The Myth of Being Stress Free At Work

It is easy, right? The self-help section of any bookstore is filled with shelf after shelf of expert knowledge on how to deal with stress. The topic of stress is found in over 32,000 books on Amazon.com. If this were not such a serious problem in our lives, there could be humor found in the stressful search for stress relief. I will defer to those with more than a few graduate courses in psychology to explain it in detail, but as a human resources professional this is a topic of grave concern, not only in my work life as I deal with other people but within my personal life as well. It is difficult to be in a position to exorcise other peoples’ demons while being possessed with multiple stress demons. The advice given to airline passengers to “make sure you put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others such as children” totally goes against the parental inclination to take care of your child first. I love this analogy. Anyone who becomes incapacitated by a situation will be of no help to anyone else unless the fix is applied personally before sharing.

Most recruiters and HR people I know have a compassionate side. Of course, since this community is made up of human beings who are a cross-section of society, the culture is only slightly skewed toward the “goodness” end of the caring spectrum. I was involved in a major downsizing in a start-up company that had been sold. There had been one other adjustment to make the company more marketable, but this was a blood cut rather than trimming the fat. Each termination interview was handled with the presence of a line manager, a human resources representative and someone from an outplacement company. The meetings were scripted and rehearsed to be fair, impartial and ease the employee stress from a situation which was to most a surprise event in their life. Plenty of oxygen was provided to those losing their jobs, but somebody forgot about the other people involved in those interviews. By the end of a very stressful day, most of the HR messengers were drained, exhausted and many were in tears. I learned from that experience to watch for stress in my colleagues in these situations and afterward ask, “Are you OK?” Opening the door to talk about the stressful experience may be all that is needed to release the tension, but often it could have been made less stressful by offering the oxygen mask beforehand.

Some people have found coping mechanisms to deal with work related stress and some have learned how to fake it. There are telltale signs that something is wrong. Stress can cause physical and mental problems that can be as debilitating as any other bodily injury. Depression and other related illness is common in a work environment, especially where it intersects with stress in personal lives. HR professionals know that a change in performance on the job may be related to the work environment or something more personal. Sleeplessness, fatigue, headaches, poor judgment and slowed response to execution of tasks which contribute to stress can start the downward spiral toward depression by adding more stress to the situation. No work environment is without stress. When will we learn that most HR team building programs are about as effective in dealing with stress as gathering everybody around the campfire for a love fest and singing Kumbaya? Individual problems require individual solutions.

While all people are different, recognizing our own stressors is a key to being effective in dealing with other people. When people are stressed, they will react as if they are in danger. Hormones are released that control the instinctive animal part of the body and creates a “fight or flight” response. This is as normal as the blink of an eyelid to ward off apparent danger. Recognizing stress in ourselves is instructive, but it needs to be extended into eliminating or dealing with the causes. If stress is unavoidable, preventive action can lessen the impact or reduce the consequences. It is a very personal solution and generalizations usually will not answer the question, but identifying stressors and seeking to find ways around them is the first step.

Finding healthy alternatives to dealing with stress is essential. Exercise is one universal treatment which has been clinically proven to be effective. Vigorous exercise releases endorphins that can trigger chemical responses in the body stimulating the nervous system and creating favorable cardiovascular and brain functions. The proverbial “runner’s high” is a fact and is evidence of a rush of endorphins giving a positive feeling afterward. We also know that it is a scientific fact that alcohol is a depressant. In a culture where alcohol has become an acceptable part of being social, there is a danger of using this as a crutch to offset a stressful situation. Alcohol may reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, however the alcohol “high” is a chemical reaction mimicking the brain’s natural sedating chemicals which depresses the central nervous system and prevent the body’s natural ability to produce stimulating chemicals.

An important aspect of a recruiter’s job is to recognize that the nature of our work is a major stressor to those whom we try to help. Two important causes of stress are changes in work environment and changes in home environment. Much of the time we are asking people to leave the safety of the status quo (stress!) and possibly uproot their home to a new location (more stress!). Behind the scenes, if the current environment is an unhappy work environment (stress!) or even worse, unemployment (more stress!) while coping with family and financial matters (even more stress!) there can be insurmountable problems. However, it is important for recruiters and job seekers to understand that it is not the recruiter’s job to fix these problems but to be aware of them. Job seekers take note: If you convey an atmosphere of uncontrollable stress you will not be seen to be the best candidate. A successful hire is one who will be a productive employee and not someone who brings excessive baggage to the new job.

The most prevalent demons sucking the oxygen from our lives are unrealistic expectations and uncertainty about the future. I consider myself to be a self-motivated person which is only a fine line from crossing over to join those with self-imposed obsessions. As for the future, there is no certainty other than death and taxes. To deal with uncertainty, there are only two things that we can realistically do to solve that dilemma: We can sit and stress about it or we can prepare for it. It’s a matter of choosing the right alternative.