The workplace is a place where people can generate all kinds of emotions. Participating in a boring meeting makes people feel bored and boring. On weekends, they are always cued in WeChat groups, which makes people angry and helpless…
Especially recently, due to the epidemic, some small partners have begun to work from home. The difficulty of communication has increased, and the separation of working time and private time has made people even more troubled.
Though these are small things, the little emotions they stir up are real. As a professional, how should you adjust your mentality and respond positively?
What pressures may people experience in the workplace?
When there is too much pressure in the workplace, there are some signs in our body and mind, such as:
Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed at times
Lack of motivation for work and feeling irrelevant to what happens in the workplace
social withdrawal, loss of interest in dealing with people
Feeling overwhelmed with intimacy, decreased libido
Difficulty concentrating and feeling poor memory
Always feel tired, or your muscles are tense and difficult to relax
Frequent or recurring headaches, chest pains
Problems with sleep, including insomnia, early awakenings, or drowsiness
Gastrointestinal distress, including psychogenic gastroenteritis, diarrhea
Women may experience menstrual irregularities
…
If most of the above signs match your current state, then you are probably experiencing a lot of workplace stress.
Is occupational stress pervasive? We once conducted a small survey, in which 51.87% of people said they often felt workplace stress, and 16.43% felt workplace stress almost every day.
What are the main sources of workplace stress? “No growth at work”, “heavy workload and fast pace” and “ambiguity of job rights and responsibilities” are the three most checked items. source of stress.
This shows that most of your workplace stress comes from those stressors that hinder your own development.
Is there a gender difference in workplace stress? The data shows that the proportion of men (40.39%) who think they are “never” and “occasionally” stressed is significantly higher than that of women (21.02%), and the proportion of women who think they “often” feel stressed (55.25%) is much higher male (32.69%);
On the other hand, compared with men (32.69%), a higher proportion of women (50.85%) reported that they were “more stressed” in the workplace.
Overall, women surveyed experience workplace stress more frequently and to a greater degree than men. Stereotypes tell us that men are more stressed in the workplace. At least, that stereotype doesn’t match reality in this survey.
The survey also found that nearly 60% of people had workplace stress that affected their physical and mental health; 55.56% of them had symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and overeating. And more than 30% use unhealthy methods to temporarily escape workplace stress, such as spending money, smoking or drinking too much alcohol.
Workplace stress doesn’t go away when you leave work or take a short vacation. If not actively managed and the source of stress persists, the stress can spiral out of control, further affecting our physical and mental health and overall well-being.
Why coping with workplace stress is so hard
No control over job requirements and decisions
The sources of stress in the workplace can be categorized into two dimensions: job demands and job decision latitude.
Workers experience particularly high levels of stress when the job is high demand but the employee has low decision latitude.
Conflict with private life
These days, it’s getting harder and harder for us to have enough personal time to relieve stress at work. Even private life is more like robbing us of our time and energy with work. Many working people choose to compress their personal lives and spend more time solving work problems.
At this time, we may not have time to deal with personal or family crises or intimacy conflicts. These crises can also affect our workplace performance, exacerbate workplace stress and create a vicious cycle. Ended up in a dilemma.
Women are relatively more likely to encounter these challenges. On the one hand, women generally bear heavier parenting and family responsibilities; on the other hand, in order to fulfill their family and relationship responsibilities, women may require more private time and thus be discriminated against or treated unfairly (Michie, 2002). ).
Relieving workplace stress requires a long-term, incremental mindset adjustment. At the same time, we also need to master some practical skills.
So, how should we scientifically deal with workplace stress?