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7 Questions About Workplace Stress Answered

Is workplace stress a big deal?

Anyone who has a job knows what workplace stress is. 77% of the Indian workforce in 2022 revealed that they experience work related stress and it has caused them to feel anxious, or depressed. Of these, 82% reported stomach problems and body aches and pains too.

Do you feel you might be one of them?

This survey conducted on a sample of 1380 employees across sectors like banking and finance, construction and engineering, education, FMCG, hospitality, HR solutions, IT, ITES and BPO, logistics and manufacturing, was an eye opener. The fact that most respondents agree that work-related stress affects their mental health is very compelling. The talk around emotional health has gained momentum. It is hence crucial that you become more receptive to realizing that the experience of stress can deteriorate your mental health and we need to take steps to prevent it or intervene well in time.

What is stress?

Essentially, stress is a protective and instinctive way of dealing with situations that one finds difficult. Back in the stone age, survival wasn’t so easy. Whenever faced with a stressor, there would be a fight, fright, or flight response in which one could fight the source of stress, flee from it, or freeze in fear like a deer caught in the headlights. Today, life isn’t as hard as it was centuries ago, yet there is a lot of worry and mental tension that we all experience when we face demanding situations. Stress that inner reaction that prompts you to address challenges and threats in your life. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way you respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to your overall well-being.

What is workplace stress?

Work stress is the harmful physical and emotional impact that could occur when the requirements of the job do not match your abilities, resources, or needs.

The concept of work stress is often confused with an inability to deal with challenges. This isn’t the stress we’re worried about. Challenges energize your body and mind, motivating you to learn new skills and master your capacities to perform well. When you meet a challenge, you feel relaxed and accomplished. Without challenges, you would never learn, imbibe, and grow. Challenges are hence an essential ingredient for creativity and productivity. The importance of challenge in work life is what people refer to when they say “a little bit of stress is good for you.

How would you know that you’re stressed?

Stress makes it nearly impossible for you to relax. You could feel charged up in the mind with a flurry of thoughts but none of these thoughts seem to have focused direction. You may experience a range of emotions like frustration, anxiety, disappointment, and irritability at work. It becomes impossible to concentrate on the task at hand. You could also experience headache, aches and pains, an upset stomach or unrested sleep. You may also lose your appetite or eat more than usual. If stress has been around for long, it could worsen pre-existing health problems and also increase the use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances. Over a period of time, you may develop anxiety and depression too. Longstanding stress undoubtedly affects your everyday functioning, at home as well as work.

Does everyone get stressed?

Everyone faces stressors, but everyone doesn’t get stressed by them. People react to a stressor based on their past experiences, personality style and present-day coping abilities. If your capacity to deal with stress is good, you will be able to take it in your stride. It is natural to feel stressed in challenging situations like job interviews, appraisals, unrealistic workloads, an insecure job, or conflict with family, friends, or colleagues. It is also likely that your stress in a particular situation could reduce over time because your situation changes, or you learn to cope better with its demands. In general, getting stressed is more likely during major economic crises, disease outbreaks like the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters, war, community violence, and other uncertain situations when you don’t really know whether you will be able to cope or not.

If you’re stressed, does it mean you cannot work?

Stress has become normative. This means that everyone around is stressed, and it has as if become customary to feel a pang of fear in everyday dealings at home as well as work. Most people are able to manage their stress by taking steps to deal with the crisis situation and not let it get out of hand. However, stress becomes insurmountable when you sense that you’ve lost control over the situation. That is when everything seems like a catastrophe and your abilities to cope appear inadequate. Your ship seems like it is sinking and you’re unable to stay afloat. At such times work motivation could be affected and your performance may drop. At such a time it is wise to speak to a professional and work on enhancing your resilience so that you can battle the stressor and come out victorious. Remember, it’s never the problem, which is a problem, it’s your way of reacting to it, which is. Manage your stress before it manages you.

Does my workplace care that I am stressed?

Workplaces have security systems to safeguard their property. Cameras, gates, security guards and electronic entry mediums. And yet they lose most of their capital when their employees are stressed. As an employee, you may be unaware of your own stress, or you ignore it because you feel there is very little that can be done about it. That’s not true. There is an answer to all complicated questions and we’re here to give it to you. You can fight stress by consulting with wellness expert Dr Shefali Batra. The sessions are private and confidential. Your name will not be disclosed to anyone in management, and nobody will even know you reached out. Don’t hesitate to make the best call for yourself.

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