Week 9 Blog

Tyler McCleskey

After having taken three of the different tests, I feel that I have gotten to know a little bit more about the ways in which I experience and react to different stressors in my life. To begin, after having taken the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, I realize that as of currently, I have experienced a relatively low amount of life change in the past year and thus have a low susceptibility to stress-induced health breakdown. The score that I received was a 142 which is below 150 where the chances of a stress induced health breakdown begin to increase. After taking the Coping and Stress Management Skills Test, I found that I tend to use Problem-Focused Coping. While this can be good for situations where the stressor I am facing is controllable, they tend to be somewhat ineffective for stressors that are out of my control. 

After taking the Type A Personality Test, I received results that said that I showed warmth and tolerance the majority of the time and was generally trustful of others but that I was prone to impatience when faced with stressful situations. 

Some steps that I can take to manage my stress in my career is to focus on things I can control while trying not to put as much worry in the aspects that I cannot control. I feel that this can also be incorporated into my personal life in general. Moreover, I feel that throughout my career, I should make an effort to continue to be tolerant but to express concerns and stress in a way that does not cause impatience and anger to build up over long periods of time. 

After doing some research into the ways in which organizations are working to help manage employee health and stress, I found that many companies are investing in training for managers and leaders so that they may effectively recognize and respond to employees demonstrating high stress levels.

Sources:

8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health (hbr.org)