Stress is something that we have all suffered from at some time in our life and a small amount of stress is good for us – it pushes us to get things done for the time they need to be done. But what happens when the stress starts to get too much? It can affect your whole life – not just your work life. Too much stress can affect your health both mentally and physically, which can have a knock-on effect into every other part of your life. This is something you want to avoid at all costs, so you need to develop a strategy for identifying and dealing with stress.
First, Identification!
For this part of the exercise, we’ll use Dr Karl Albrecht’s definitions of the four main types of work related stress. Dr Albrecht was a pioneer in the field of stress-reduction training for business people. And, in his 1979 book ‘Stress and the Manager’, Dr Albrecht states that there are four common types of stress, which he identifies as:
1. Time stress
2. Situational stress
3. Encounter stress
4. Anticipatory stress
This week we’ll deal with the first two and follow up with others next week. So, we’ll start with time stress.
Time Stress
This occurs when you have too much to do in too little time and I’m sure you’ve all experienced this at one time or another – I know I have! Once you realise that you’ve got too much to do in the time you have available, you start to worry. If left unresolved, the stress can become destructive, leading to feelings of despair and hopelessness. This is a situation you really want to avoid at all costs.
So what can you do?
One of the easiest ways to deal with time stress is to learn how to manage your time better. You can do this by applying time management skills. This can be as simple as setting up a to-do list in the morning or as elaborate as keeping a time diary for a few weeks so that you can identify the areas where you ‘leak’ time and take action. Time management skills also include learning how to prioritise, say ‘no’ to extra work, de-clutter your desk, delegate and how to create more time in your day.
Most people find that once they start to organise themselves, and take back control of the time they have available to complete tasks in, their stress levels start to drop.
Situational Stress
This is another common form of stress and one that many people experience. It occurs when you are put into a situation you are not familiar with. Some people are perfectly happy and confident in new situations, others feel completely ‘out of their depth’ and start to worry. However, it’s not just about being in new situations, it’s also about being in uncomfortable situations, especially those that are related to conflict. So it’s possible that your situational stress could occur in your work place, and be the result of you having a disagreement with another member of staff or making a major mistake that causes embarrassment.
So what can you do?
Often, situational stress can come on very quickly. You might be suddenly forced into a situation that you were not expecting and become stressed because of it. When this occurs your body will react in an automatic way – this is often called a flight or fight response. During this time you levels of adrenaline may surge causing you to feel knots in your stomach, nausea and an overwhelming feeling of wanting to run!
What you need to understand, recognise and counter that response. Learning techniques to keep you calm are a great way to start. Often people suffering from stress will begin to hyperventilate, which essentially means you breath too quickly and take in too much oxygen. When this happens, simply hold your breath to re-balance the oxygen/carbon dioxide mix. This will make you feel calmer and allow you to take back control of your emotions and, hopefully, the situation.
Okay – that’ll do for now. Next week we’ll finish off with anticipatory and encounter stress. And, if you have any effective ways of dealing with stress, please do let me know.
