Stress In The Workplace

Stress in workplace is a relatively new concept that can be attributed to our predominantly hectic modern lifestyles. The aspirations and expectations that one may have from work have undergone critical changes over the last few decades and it is still in a constant state of change.  Change is an exclusive characteristic common to all professions and with change in the professional layout, comes a feeling of being stressed. Thus, stress is a typical phenomenon in almost all spheres of work.

Stress in workplace is also known as job stress. Job stress is an unrelenting illness of that is caused by conditions at work that negatively shape an individual's performance and his overall state of well-being of the mind and body. Job stress is known to have a direct impact on the health and well-being of a person. Since a person’s career is regarded as the survival tool kit of a person in the modern world, the need to excel at work is far more strong amongst the youngsters. This has created a sort of pressurized situation for the office goers and this has ultimately resulted in a feeling of stress. The reasons for stress at work could be many.

Job insecurity is an important cause of stress in work place. Organized and planned places of work are forever in a state of change as a product of powerful economic alterations and subsequent pressures. Reorganizations, mergers and takeovers, downsizing and other such changes now play the role of major stressors for employees, since the companies raise the pressure on the employees with an effort to survive through competition. The need to excel at work also puts many people at stress. Impractical anticipations and expectations in the time of corporate overhauls sometimes put detrimental and increased pressures on the employee. This can be a cause for stress and suffering in most employees. Increased workload, exceptionally long work hours and concentrated pressure to perform in order to reach the peak levels can actually leave many employees feeling physically as well as emotionally drained.

Many times, stress in workplace arises due to an inability to face the ongoing technological changes. The extension of technology in the form of pagers, computers, cell phones, fax machines and the Internet has caused sharp expectations for output and efficiency, speed, increased expectations concerning performance etc. The culture at the work place may cause a general feeling of stress. Amendments and adjustments in accordance with the workplace culture can be deeply stressful. Making one become accustomed to a variety of aspects of office culture such as communication style, chain of command, dress code, code of conduct, workspace can be a cause of increasing amount of stress.

Usually, personal problems may cause one to face a lot of stress in workplace. Employees who may be experiencing personal or family problems have a propensity to carry their fears and anxieties to the place of work. When one is in a miserable mood, his distracted attention or lack of impetus affects his capability to carry out responsibilities carefully.