Good stress management will make you successful at work

Stress is usually considered as something bad, as a thing that can make you sick. But did you know that stress can also be something good, and could even help you advance in your career? Good stress management is essential: keep control, and let your stress help you deal with problems at work!

In contrast to what many people think, stress can be really helpful, even life-saving. For our ancestors, stress was a means of fleeing predators, for example. This is still true today, although most of us rarely come face to face with a big, hungry  carnivore.

People, both our ancestors and ourselves, mainly suffer from psychosocial stress, i.e. the mental strain of dealing with others in a group. Be it at work and in private lives. If this stress persists for too long, or becomes repetitive, then stress can cause illness.

Stress itself is not a disease, but rather a condition of the body. It prepares the body for immediate action to deal with or escape from stressors (threats, or things that frighten you). Stress can help you to overcome problems at the workplace, because it gives you the energy and the focus to deal with them.

Unfortunately, there are many things that can cause stress at work, and these can pile up over time or can be too difficult to deal with. As a result, the stress becomes chronic, and can cause illness.

Stress is the major cause of absenteeism

In many western countries, chronic stress has become the main cause of sick leave from work. According to the American Institute of Stress, 80 percent of American employees feel stressed at work on one or more occasions during their working career. Some people even speak of a „stress epidemic“, just to illustrate how big the problems of stress at the workplace are.

Chronic stress makes many people get sick. Absenteeism caused by stress blocks the progress of many careers. But also employees who do not fall victim to illness can often not do their work the way they want to. This is because stress causes sleepless nights, disturbs concentration, reduces motivation, makes one more irritable, and can thus make collaboration with colleagues more difficult.

If you want to be successful in your career, it is vital to manage stressful situations properly. As I said, stress may actually help you to solve problems, so why not turn stress into something positive?

Causes of stress at work

Before you can benefit from stress, it is important to know what causes stress at work. Much research has been done to identify the factors that induce stress. Many studies have shown that the most common factor is too little autonomy. Across studies, an estimated 44% of employees experiencing stress at work mention lack of autonomy as the principal cause.

It seems that many bosses tend to control how, when and where employees have to perform their tasks. They keep an eye on almost every activity of their collaborators. This management style, also known as micromanagement, deprives employees of their autonomy. Employees feel that they do not have any control over their activities, and have to react all the time to what their bosses will think of next.

As you may have noticed, there is an element of unpredictability in micromanagement. Employees cannot know what their bosses will say or do next. They cannot know in advance whether their bosses will be satisfied or not with the work they have done. They do not know whether they will receive a compliment or criticism. They do not know whether their bosses will change priorities from one moment to the next.

All this creates uncertainty about the importance or usefulness of the work the employees are doing, or whether their activities will remain unfinished in case of a priority change. Thus, employees lose the feeling of being in control over their activities when their bosses adopt a micromanagement style. Uncertainty and the related lack of control are synonymous to a lack of autonomy, and are extremely stressful.

Taking control

To reduce stress, employees should try to gain control over their work. Taking control is one of the most important stress management tools. It is easy to say that you should regain control over your tasks at work, but achieving this is still another matter. Let's see what is needed.

To start things off, it is important that bosses realize they should keep distance from the activities of their employees. They should remember that they have hired their employees on the basis of the knowledge, skills and expertise their newly engaged collaborators bring to the table. This means bosses have every reason to be confident in the abilities of their collaborators to get the job done. And by taking distance, bosses have more time to keep an overview over the projects that might be running in the organization, so that it is easier for them to steer the organization by keeping an eye on the most important things.

Also, employees could discuss problems they experience with their superiors, and try to organize the work in such a way that workload or tasks become manageable. In other words, talk about realistic deadlines, possible cooperation with colleagues to get a task done, or flexible working hours. Most employees are afraid to do this. This is partially because stress at work is a taboo, considered to be a problem that only arises for the weaker of us. Employees might feel that they are not fit for the job and that they might be dismissed when talking about stress.

This brings up another problem, which is that many employees are dependent on their superiors for job certainty. Many people feel that there is a risk in talking to their bosses about problems they have at work. However, bosses are just as dependent on their employees, then employees depend on their bosses. They need them to get the work done, and it is of benefit to them to keep good employees who have gained the experience and knowledge to perform the job well. When bosses fire their employees, they have to hire new ones. These will not be immediately as productive as the senior employees who have been fired. Other employees will normally have to educate the newcomers, which lowers productivity even more. It is in the benefit of both bosses and employees to organize the work in such a way that productivity and wellbeing are guaranteed.

In the same vein, posing limits to what you can and will do is very helpful. Dare to say no when your workload becomes overwhelming. By setting limits, you make clear that work conditions have to change to optimize your productivity. This could include setting limits to the time you want to be reached by e-mail or telephone after working hours. Normally, you will end up with a discussion with your superiors with the aim to come to a solution that is of benefit to the employer (productivity) and the employee (wellbeing).

Use your stress to discuss stress

To discuss stress-related problems is not an easy thing to do. But remember that I said that you could turn stress into something positive? Well, here is where this becomes important! The stress you feel when you are about to discuss with your superiors gives you the energy and focus you need! This is known as acute stress, the good type of stress that you can use to your benefit. After the discussion, you will notice that the stress disappears rather quickly. It is not the long-lasting type of stress that can make you sick.

In conclusion, stress may help you to take the necessary steps to improve your working conditions. Put differently, acute stress may help you to avoid chronic stress. The acute stress helps you to take action. This is an important asset in your stress management tools. If you do not master this skill, then your situation at work will deteriorate further, and chronic stress levels will rise. By taking control, you can manage stress effectively, and get ahead in your work and career!