The work stress It is an increasingly frequent problem. However, despite the fact that there are programs to treat and prevent it, the numbers of those affected have not decreased. Therefore, reflecting on this concept is essential to learn to identify it and avoid its negative effects. In today’s article we will see what the main types and causes are, as well as their symptoms and precautions. Continue reading to find out more and remember that you can specialize in well-being with our Expert Master’s Degree in Work Stress.
Background and concept of work stress
The concept of stress dates back to the 1930s, when Hans Selie, a medical student, observed that all the patients he studied, regardless of the disease they suffered from, presented common and general symptoms: tiredness, loss of appetite or weight loss. This caught his attention and he called it the “sickness syndrome”.
Years later, he developed famous experiments in which he discovered that social demands and threats from the individual’s environment that require the ability to adapt cause stress disorder. Since then, stress has involved in its study the participation of various medical, biological and psychological disciplines, with the application of diverse and advanced technologies.
In 1956, Hans Selye himself defined stress before the World Health Organization, as: “the non-specific response of the organism to any external demand” and “the state that is produced by a specific syndrome that consists of all the changes nonspecific that are induced within a physiological system”.
The work stress occurs when there is an imbalance between the demands at work and the control that the worker exercises over them. At this point the social factor also intervenes, in such a way that a high level of social support at work reduces the effect of stress.
Consequences of work stress
There are many connections between work and stress, since working hours usually occupy a large number of hours of our day to day. For this reason, it is essential to know the consequences of stress on our body. In this way we can work it and reduce its effects. Among its consequences are:
- Physical consequences: gastrointestinal or cardiovascular disorders, respiratory, dermatological or muscular problems and alterations in the immune system.
- Consequences ppsychic: excessive worry, limited decision-making, feeling of confusion, poor concentration, difficulty paying attention, lack of control, disorientation, forgetfulness and blockages, moodiness, increased susceptibility, sleep and anxiety disorders, depression and other affective and eating disorders or even personality.
- Signs or external manifestations at the motor and behavioral level: rapid speech, stuttering, imprecise speech, breathy voice, overeating or lack of appetite, nervous laughter, and frequent yawning.
- At the organizational level: loss of joint production, poor work environment, breakdown of human relationships, job changes, decreased creativity, poor performance, aggressiveness at work and worsening of quality of life and well-being.
How can the negative effects be reduced?
Some of the preventive measures to avoid and reduce work stress in the workplace are:
- Ensure that work schedules avoid conflicts between work and personal life
- If there are rotating shifts, they must be stable and predictable.
- Let workers have input into decisions and actions that affect their work
- Check that the requirements are compatible with the capabilities and resources of the worker
- Allow workers to recover after physically or mentally demanding tasks
- Elaborate and organize tasks in a way that confers meaning, stimulation, a feeling of fulfillment
- Define job roles and their responsibilities
- Bet on social interaction and moral support
- Promote labor interconnection
- Avoid ambiguity related to job stability
- Promote career development
- Raise awareness, inform, prepare and educate.
- Expand the objectives and strategies of occupational health or risk prevention services
