Why is it important to know how to manage stress at work?

These are the reasons why it is essential to know how to modulate stress in the work context.

What does stress management consist of? How does it affect us in the professional environment?

These are very relevant questions considering that many work contexts are very prone to put us in uncomfortable situations to which we must know how to adapt as quickly as possible: presentations to departmental colleagues, coordination of a team for a special event, accumulation of work, etc...

However, not everyone thinks about it, as we often fall into the trap of often fall into the trap of considering that stress is simply something we have to suffer from, a type of discomfort in the face of which we can't cope.a type of discomfort that we can do nothing about. Fortunately, the reality reflects the opposite.

Why should we know how to manage stress in the workplace?

It would be very simplistic to assume that stress is just a personal problem, specific to each individual; those who become stressed do not do so because their brain experiences a spontaneous change, but because something in their interaction with the environment has changed; for example, someone has assigned them a task to be completed in 24 hours, and they feel they will not be able to do it. In other words, stress arises somewhere between the person and the context in which that person isIt is as valid to say that there are stressed people as it is to say that there are stressful situations.

That is why there is no magic recipe to make stress disappear from our lives, as if by taking a potion we were surrounded by an anti-stress bubble: the reality is that stress-generating contexts are not going to disappear. However, the reality is that stress-generating contexts will not disappear, that does not imply that we can do nothing to manage our emotional stresses in the best possible way. and, in fact, the difference between knowing how to modulate our stress and not knowing how to do it can be key.

That is why from fields such as psychology, research has been carried out for decades on the best coping strategies to adapt to stressful situations, so that even if we are not able to control everything that happens in our lives, we can take advantage of our room for maneuver in what we can control.

That is why, Today we have some useful and effective strategies that, without detracting from the utility that, without detracting from the usefulness that anxiety and stress have for our survival and to predispose us to solve problems and avoid unnecessary dangers, help us to make our emotions play in our favor, and not against us.

As a result, there are now many professionals who are trained in these theoretical and practical principles that help manage stress at work and that can be applied both to oneself and to others, the work groups. The importance of taking advantage of this is fundamental, especially in organizations that often work under pressure, as we will see.

How does poor stress management at work affect us?

These are different ways in which problems can arise at work due to poor stress management, with examples.

1. Propensity to experience conflict

In the context of organizations, it is inevitable that clashes of interests will arise from time to time.However, the key is how these conflicts are resolved. Knowing how to adopt a negotiating and empathetic attitude implies obtaining very different results from those we would obtain if, for example, we let everything take its course and "may the strongest win".

In times of high anxiety or continuous stress, many people become significantly more irritable, and are not able to react well to what generates feelings of frustration. Therefore, in this psychological state, arguments become more heated and it is easier not to seek it is easier not to seek a consensual solution, but to give an immediate solution to the problem.The aim is not to reach a consensual solution, but rather to immediately give vent to the accumulated discomfort.

For example, a department head who does not know how to manage his stress well might try to overrule a middle manager in front of the team or even humiliate him, which, in addition to harming the latter personally, is bad for the organization's work dynamics.

2. Increased exposure to psychological disorders

People who experience excessive work stress on a regular basis become more vulnerable to a wide variety of psychological disorders, including depression, insomnia and addictions.

It should not be forgotten that if things do not work well in our way of adapting to a job, this implies suffering psychological wear and tear for many hours a week.In companies based on the value of competitiveness, this discomfort can become almost uninterrupted and accompany the person at home during his or her free time.

3. Abandonment of the orientation to the attainment of goals

A very important aspect of making a professional project work is to always be goal-oriented. That is to say, not to limit oneself to "comply" and that's it, but to adapt one's behavior depending on the problems that arise, without having to wait for others to tell us on their own initiative that there is a change of plans.

When we allow stress to accumulate in us and we do not give it a satisfactory outlet, this leads to a state of fatigue that significantly limits our ability to cope with it. a state of fatigue that significantly limits our performance at work.. For example, even if we keep reaching the minimum daily, weekly or monthly objectives, we will probably be neglecting other "unofficial" sub-objectives that are important to attend to out of pure common sense, beyond the direct indications of our superiors.

4. Appearance of a bad working environment

As a result of all the above, inadequate stress management causes the way the whole company functions in general, or certain departments in particular (if the problem only affects those people) to deteriorate, generating a bad working environment that is noticeable both in the work dynamics and in the formal and informal relationships between workers: distrust, resentment, fear of new projects to work on as a team, etc.

Are you interested in training through a stress management program?

If you want to train yourself in techniques and strategies to manage stress in the professional context, you may be interested in the "Stress Management Program: channeling and projecting energy", conducted by Escuela Europea de Coaching..

This is a fully online training program based on live classes through a synchronous classroom, and has a total duration of 12 hours spread over several sessions. This course includes theoretical and practical content related to topics such as time management techniques, conversational skills, the keys to detect stress and know how to react to it from the first moment, and other fundamental aspects to maintain emotional balance. For more information about Escuela Europea de Coaching, access this page.