After completing this vehicle and the life stress inventory, coping and stress management skills test, and the type a personality survey on myself I found all things out about how I react under stress. My life stress score showed that I’m in the range for moderate stress, which is fair since work, school and planning my future can all be draining. The coping and stress management test revealed that I use primarily problem-focused coping, the kind where you try and solve stressors directly. This is easy to the extent that you are in control of things, but as our lecture notes indicate (Swift, 2025), some workplace stressors say unclear expectations or a high workload.
The Type A Personality survey also gave me greater insight into myself. It revealed that, although I’m typically warm and collaborative, I may become impatient or stressed when feeling overwhelmed. Studies suggest that it’s urgency and frustration not just Type A behavior as a whole that can elevate health risks, which is a nice thing I tell myself when I am mentally checking out at work and need to go home instead.
As I continue advancing in my career, I aim to practice stress more purposefully. This means, developing boundaries, giving breaks, asking for help when I need it and using emotion focused coping if I don’t have control. I also want to listen for early feelings of burnout, such as fatigue or not feeling quite successful.
Organizations today are also working to be more supportive of employees. Many companies now have flexible hours, mental-health resources and wellness programs, along with Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Studies indicate that effective wellness programs can result in reduced spending on physicians and absenteeism, increased productivity and morale (Berry, Mirabito & Baun 2010). They also value flexibility and paid as a form of compensation, which both reduces stress and staff retention (Jones, 2017).
Overall, those assessments were a reminder that stress management is important for long-term health, and it also falls on both employees and employers to make workspaces healthier.
References
Berry, L. L., Mirabito, A. M., & Baun, W. B. (2010). What’s the hard return on employee wellness programs? Harvard Business Review.
Jones, K. (2017). The Most Desirable Employee Benefits. Harvard Business Review.
Swift, M. (2025). Job Stress. Lecture.
Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Coping & Stress Management Skills Test. Psychology Today.
Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Type A Personality Test. Psychology Today.
