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Stress first appeared in physics as a scientific concept, where its original meaning indicated an external force on objects. Subsequently, in the 20th-century medicine also began to use the term with a different attributed meaning. In a medical context, stress refers to an external impact that affects the human body, which could be an object hitting the body or a strong blow. Eventually, the concept of stress began to be used in psychology as well.
Dr. Alex Ember, Associate Head of the Department of the Labour and Social Law at the University of Szeged Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, defines stress in his study as follows:
“(...) stress is the body's response to various stimuli in the same way and in a specific order. By stress we mean any effect that affects a person's physiological and/or psychological adaptation mechanisms. However, in many cases, this response is proved unsuccessful and inadequate to solve the problem. ”
Regarding stress, it is important to mention the concepts of eustress and distress. What exactly is the difference? Let’s take a look!
Symptoms of work-related stress are similar to those of chronic fatigue and manager’s disease. Severe and persistent stress at work can even lead to depression - so it is important to detect the signs in time. Symptoms of workplace stress may include:
Below you can find 4 tips to help you reduce workplace stress: follow them and protect yourself from undesirable consequences!
Personal effort is necessary but may not be sufficient in itself to avoid the harmful effects of stress at work. Employers also have an important role in shaping the mental well-being of their employees, therefore modern, progressive companies began addressing stress management in their EHS (environmental, health and safety) strategy. The following methods are recommended:
Some of the most common stressors include inaccurately defined responsibilities, tasks, and a lack of supervisor-generated feedback. With no performance evaluation system or feedback employees often realize errors made in their work late. The below ideas may help reduce work-related stress experienced by employees:
In addition to organizational stress management efforts, employees can also do a lot to maintain their mental health. With lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet, frequent exercise, and the development of a healthy sleep schedule, they can increase their ability to tolerate stress. Without claiming to be exhaustive, the following is a list of some lifestyle changes worth considering:
If you feel like the above tips do not help you manage work-related stress, you may need to consult a professional. Chronic stress can cause serious health problems and prevention is often not possible without professional help.
Yes, work-related stress can be measured using questionnaires. To achieve an accurate result, it is important that the measurement be performed by a qualified professional. In addition to questionnaires, in-depth and focus group interviews can also help manage workplace stress. Even though there are many questionnaire samples available on the Internet, you may want to consider different options before using them: even with proper questionnaire editing, it can be problematic to interpret the data correctly without a mental health professional.
Workplace stress: a constant tension and discomfort experienced when we are unable to meet job demands and/or deal with workplace challenges. These challenges can include managing personal conflicts, a new project, a problematic client, or inadequate management activities.
Ways of resolving workplace stress vary by individuals and organizational culture - the methods outlined above are worth applying to most individuals. The most effective ways:
Lack of communication is often the source of work-related stress - fortunately, many digital tools can help improve organizational communication. The Blue Colibri App offers an excellent internal communication solution by providing quick and efficient instant communication throughout the organization. Employees are able to communicate using their own devices, while it is also an effective solution for reaching employees without corporate e-mail addresses and/or computers.
Blue Colibri App is much more than a simple communication platform: it also allows companies to share corporate news, send highlighted notifications, organize company events, create document databases and image galleries, and to create and fill out tests and questionnaires.
Join the digitized side to reduce workplace stress: book a free demo for the Blue Colibri App!
