognize them.

How to detect work stress in time?

First of all, it is vital to know how to listen to yourself and observe all those symptoms that work stress can produce. According to the WHO, they can be the following, although in each person they will manifest in a different way, more or less intense or selective:

  • Increasing anguish and irritation
  • Inability to relax or concentrate
  • Difficulty making decisions or thinking logically
  • Loss of taste, interest, and commitment to work
  • Tiredness, restlessness, and depression
  • Insomnia problems
  • Serious physical symptoms: heart disease, digestive disorders, increased blood pressure, headache, musculoskeletal disorders or a depressed immune system

Observing these symptoms and being attentive to workflows and circumstances will help us detect possible peaks in work stress or diagnose situations of sustained work anxiety. For this, of course, it will be essential to seek medical help.

A health professional will be able to offer an accurate diagnosis, observe the individual's stress level, and, consequently, give the necessary guidelines for action.

At the same time, it is important to transmit this information and diagnosis to the immediate managers of the company to reorganize the tasks, the work system and make the necessary decisions to improve people's health.

Companies must be aware of how work stress can affect the people who work in them because it can cause absenteeism, poor performance, the desire to change jobs, lack of proactivity, low productivity, among other things.

We all know that the happiness rate of professionals is already a key factor in determining the growth of any organization. In addition, you have to work on it because a happy person is more productive!

Personal Mastery helps professionals experience a higher degree of happiness and satisfaction at the workplace by training them to manage emotions and develop skills and competencies to deal with any situation better.

Find out our courses for the companies and professionals on our website to know more.

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