BLT (*) – Stress – when does it become unhealthy…and how do you deal with it when it does?

Stress had been rather topical recently (one of our members had recently hosted a seminar on ‘Stress Resilience’ for business coaches), so the planned discussions topic was even more ‘on trend’ today with the newswires carrying the latest survey on the negative impact of stress on the economy:

“Mental health sees 300,000 people leave their jobs each year” – Source: BBC online 

A ‘Thriving at Work Report’, by the CEO of mental health charity, Mind, claims that:

• Mental health illness affects 1 in 6 people
• 300,000 people with long-term mental health problems have to quit their jobs annually
• The report makes 40 recommendations for ways in which support employees to remain at work
• The most important recommendation is that all employers, regardless of size or industry, should adopt 6 ‘mental health core standards’ that lay basic foundations for an approach to workplace mental health.

Thoughts from around the Table….

“It’s a very small difference between de-stress and dis-tress…at least when they’re both written down!”

“I used to resent working in corporate, but it was only after I left that I did begin to appreciate the benefits of having structures and processes”

“Pressure helps me to do a better job….stress is when I feel incapable of doing a good job in the first place”

“Stress changes my normal behaviour patterns”

“You can’t give 110% – it’s impossible. That sort of behaviour causes stress”

Defining the problem

Interestingly, when looking at the effect on inanimate objects, pressure and stress share very similar definitions; i.e. a pressure or continuous physical force exerted against something.

It is only when it is applied to animate objects (such as human beings) that the definitions diverge:

Pressure: the use of persuasion or intimidation to make someone do something.

Stress: a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.

Indeed, to the outside eye (not just the dictionary), pressure and stress can be appear similar.

Differences between Pressure and Stress

Thoughts from around the table:

• Pressure is controllable / stress is when events become uncontrollable
• Pressure can be used as a catalyst / stress can be paralysing; e.g. for a top-class sportsman, it all depends how they channel pressure
• Pressure is short-term, stress is long-term

Therefore, pressure and stress can be miles apart…or very close together – it all depends upon the individual concerned; after all, echoing the definitions, both pressure and stress hormones arise from the same place – the adrenal glands.

Adrenaline is the ‘fight or flight’ hormone produced immediately by the adrenal glands but dissipates quickly….whereas cortisol follows some time later but can be continuously released]

So can there be such a thing as healthy stress? Around the table, we decided probably not – that would be ‘pressure’, and the word ‘stress’ is inherently unhealthy, at least from a mental point of view.

How do we deal with stress?

• Write it down; e.g. keep a ‘thought diary’ – by recognising the causes of your stress, you can begin to manage them
• Create a structure; e.g. e-mail management tools are available for those who get stressed over a constantly full mailbox
• Share it – this works for some people, not for others; e.g. ask for advice, allow somebody else to suggest a solution for you.

Conclusion: People are animate objects

Stress is becoming more commonplace – perhaps it’s an unfortunate side-effect of our ‘always connected’, ‘gig economy’, ‘multiple career’ modern-day lifestyles? Or perhaps it’s just because it’s more acceptable to talk about it nowadays?

However, this growing trend for treating employees as ‘assets’ rather than ‘people’ reminded me of a quote I’d had to include recently for a website I’m currently writing:

“Engineers do not design bridges to stand up, they design them not to fall down.”

Which brings us back to the original definitions – inanimate objects are specifically designed to withstand stress…but people are not, and so a one-size-fits-all approach is not going to cut it in the modern workplace.

(*) BLT is a free fortnightly networking group that meets from 7:15-8:45, every other Thursday at The George & Dragon, Marlow.

For more details, please leave me a message – new networkers are always welcome.

The next meeting is Thursday 9th November

Recent BLT meeting write-ups:

• 12th October: LinkedIn: http://www.nobleword.co.uk/blt-use-linkedin-grow-business/
• 28th September: Work/Life balance: http://www.nobleword.co.uk/blt-happy-worklife-balance/