Workplace Wellbeing: Getting the stress balance right 

Stress is an inevitable part of work and can help us to perform at our best but we need to keep it in check to protect our health 

Pic: iStock

WE’RE stressed out at work. That’s according to a recent poll by recruitment firm
Robert Walters, which asked 2,000 Irish workers if they had suffered from recurring workplace-related stress in the past year. Six in 10 responded with a resounding yes. A third said they experienced stress very often, 27% somewhat often and 31% sometimes, while 9% said they hadn’t experienced any recurring stress at work.

Are such stress levels a cause for concern? Not necessarily, says Dr Jolanta Burke, a chartered psychologist and senior lecturer at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

“It’s a misconception that stress is bad,” she says.

“Distress is bad, but stress is not only good, but necessary. It’s an essential psychological and physiological process that gets the best out of us.”

Dr Olivia O’Leary, a senior lecturer in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience at UCC, explains what happens in our bodies when we experience stress.

“Evolutionarily, the purpose of our body’s response to stress is to protect us from potentially harmful situations,” she says. “It does this by inducing a rapid
cascade of biological signals that start in the brain’s amygdala.”

When the amygdala perceives a threat, it warns another part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which in turn notifies the body by
activating the sympathetic nervous system. This triggers the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream and other physiological changes, such as the mobilisation of energy to various parts of the body.

“Say we’re crossing the road and there’s an oncoming truck,” says O’Leary. “Our legs will need sufficient energy to run out of its way. In simple terms, adrenaline enables the body to deliver that energy rapidly.”

A stressed body also releases another hormone called cortisol.

“This helps to maintain a steady supply of energy and maintains the body and brain on high alert,” says O’Leary. “When the threat passes, the sympathetic nervous system activity dampens down, and cortisol and adrenaline release is suppressed.”

Too much of a good thing

These physiological responses can benefit our performance at work.

“Short-term activation of the biological stress response induces energy release and increases brain alertness and focus that can help us perform in an exam, give a presentation to important clients, or meet a tight deadline,” says O’Leary.

“It can be a help, not a hindrance,” says Burke. “It allows us to come up with solutions to problems fast.”

However, when activated too frequently, the stress
response can affect us negatively. Just like medicine, where a small dose is helpful, too much can do harm.

“Chronic, unmanaged stress can be damaging in all sorts of ways,” says O’Leary.

“Persistent activation of the sympathetic nervous system can damage blood vessels and increase blood pressure. Persistently elevated cortisol can cause fat accumulation, particularly in the tummy area.

“Stress also increases alertness, making it difficult to sleep, which has a knock-on effect on mood and cognitive performance. It can negatively affect gastrointestinal and immune function, as energy is diverted from systems that are considered less important to the parts of the body that are dealing with the immediate stress challenge.

“Stress can also be a risk factor in developing anxiety and depression.”

Dr Jolanta Burke, chartered psychologist and senior lecturer at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Interestingly, these effects appear to be mitigated by our attitude to stress.

A 2012 American study asked 28,753 people how much stress they experienced and how harmful they believed it was, and followed their health records for eight years.

The risk of dying during this eight-year timeframe rose by 43% in the group that experienced a lot of stress and believed it was detrimental to their health.

The risk to those who experienced little stress but believed it to be detrimental rose by 10%.

However, those who experienced a lot of stress but didn’t believe it to be detrimental had the lowest increase, at 8%.”

“Attitude matters,” says Burke.

“It’s those who have a positive attitude, who aren’t scared of stress and who don’t think of it as a monster who tend to have the best coping strategies.

Lynne Forrest is a chartered occupational and counselling psychologist and says a first-step strategy is to recognise the signs of stress.

“There are cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioural indications,” she says.

“Cognitive signs include forgetfulness, poor attention and memory, poor problem-solving, and feelings of uncertainty.

“Emotional signs are panic, anxiety, emotional outbursts, anger, irritability, and low mood.

“Physical signs could be poor sleep, headaches, sweating, grinding teeth, chest pains, or fatigue. And behavioural signs often involve avoidance, withdrawal, restlessness, and frustration.”

Tackling causes of stress

Everyone reacts differently, says Burke.

“For some, it’s their heart beating faster. For others, it could be stomach pain or disorganised thinking. You need to know your signs so you can become aware of them as they happen.”

Once you recognise the signs, your next step is to identify the source of the stress. According to Burke, many mistakenly focus too much on the symptoms rather than the underlying cause.

“I once had a client who found it difficult to deal with stress effectively,” she says.

“She couldn’t sit still the first time I met her. When I asked her how she managed stress, she talked about deep-breathing exercises, yoga, and running.

“These are great ways of reducing symptoms but don’t address what’s causing the stress.”

If we don’t deal with what causes us stress, it will continue to bother us no matter what stress-reduction techniques we try.

“Our bodies try to help us resolve stressful issues as they happen, hence the physiological reactions,” says Burke.

“There are many potential triggers for stress in the workplace.

“We can find it difficult to deal with certain colleagues. We may struggle with the burden of work. It’s not always possible to resolve these problems by ourselves, and that’s when we should ask our managers or HR team for support.

“If we ignore issues, our bodies keep reminding us of them. They will come to mind at 3am when we wake up worrying about work.

“We need to realise that our bodies have evolved to experience stress, cope with it, move on, and rest — that’s how we avoid the negative impact of stress. It’s important to avail of whatever supports are available to help us do this.”

In the meantime, while you tackle the cause of the stress, Forrest recommends employing stress-reduction techniques.

“Exercise for one, particularly aerobic exercise,” she says.

“It helps burn off the cortisol and adrenaline that are a feature of the stress
experience.

“Eating well and making sure you get adequate rest will help.

“So will social connections. Make an effort to stay connected to others by spending quality time with family and friends.”

A 2013 Canadian meta-analysis found that meditation is effective at reducing stress.

“Engaging in activities with a sense of purpose and achievement can also be effective,” says Forrest. “Simple things like sorting out your wardrobe or tidying the garden shed.”

Having a healthy routine can also be beneficial.

“It gives a feeling in control and provides a sense of certainty and predictability,” says Forrest. “A sense of control is a key moderator of stress.”

These are all things you should do on an ongoing basis. But what about when you’re slap-bang in the middle of a stressful day at work?

“Try a time-out or a short text message exchange with a friend,” says Burke. “When we experience a lot of negative emotions, we can find it hard to come up with a good solution to our problems. Putting ourselves in a more positive mood by doing activities that promote positive emotions can help us to tackle the source of stress more effectively.”

While stress is inevitable in any workplace, we can take proactive steps to address the causes, and use stress management techniques to keep it at a healthy level.

“As the pioneering stress researcher Hans Seyle said: ‘It’s not stress that kills us, but our reaction to it’,” says O’Leary.

“Stressors are unavoidable. We just have to find ways of dealing with them.”