Stress, Workplace

Stress is as necessary to life as eating and communicating. Without stress we would not be able to appreciate our limits or attain our objectives. Being under the right kind of pressure, whether self-induced or externally created, is integral to responding appropriately to the challenges of everyday life. To desire an existence that is stress-free is quite literally a death wish.

The Universality of Stress

In the Bible we find many of its key figures under stress at various points in their lives: Moses feeling overwhelmed by the number of things he has to do (Numbers 11), Jeremiah voicing his personal and vocational frustrations to God (Jeremiah 17) and Paul reconstructing the difficulties and anxieties he faced (2 Cor. 11). Most of these stressful experiences were constructive. Yet stress is a curse as well as a blessing, since it occurs in malignant as well as benign forms. It can be both constructive and destructive, opening up some possibilities in life and shutting down others. This negative side of stress is most devastating in modern Western societies.

Distinguishing between these two kinds of stress is relatively simple: if the situation generating stress requires no immediate physical response or if the stress response is greater than the need, then stress is inappropriate or wrong. This kind of stress is widely experienced and is more personally and socially injurious and causes more deaths than addictions to smoking, alcohol and drugs or the ravages of automobile accidents. About 30 percent of adults in the United States say that they experience high stress levels nearly every day; an even higher percentage reports high stress once or twice a week. This is stress in its pathological rather than healthy mode.

Stress is problematic to us when, instead of occurring intermittently in stretching or threatening situations, it becomes a recurring or habitual phenomenon caused by overstimulation and hyperactivity. Stress creates difficulties when it does not let up and when it is triggered by ordinary, everyday events. In our society this kind of stress has reached epidemic proportions. People in earlier times may have worked harder than we do and may have become more physically fatigued, but no generation has ever been as psychologically hyped up, exhausted or stressed out. Nervous breakdowns, burnout and stress-related illnesses and deaths are common. In the past it was only in extreme situations, such as mass warfare, that large numbers of people underwent severe stress. Now it is found in everyday situations and especially in the workplace.

Types and Degrees of Stress

The many general sources of stress have been documented: (1) continual busyness, the hectic pace of life and regulation by the clock; (2) constant noise, activity and movement, caused personally or by the immediate environment; (3) overly crowded and congested freeways, streets, shopping malls and other settings in which considerable time is spent; (4) long-term demanding or threatening circumstances that stretch people beyond their normal limits; (5) unrealistic expectations or anxiety-creating deadlines, leading to overwork and sometimes workaholism; (6) repeated shock, confusion or conflict in unfamiliar social and cultural situations; (7) chronic tension in family situations or relationships that creates ongoing anxiety. These things in themselves are not stresses; it is how they are perceived that induces stress. So an important distinction is generally drawn between the sources of potential stress and an individual’s perception or interpretation of them, making these sources into stressors.

When we are stressed, our bodies pump more adrenaline to help us cope. If this continues beyond a reasonable time, we suffer from stress disease, and our performance becomes adversely affected. When this happens, not only our nerves but our whole bodies are stretched. Stress then seeks out a weak link in our system. Connections have been established between stress and exhaustion, depression, insomnia, migraines, ulcers, colitis, high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, alcoholism, heart disease and divorce. Chronic stress depletes both the brain’s natural tranquilizers and the body’s immune system, leading to a greater reliance on chemical tranquilizers, painkillers and antibiotics. The number of days lost to the workplace from all this and the indirect and direct cost to the individuals concerned are quite staggering.

Measuring devices like the Social Readjustment Rating Scale seek to quantify the amount of stress caused by various life events and then to analyze how vulnerable a person is to serious physical or psychological illness. At the top of the list of stressors are bereavement of a spouse or member of the family, divorce or marital separation, getting married and marital reconciliation, retiring or being fired, personal injury or illness. In the middle of the list are changing jobs or living conditions, taking out a heavy mortgage or facing forclosure, an outstanding personal achievement or trouble with the boss, a son’s or daughter’s leaving home. Near the bottom of the list is a change in eating habits, having a vacation or committing a minor violation of the law. When a person’s score nears or overshoots 300 points, there is a 90 percent likelihood that he or she will experience some physical illness or psychological disturbance in the very near future.

Stress in the Workplace

One of the main settings in which stress occurs today is the workplace. For an increasing number of people a high level of abnormal as well as normal stress is created at work. Conditions, practices, structures, attitudes, expectations, relationships, changes and systems in the workplace often produce strains that are higher than elsewhere. Given the grave consequences of long-term abnormal stress, working can be a risky affair. Since work or the lack of it is now the dominant reality in Western life, its contribution to the amount and degree of stress in contemporary society must be carefully examined. It has been estimated that up to 50 percent of workplaces in the country are overly stress-producing. This includes many religious organizations and churches. It is little wonder that stress has become the greatest cause of job dissatisfaction and reduced productivity. Often complaints about conditions at work or about others in the workplace mask a deep stress over the character of the job itself. Sometimes this results in workers suffering from vague and undefinable sicknesses. Stress in the workplace can take many forms. Among the most serious forms of stress are the following.

Tensions with superiors. Bosses tend to generate stress if they love power, are overly ambitious, refuse to take responsibility for mistakes, cannot make decisions in a timely manner, do not maintain appropriate boundaries, tend to have unreal expectations of their employees and often display anger or fail to give affirmation. Superiors who have a need to control or intimidate are often uptight and overstressed themselves. Sometimes they try to minimize their own stress by provoking stress in others. Stresses further arise when employers do not give enough space for employees to use their full capabilities or expect more than some employees are capable of contributing. A supervisor’s behavior toward subordinates is probably the single greatest contributor to stress in the workplace.

Problems with coworkers. This takes many forms. Examples include the clash of incompatible personalities and of conflicting beliefs or values, the lack of group cohesion and collaboration, failure on the part of some to pull their weight (especially when the performance of others is dependent on this), sexual harassment or abuse, racial prejudice or discrimination and even having unresponsive and emotionless colleagues. On the other hand, relating too intensively in the workplace or having too much concern for sexual and political correctness can also give rise to tensions. Tragically, this stress sometimes leads to violence in the workplace. Around one thousand people in the United States are killed at work by colleagues each year.

The atmosphere of the workplace. Organizational culture is largely shaped by workplace traditions and senior management. Workplace atmosphere is affected negatively by such internal factors as the inaccessibility of the ultimate decision makers, their lack of consultation with the rank and file, their inflexibility or incompetence, their being out of touch with current realities or unaware of the personal needs of the workers and their failure to establish adequate personnel policies or to provide proper staffing for an organization. Workplace atmosphere is also affected by external forces such as new technology, downsizing because of competition or the economic climate and the need for a more flexible and mobile work force. The attitudes and behaviors of workers themselves contribute to the atmosphere in such things as distrust of newcomers and outsiders, resistance to change or new ideas, an overly critical spirit or a passive-aggressive attitude toward the organization, fragmentation of the work force into competing interest groups or a tendency to find regular scapegoats for repeated workplace problems.

Personal struggles with work. Serious stress in the workplace is also caused by an employee’s not fitting in a job, fear of unemployment, sidelining or demotion and attempts to strike a healthy balance between work and family or leisure. Boredom is also a major problem in the workplace.

As with the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, there are also instruments like the Job Stress Survey that measure occupational stress. People in different kinds of workplaces suffer from different kinds and levels of stress. Ranking highest in severity and occurrence is inadequate salary and lack of opportunity for advancement. After this comes problems related to superiors, such as those previously noted. Next comes problems relating to colleagues, such as others not doing their job properly. This is followed by matters relating to work conditions, such as meeting deadlines, excessive paperwork and inferior equipment.

What distinguishes stress in the workplace from stress elsewhere is its translation into dollars and cents. Given the central place financial reward plays in our society, this tends to heighten both the significance and level of stress there. Stress costs money not only in lost earnings and profits but in claims and medical costs. For example, around one-sixth of all workers’ compensation claims now appear to be stress related, and over the last decade and a half such claims have risen exponentially. The stakes are high in the search for healthy responses to stressors.

Ways of Handling Stress Constructively

One unhealthy response is simply to resign oneself to it, but this is filled with physical and psychological risk. Others desperately seek to control the situation so as to minimize stress, but this often places others under unfair strain. There are more constructive ways of handling stress, and it is incumbent on those who have the greatest chance of making changes to find these. This places a heavy responsibility on boards of directors, senior management, employers, heads of departments, union officials and coaches. Here we will focus on what we as workers can do to improve the situation.

First, we should discern how much stress we are under. Symptoms we will look for include personal ones such as the use of substances to escape problems, overdependence on distractions, general sense of unhappiness, conflict with or avoidance of significant others. Emotional symptoms include tension and anxiety, restlessness and irritability, panic feelings or periodic depression, increased daydreaming and fantasizing, a general lack of responsiveness, including sexual responsiveness. Stress has health indications as well: high blood pressure, headaches, constant fatigue, sleep problems, ulcers, racing heart, muscle tension and aching and increased vulnerability to sickness or viruses.

Second, we should identify the source of the stress. This involves examining both external factors and our internal responses, the actions of others and our own perceptions of what is happening.

Third, we need to take responsibility for dealing with stress rather than expecting others to relieve us of stress. The two basic options here are fight or flight. Both are found in the biblical narratives. For example, Moses took up his leadership burden with God in prayer and was given a resolution to his problem; on the other hand, he ran from his God-given responsibility. Resistance can take several forms, among them thinking about the situation to get clarity on the key factors creating the stress, sounding out others by asking questions or sharing experiences that focus on your issues, owning up to your share in letting it get out of hand. The next stage is communicating this where it will do most good, generating discussion about the general issue of stress and setting individual or team priorities so that stressors can be minimized. Sometimes this involves saying no and seeing what the consequences are. A further stage is engaging in practices that will provide energy for this struggle until the situation improves: regular exercise, meditation and contemplation, listening to what our bodies are saying, eating a balanced diet and experimenting with ways to relax.

Sometimes, however, flight rather than fight is the best response. We find biblical examples of this even in the life of Jesus: stretched and exhausted by the number of people seeking his ministry, he withdrew into an isolated place for a time (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 5:2). This was not avoidance but a recognition that the problem was too overwhelming to be fought successfully in his present condition. Flight can take a variety of forms: asking to be demoted or moved sideways to a less stressful and more enjoyable position. It might also entail resigning from one’s present position and seeking similar work in a less stressful workplace or another kind of work altogether. Sometimes people need a period of withdrawal, perhaps without pay, so that the whole situation can be reviewed in a less-harassed way and strength can be built up to fight or pursue a new path.

Whatever tactic is taken up, fight or flight, it is imperative that some action be taken. The alternatives are either eventual burnout (the last desperate plea from our whole system that “enough is enough”) or physical breakdown (the whole system that has been pushed too far seizes up). In all this we need to recognize that we cannot control all the events of life. Our attempts to handle stress responsibly will be successful only to a point. What we can gain with God’s and others’ help is some control over our own feelings and a stronger sense of identity.

» See also: Anxiety

» See also: Conflict, Workplace

» See also: Health

» See also: Office Politics

» See also: Rest

» See also: Sabbath

» See also: Time

» See also: Workplace

References and Resources

R. Crandall and P. L. Perewe, Occupational Stress: A Handbook (Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Francis, 1995); R. E. Ecker, The Stress Myth: Why the Pressures of Life Don’t Have to Get You Down (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1985); A. Hart, The Crazy-Making Workplace (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant, 1993); L. Levi, Stress Sources: Management and Prediction (New York: Liveright, 1967); J. Schor, The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure (New York: BasicBooks, 1991); F. C. Richardson, Stress: Sanity and Survival (London: Futura, 1979); J. C. Smith, Understanding Stress and Coping (New York: Macmillan, 1992); P. Tournier, ed., Fatigue in Modern Society: Psychological, Medical, Biblical Insights (Atlanta: John Knox, 1978).

—Robert Banks