Stress can negatively impact a person’s lift in many aspects. Workplace stress can affect an individual’s home life, but the opposite can also be true. Irritability, distraction, and fatigue can all be caused by personal stressors which can negatively impact both employees and their organizations. After taking the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory Test, the Coping & Stress Managemtn Skills Test, and the Type A Personality Test, I learned some things about myself that I didn’t already know.
Based on my results and what I know about myself already, I have a lot of stress in my life, and I don’t cope with it very well. Additionally, during interactions with others, I generally am warm and tolerant of their behaviors and choices, but also at times I am impatient and hostile and when I am stressed or frustrated, I tend to lash out at others or end up stewing in the anger/frustration. During my last year working in healthcare, I recognized multiple times that my personal and workplace stressors were affecting the way I treated others, especially my co-workers, so I took steps, including delegating taks and asking for help from others, to help manage my stress and progress through my professional career.
Workplace stress and poor mental health can negatively affect workers, which should be a concern to organizations. Job performance, productivity, and engagement can all be affected by stress and/or poor mental health, but a bigger concern for organizations is that stress can increase an individual’s risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases. Reports have shown more than 80% of U.S. workers have reported experiencing workplace stress and more than 50% believe their work stress impacts their life at home.
There are many ways organizations can help their employees deal with stress and many of today’s young businesses are finding newer and more innovative ways to do this. Organizations are doing more to help employees understand the nature of stress and provide them access to resources, such as therapists, mental health resources, and support groups, that can help them cope with stress. Having an open-door policy to allow employees to vent and have quick conversations around problems or issues can help help decrease stress and provide immediate solutions for their issues. Organizations are also offering at least one kind of wellness benefit to help employees feel healthy, engaged, and supported in their workplace.
