Occupational Stress and Management Strategies

Introduction

Stress is a phenomenon that has extensively been the center of medical research. Seaward (2017) defines stress as a perception of threat to an individual’s physical, mental or spiritual well-being influenced by physiological response and adaptation. Additionally, stress has been described as how people react to physical and emotional changes, actions, and conditions in day-to-day life. According to Seaward (2017), stress response may be influenced by individual perception and scenarios to which people are exposed. Therefore, if one has a negative perspective on a condition, the probably induced feelings are distraught, troubled, or things out of hand.

Elsewhere, stress has been separated into two distinct categories, distress, and eustress. Stress has been construed in the past to be bad for human health, associated with distress, a negative response to an event characterized by anger and fear. However, novel research alludes to stress as necessary for healthy living, requiring stimulation as much as rest (Seaward 2017). Eustress is instrumental, defined as good stress occurring in conditions that stimulate the motivation and inspiration of an individual (Seaward, 2017). The types of stress inform the perceptions of stress as solely negative and open up research into positive effects resulting from stress. On that note, medical research is more focused on distress to manage and control its effects on community health.

Occupational Stress

Occupational stress is a branch of research devoted to the effects of stress on people in their workplaces. Desouky and Allam (2017) define the ideology as a worker’s reaction to work-related demands and pressures out of proportion to their resources, abilities, needs, and knowledge, which overwhelms their ability to manage. Furthermore, the stress in human beings takes shape in various ways associated with different causative factors. Occupational stress has been perceived to result from exposure to different external environments and conditions. Research by Meng and Wang (2018) stipulates that occupational stress may be linked to workplace structural and design constraints. Further, Seaward (2017) argues that stress may be caused by interpersonal relations and interactions as well as ecological responses. This infers to workplace conditioning and comfort and social factors related to interaction with colleagues or supervisors. Conclusively, the limitations of resources and work are causative factors that induce perceived occupational stress due to strenuous conditions under which people work.

Stress Management

Stress management is a necessary response that ensures community and personal health. Occupational stress particularly is a factor that should be prioritized in organizations. While the organization’s participation in stress reduction is critical, effective action will be restricted unless persons mobilize towards managing stress by considering a couple of personal steps (Quick & Henderson, 2016). The steps may include proper understanding of the company policies, mental relaxation and periods of physical, personal job space organization, proper communication and interaction, inner balance, anti-stress activities during leisure time, subordinates’ stress or observing colleagues, and taking part in solving it should all be among them.

Understanding the company policies influences a feeling of relief, relaxation, and decreased occupational stress on workers in a working environment. Employees can get extremely stressed if major changes are made without their knowledge (Quick & Henderson, 2016). As a result, they must be preceded by mature thought and transparent information on the reasons for the company’s decision. Another crucial action in the fight against occupational stress is the organization of a personal workspace. A workspace is set up in such a manner that it is pleasant to work in and allows effective time management (Quick & Henderson, 2016). Considering that many visual distractions might lead to stress, getting rid of items that one doesn’t need and decorating the workspace with flowers, pictures, and paintings may reduce occupational stress.

Stress can be avoided by creating a comfortable and friendly environment. Discussions and point-of-view exchanges with coworkers are beneficial for stressed persons (Basu et al., 2017). Even if they might not assist them, it is beneficial to seek assistance or encouragement. Satisfactory convey of information is also important to evade occupational stress, if at all this is possible. The manner information is delivered should be suited to the workers receiving them. Some people prefer to receive messages in written form, while others prefer to receive them in person (Basu et al., 2017). Meetings with coworkers or junior workers are critical for establishing proper professional connections and obtaining helpful information and suggestions from subordinates. These suggestions and opinions should be attentively heard to improve the working experience of the subordinates. Furthermore, criticism should be positive and private; else, it may stifle group discussion and be met with a lack of objectivity and openness.

Elsewhere, control of reactions or inner balance has been suggested as a possible means of stress management. The ability to moderate one’s reactions to inevitable unpleasant or problematic occurrences is a valuable strength in the fight against stress (Quick & Henderson, 2016). Difficulties and obstructions should not be disregarded; rather, they should be recognized as soon as they arise, and action taken to resolve the problematic condition objectively, without allowing room for hatred and rage, and without being narrow-minded to others. Optimistic thinking and calmness can be extremely beneficial in challenging, stressful situations and positively impact coworkers and the workplace environment (Quick & Henderson, 2016). Employees’ physical and mental health will not be compromised as a result.

Further, it is critical to observe and participate in the resolution of stress in coworkers to counteract occupational stress. It is preferable to recognize stress signals as soon as they arise (Basu et al., 2017). The first step in overcoming stress is to become aware of it. As soon as the indicators of stress are recognized, the difficult phase starts: urging those experiencing hardships to take action. That must be done cautiously, in the company of friends with whom the person has a handy connection, during private discussions in a calm, nice setting (Basu et al., 2017). Workers in distress ought to be handled with compassion and given the opportunity to heal. During assistance, the problem and causes should be identified and ways of overcoming the distress. Workers and the business will benefit from provisional release from work, psychiatric therapy, advice on healthier time management, and participation in a physical activity program.

Conclusion

Stress is a prevalent and recurring challenge in community health management. In particular, occupational stress has been determined as a factor influencing health risks and is considered to be unavoidable, part of the job. However, the research indicates that stress is manageable preventing outcomes of organizational dysfunction, mental or behavioral suffering. Conclusively, for strategies in managing occupational stress and personal differences to be effective, there should be a focus on organizational protection, individual protection, and job setting prevention. The outcomes of addressing the causes, raising awareness, and finding strategies to manage stress are improvements in the workplace environment that is productive and functional and enhances general public health.

References

Basu, S., Qayyum, H., & Mason, S. (2017). Occupational stress in the ED: A systematic literature review. Emergency Medicine Journal, 34(7), 441–447. Web.

Desouky, D., & Allam, H. (2017). Occupational stress, anxiety and depression among Egyptian teachers. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3), 191. Web.

Meng, Q., & Wang, G. (2018). A research on sources of university faculty occupational stress: A Chinese case study. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 11, 597–605. Web.

Quick, J., & Henderson, D. (2016). Occupational stress: Preventing suffering, enhancing well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(5), 459. Web.

Seaward, B. L. (2017). Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being (9th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.