Workplace Stress: Types, Impact, and Prevention Strategies
Workplace Stress: Concept, Impact, and Prevention
Definition
“Stress is a substantial perceived imbalance between demand and individual response capability, under conditions where failure to meet this demand has important perceived consequences.”
Causes of Workplace Stress
- Inappropriate workplace environment
- Excessive workload
- Alteration of biological rhythms
- High levels of responsibility and major decisions
- Slow and monotonous pacing
- Inadequate working conditions
Types of Stress
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Eustress and Distress:
Eustress acts as a motivating factor to succeed and overcome obstacles. It can be considered an element that helps us achieve success, fueling our ambitions. This normal and desirable stress might be called eustress.
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Physical and Mental Stress:
Some authors differentiate between physical and mental stress, while others combine the two. This differentiation often depends on the origin or cause. Physical stress is mainly defined as physical fatigue, including exposure to heat, cold, danger, or irritants. On the other hand, the origin of mental stress often lies in interpersonal relationships, frustrations, addictions, conflicts with culture or religion, or concerns about illness.
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Acute Stress:
Acute stress is the product of intense, time-limited physical or emotional aggression (even violent) that exceeds the individual’s threshold, resulting in a strong, rapid, and often intense response.
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Chronic Stress:
When stress becomes chronic—prolonged, continuous, not necessarily intense but requiring constant adjustment—it can exceed the individual’s resistance threshold, provoking so-called diseases of adaptation. This means that when the body is overstimulated, depleting its physiological resources, eustress becomes distress.
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Understimulation Distress:
Distress can also occur due to understimulation. Our biological rhythm requires adequate stimulation. Excessive idleness, lack of demands, or excessive sleep can lead to irritability and fatigue, indicating understimulation distress.
How to Prevent Job Stress
- Maintain a healthy diet
- Get enough sleep (around 8 hours)
- Engage in daily exercise (walking for 30 minutes is sufficient)
- Differentiate between workplace and family life
- Do not take work or work-related concerns home
- Rationally organize work: Create a daily list of tasks
- Plan breaks during the day. Do not skip them.
- Address problems early. Do not postpone them.
- Improve self-esteem: Reward yourself for achieving goals
Related Psychosocial Conditions at Work
Mobbing
Mobbing occurs in the workplace when one or more persons engage in extreme psychological violence systematically (at least once a week) and over a long period (more than 6 months) towards another person at work.