Most of us have seen someone reduced to tears by work stress. But crying can be just the start of it. Some workers get so distressed they opt for suicide. Recent spate of suicide cases in multinational companies such as Foxconn Technology Group in Shenzhen China, Disneyland in Paris and France Telkom shows that work related stress can reach its extreme.
Work place stress is a harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker. Its effects on employees are both short and long term.
Short term stress related disorders can manifest in a number of ways. Maladaptive behaviours such as alcohol and substance abuse are the first signs. Cognitive impairment is exhibited by concentration and memory loss problems. Emotional strain also takes toll on the workers and they begin showing signs of dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension and busts of anger.
Further distress leads to psychological disorders such as: depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. These conditions lead to poor work performance and may affect the health of the worker.
Biological reactions compromises the immune system of the body causing cardiovascular diseases and in extreme cases may lead to death.
How to Identify Sources of Stress
Identifying the sources of stress in your life is not as easy as it sounds. True causes of stress are not always obvious and it’s easy to overlook your own stress inducing thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
To identify the exact sources of stress you first need to look inside yourself. Look closely at your excuses, attitude and habits. Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating and maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.
How Do You Currently Manage Stress?
Everyone has his/her own way of coping with stress. Some strategies are healthy and helpful but others are unhealthy and counterproductive.
Most employees develop unhealthy ways of managing stress and instead of lessening it, they end up compounding it.
These ways of managing stress may temporarily reduce stress but cause more damage in the long run:
Smoking
Excessive drinking
Overeating
Withdrawal from family and friends
Use of pills and drugs
Over/ under sleeping
TV or internet addiction
Taking out your stress on others
http://integrationtraining.co.uk offers stress management and conflict training to employees with a view to increasing the bottom line. Their stress management courses are meant to address the root causes of stress amongst employees.
By taking valuable steps through advanced stress management techniques, your organization will profit from reduced stress related sickness, reduced error repeat-rate and a lower staff turnover. Put simply, less stressed employees with greater spirit and confidence get more work done.