We hear a lot about stress, but what is it? In simple terms, stress is the result of any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factors that require a response or change. It is generally believed that some stress is okay (sometimes referred to as “challenge”or “positive stress”) but when stress occurs in amounts that you cannot handle, both mental and physical changes may occur.

“Workplace stress” then is the harmful physical and emotional responses that can happen when there is a conflict between job demands on the employee and the amount of control an employee has over meeting these demands. In general, the combination of high demands in a job and a low amount of control over the situation can lead to stress.

Stress in the workplace can have many origins or come from one single event. It can impact on both employees and employers alike.

Employees who start to feel the “pressure to perform” can get caught in a downward spiral of increasing effort to meet rising expectations with no increase in job satisfaction. The relentless requirement to work at optimum performance takes its toll in job dissatisfaction, employee turnover, reduced efficiency, illness and even death.

Absenteeism, “petty internal politics”, bad or snap decisions, lack of motivation or creativity are all by-products of an over stressed workplace.

Some stress is normal. In fact, it is often what provides us with the energy and motivation to meet our daily challenges both at home and at the workplace. Stress in these situations is the kind that helps you “rise” to a challenge and meet your goals such as deadlines, sales or production targets, or finding new clients. Some people would not consider this challenge a type of stress because, having met the challenge, we are satisfied and happy.

However, as with most things, too much stress can have negative impacts. When the feeling of satisfaction turns into exhaustion, frustration or dissatisfaction, or when the challenges at work become too demanding, we begin to see negative signs of stress.

In the workplace, stress can be the result of any number of situations. Some examples include:

Factors unique to the job: workload (overload and underload); hours of work; physical environment (noise, air quality, etc) and also isolation at the workplace.

Role in the organization: role conflict (conflicting job demands, multiple supervisors/managers); Role in the organization; role ambiguity (lack of clarity about responsibilities, expectations,etc) ; level of responsibility

Career development: Under or over-promotion ; job security ; career development opportunities and overall job satisfaction

Interpersonal relationships at work: supervisors / co-workers / subordinates / threat of violence, harassment, etc (threats to personal safety)

Yes, stress can have an impact on your overall health. Our bodies are designed, pre-programmed if you wish, with a set of automatic responses to deal with stress. This system is very effective for the short term “fight or flight” responses we need when faced with an immediate danger. The problem is that our bodies deal with all types of stress in the same way. Experiencing stress for long periods of time (such as lower level but constant stressors at work) will activate this system, but it doesn’t get the chance to “turn off”.

Luckily, there are usually a number of warning signs that help indicate when you are having trouble coping with stress before any severe signs become apparent. These signs include physical (headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, frequent illness) psychosocial (anxiety, irritability, sadness, defensiveness, anger, mood swings ) and behavioural (overeating or loss of appetite, impatience, increased use of alcohol or drugs, increased smoking, poor job performance or a change in close family relationships).

In many cases, the origin of the stress is something that cannot be changed immediately. Therefore, finding ways to help maintain good mental health is essential. There are many ways to be proactive in dealing with stress. Laughing is one of the easiest and best ways to reduce stress. Share a joke with a co-worker, watch a funny movie at home with some friends, and try to see the humour in the situation.

Learn to relax, take several deep breaths throughout the day, or have regular stretch breaks. Stretching is simple enough to do anywhere and only takes a few seconds.

Take charge of your situation by taking 10 minutes at the beginning of each day to prioritize and organize your day. Be honest with your colleagues, but be constructive and make practical suggestions. Be realistic about what you can change.

Sources: Canadian Mental Health Association, “Sources of Workplace Stress” Richmond, British Columbia; Murphy, L. R., Occupational Stress Management: Current Status and Future Direction. in Trends in Organizational Behavior, 1995, Vol 2., p. 1-14