Stressors


Stress is very important in the workplace. It can affect a lot of different things to many different degrees. Each and every individual have different ways to deal with stressors. They are also affected by them in different ways. To get some insight into mine, I took the Life Stress Inventory, the Coping and Stress Management Skills Test, and the Type A Personality Survey.

From the Life Stress Inventory, I learned that my life hasn’t changed all that much and I am at low risk of a stress-induced health breakdown. I had a score of 142. Scores above 150 increase the chances of a breakdown in the next two years.

From the Coping and Stress Management Skills Test, I learned that I have a problem-focused coping mechanism. When I find myself in a situation, I tend to try to fix it the best I can. I figure out the factors involved, figure out the options I have, and choose the plan that has the best results. This is very beneficial for me. I take control of the situation the best I can. I also learned that this is bad in situations I can’t control. No matter how badly I want to change things, I won’t be able to in some situations. Thinking about it, Im not exactly sure what I would do.

From the Type A Personality Survey, I learned that I tend to be impatient and irritable. If I’m stressed or frustrated, I am very unpleasant to be around. I scored a moderate score of 52, but that still means that it affects my life. There are relationships that are currently being affected by it. I tend to lose my temper and make situations worse. This also puts my health at risk. Impatience is said to be linked to heart disease. 

I need to make sure I address my impatience. I need to find ways to relax and calm myself down easier. This will allow me to better approach solving and dealing with problems at work. I will be able to control my anger better. This will help me stop making bad situations worse. This will help me in my interpersonal relationships. This will help me deal with situations I don’t have any control over. I still don’t exactly know how to deal with problems like that. I will encounter those problems, so I need to figure out ways to manage them. My top priority is adjusting the way I cope with difficulties. 

Over-stressed employees are costing companies more and more. So much that they make an effort to help their employees manage their stress. They tend to have a primary intervention, secondary intervention, and tertiary intervention. Primary intervention is the prevention of work-related stressors from arising. This is when companies provide their employees with a clear job description and all the resources needed to complete the tasks. Secondary intervention is when companies provide resources to help their employees cope with work-related stress and injuries. They offer things like training and/or mentorship programs for their employees. This usually happens after a pattern is found. Tertiary interventions are used to repair situations where stressors have caused damage. This usually occurs when the situation is not dealt with correctly in the first place. 

Crampton, S. M., Hodge, J. W., Mishra, J. M., & Price, S. (1995). Stress and stress management. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 60(3), 10.

Glazer, S., & Liu, C. (2017). Work, stress, coping, and stress management. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *