When taking these tests, your mindset can greatly affect your answers and the outcome of the test. If you have a bad day you might answer the questions more negatively than if you had had calm and relaxing day. For the Stress Inventory test I scored about 180 points. On the other two tests, I scored 40 on the impatience/irritability scale and 53 on the problem-focused coping scale. I learned that I tend to run on high stress and use problem-focused strategies to solve problems. While problem-focused strategies are good for situations that I can control, they are not so good for ones that I cannot control. I think something that I can do to help myself is to engage in more physical activity to relieve stress (Swift, 2022). Another way I can help mitigate how stress affects me is to limit distractions. I work in a fairly noisy environment and bringing headphones or moving to a different location might be helpful in managing my work.
Based on personal experience, my company has started rolling out awareness programs, as well as employee assistance programs, such as a women’s resource group and a local crisis help group has been introduced company wide as a general resource for those in need. From what I was able to find, specifically tailoring my search to construction companies, one of the biggest things that I found to mitigate overstress for employees was having experienced managers that know how to plan work (Schneider, 2015). This allows all employees to see where they fit into the overall schedule and gives them an idea of what they will be doing the next day and even the next week. Poor planning can cause stress not only for managers, but especially for the people doing the work. It is difficult when you are unsure of what you will be doing the next day or if you will even work at all. That is why good planning is essential to construction projects, both for the wellbeing of the people and cost wise.
References
Schneider, Scott. Addressing the Root of the Stress Problem in Construction. September, 2015.
https://www.lhsfna.org/addressing-the-root-of-the-stress-problem-in-construction/
Swift, Michele. 2022. Job Stress. [PowerPoint slides]. College of Business, Oregon State University. https://canvas.oregonstate.edu/courses/1867421/pages/week-9-learning-materials?module_item_id=22027624
