Technically stress is the adverse reaction an individual has to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them. In the workplace, the negative, damaging, effects of stress can arise at times when pressures are extreme, such as peak busy periods, but equally can be caused by continuous exposure to stressful conditions, such as being in an unsuitable job or being treated unfairly. Outside work, negative stress can be caused by major change events, such as a death in the family, but equally by continuous pressure of having a life constrained or dominated by the work situation.
Stress is personal
in that stress affects individuals in different ways. In similar situations or
conditions some people cope, even thrive, on the pressure, whilst others find
it difficult to cope and suffer negative stress as a result. It is also
personal in the sense that the amount of control that the individual has, over
their workplace conditions, events, and work-life balance, will influence the
amount of negative stress that they suffer from. Those individuals with greater
control will tolerate and manage stress levels, or avoid them altogether, more
successfully.
Work-life balance
is, literally, balancing the demands, the amount of time and effort, given to
work and the workplace, and that given to the individual’s domestic, personal,
family, and social life. A vital factor in achieving an appropriate work-life
balance is ensuring that the work element does not dominate, and-or that it is
not causing damage to the individual through the effects of negative stress. It
is most unusual to find people with a work-life balance that is dominated
negatively by their life outside the workplace. It is almost always the
workplace activity that dominates and often negatively. For professionals
undertaking personal and career development activities, the positive activity
of personal development must be actively managed in order to ensure that it
does not have a negative effect on stress levels and cause damage to the
individual’s work-life balance.
The increased
awareness of the importance of managing stress and work-life balance
effectively has given rise to approaches such as time management, managing
stress, achieving work-life balance, managing personal development, and related
approaches such as coaching and mentoring. The tools and techniques within
these approaches are valuable in helping individuals to manage stress and
work-life balance more successfully. All of these are worth exploring in more
depth. However, here we will focus on simple, well established actions that any
individual can take themselves.
There are some well-established,
simple to implement, approaches that will help to reduce the effects of
negative stress and help to maintain an appropriate work-life balance. These
include: Recognising the symptoms that will alert you to the fact that you may
be under stress. Commonly experienced symptoms are: Poor health - headaches,
upset stomach, sleep problems, change in appetite, tense muscles, indigestion,
exhaustion, stomach, intestinal and skin problems, and heart attacks (extreme
but not uncommon in severe cases); Personal behaviour - constantly worrying,
irritated, feeling depressed, unable to cope and make decisions, being less
creative, excessive smoking, excessive use of alcohol, not sleeping;
Unsatisfactory work situation - low job satisfaction, poor relationships with
colleagues, focusing on unproductive tasks, deadlines missed, performance level
falling, opportunities missed, poor appraisal outcomes, feeling de-motivated;
Personal life: stopping social activities, being irritated and argumentative
with family and friends, personal relationships deteriorating.
Many of these
symptoms can be experienced in normal life, but become symptoms of stress when
several are experienced at the same time, or when there is no obvious cause, or
when one or more symptom becomes overwhelming. We need to remember, however,
that whilst the symptoms often are more visible, and potentially damaging, in
the workplace, they are not necessarily caused by workplace pressures. Many
are, but not all and not always.
Identifying the
sources in the workplace: As individuals working in a business world that is
continuously changing at an ever-increasing pace, we need to be adaptable and
flexible. In order to avoid negative stress we need to be aware of, prepared
for, and able to manage, the impact of: time pressures; demanding deadlines;
increasing complex relationships with others; peaks and troughs of too much or too little work; multiple,
overlapping business or work changes; threats of redundancy or unwanted job
change; pressure from senior managers; unfair or discriminatory actions of
management; travel pressures; increases in performance expectations; more
visible scrutiny through technology and surveillance; requirements to undertake
continuous personal professional development activities.
Identifying the
sources in life outside work: Outside the workplace there are regularly
occurring events and pressures that are a normal part of our lives, but which
can be either a source of stress, or satisfaction, or both. These include:
death of friend or family member; a relationship breakdown leading to
separation or divorce; personal or family member injury; moving house; taking
on large financial commitments such as for a mortgage; holiday periods where
personal relationships are refreshed and renewed, or put under intense
pressure; giving up a habit such as smoking; the birth of a child; getting
married; and so on.
Knowing what your
natural response will be: Individuals adapt and adjust to external pressures in
different ways, depending on their personality type. The range of types is very
wide, but two broad bands of personality type have been identified. Type
"A" people are described as competitive, aggressive or hasty, whilst
Type "B" people behave in a passive, non-competitive, slow to react
way. Type "A" people tend to pass on stress to others, Type
"B" tend to internalise the effects of stress. Whilst these are
established, proven categories that most people fall into, other factors, such
as age, gender, health, financial situation and access to support will strongly
influence the response to causes of stress, regardless of personality traits.
Knowing your personality type can be helpful, but can only play a small part in
managing stress successfully.
Identifying
strategies and actions that will help you to cope: As we have seen, individuals
react differently to stress, so each of us will need to adopt different coping
strategies. The following are well established, proven actions and strategies
for managing stress and achieving work-life balance: be aware of your own
weakness and strengths; understanding and accepting that certain things cannot
be avoided or changed; taking action to reduce or remove the pressure; breaking
down problems into smaller parts and setting targets to tackle each part in sequence;
implementing personal time management techniques; replacing negative
relationships with positive, supportive relationships; adopting a healthy
living style; develop outside work interests, such as hobby, educational,
social or sporting activity; undertaking positive professional career
development activity; seeking advice and support from others, including
professionals if appropriate; accepting that managing stress and work-life
balance is a permanent continuous activity.
Corporate support
mechanisms: Some organisations have recognised that stress and work-life
balance are issues that need to be supported by corporate action. Individuals
in these organisations should, where appropriate, take advantage of support
mechanisms such as: Flexible working hours: allowing employees to organise
working hours to accommodate important aspects of their home lives; Self-managed
teams: where teams work out their own hours, responding to each other’s’ needs;
Using a buddy system: pairing with a colleague to provide cover for each other,
enabling each to take time off when necessary, knowing that their buddy will
take over their duties and responsibilities; Flexible locations: working from
different locations, or from home, either regularly or occasionally, to help
with family responsibilities and reduce or eliminate commuting time; Special
leave availability: such as paid or unpaid leave, to give time to cope with
personal crises and emergencies, without using formal holiday allowance; Career
breaks: for study or research sabbaticals, travel, family commitments, or
voluntary work; Health programmes - offer counselling and advice, for a range
of issues; Private health insurance; Fitness programmes and gymnasium
membership subsidies; Childcare/eldercare facilities or subsidies: workplace
nursery or subsidised places in local nurseries or nursing homes. All of these
are highly valuable support opportunities, which, if available, should be taken
when needed.
For most managers
and specialists, in all sectors of business today it is an essential
requirement, that professionals undertake courses in management development, or
in specialist disciplines such as quality management, project management,
accountancy, human resources, or marketing. The objective of this activity,
from the individual’s point of view, is usually to obtain higher financial
rewards, higher status, increased job security, and-or to increased
opportunities and career choice. From the organisation’s point of view it is
rightly aimed at improving the knowledge, understanding, skills, and ultimately
the performance of the individual and the workforce collectively. The impact on
the individual, regardless of these contrasting objectives, is that work-life
balance is affected, pressure will rise and will need to be managed to avoid
this resulting in negative stress. For any individual undertaking professional
development activity, especially those studying at home, in part or in full, it
is essential that this is recognised as a potential source of negative stress,
and that the individual builds the monitoring and control of this pressure into
their development plans.
In order to manage
stress and to achieve a satisfactory work-life balance, it is necessary to
avoid the most common pitfalls that professionals encounter. These include:
·
Believing
that suffering from stress is a weakness, it is not, but positive, corrective
action is needed to redress the situation. Allowing yourself to suffer from
stress and an out of balance work-life equilibrium, when simple, easy to apply
solutions are at hand, is a weakness;
·
Keeping
stress to yourself is the best approach, it is not. All the evidence shows that
seeking advice and support is the key to reducing and eliminating negative
stress and restoring an appropriate work-life balance;
·
Assuming
that others are to blame for your stress and the imbalance between your work
and your outside work life, they may be the causes, but you are responsible for
allowing the negative situation to continue. Cutting back or eliminating
social, sporting, or personal interests’ activity is the answer to restoring a
work-life balance, it is not, because these are essential positive elements
necessary to achieve a healthy work-life balance and a relatively stress free
life;
·
Ignoring
the warning signs, these are easy to identify, if not by you then others will
see them;
·
Not
identifying the sources of stress and reasons for imbalance, a simple analysis
of your situation, perhaps with some help from a professional advisor, colleague,
partner, or friend, will identify the main causes of your problems;
·
Not
looking after yourself in terms of health and happiness, if you are unhealthy,
unfit, or in an unhappy relationship, or not in any relationship and are lonely
and isolated, you will find it difficult to manage stress and your work-life
balance effectively;
·
Believing
that there is a single solution to your negative stress and work-life imbalance
problems, there is not. You need to take a holistic approach to managing your
life, at work, at home, and socially. This encompasses your work, your
aspirations, your personal development, your fitness, your lifestyle, your
health, your relationships, your general attitude to life, everything that
makes you an individual, a unique person.
This has been a
first look at the links between workplace stress and work-life balance, and has
been specifically aimed at those professionals who are adding to the pressures
of workplace and home life by taking on professional development activities.
Continuous personal professional development, for managers, professionals, and
specialists, in all sectors is essential. Even entrepreneurs and those leaving
organisations to be self-employed risk being overwhelmed by workload and
pressures from work-related activities. The solution to avoiding the negative
effects of stress, and maintaining an appropriate work-life balance, when
taking on additional personal development workload, are the same for those in
organisations. You will need to be aware of the dangers, be alert to the
symptoms, put in place defensive mechanisms, and then pro-actively manage your
work life and personal life in a way that protects you from the dangers of
negative stress and enables you to maintain a healthy and satisfying work-life
balance.
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