Stress and its Effects
Stress is just a way the body naturally responds to a threatening situation or a situation that puts the body under some kind of pressure (Nevid and Rathus). Minimal stress is good for the body since it makes the person under it to respond quickly and be active on important issues, but when it becomes too much, stress can cause health problems. Basically, as much as stress is good for the body, it is important for one to learn how to cope up with and manage it to ensure it doesn’t interfere with one’s personal or professional life.
Managing Stress in the Workplace
Being in the working environment can sometimes lead to overwhelming situations where sometimes I find myself under pressure of meeting deadlines of some duties that are assigned to me. As much as I love my work so much and always try my best to enjoy what I do without being pushed, stress is a normal situation that I cannot completely avoid at work. Apart from being under pressure of meeting deadlines at times, there are other factors that result to stress at work, for example, low salaries that don't satisfy a month's needs, the situation of having no say in important decisions made by seniors at work and lack of enough support from fellow employees. However, stress is still completely unavoidable at work as much as anyone can try to balance everything professionally, the solution to it is learning to cope with professional stress and never allowing to always control how I do my job.
Coping with Professional Stress
According to a survey carried out by the American Psychological Association on annual stress in America in the year 2012, a minimal percentage (37%) was actually doing well in managing work-related stress. Basically, this means that professional stress is still an issue to be dealt with. For instance, taking my personal career as an example, I have suffered from professional stress many times as a result of workload and pressure from meeting work deadlines. At some point, stress made me think of quitting work but luckily I was able to manage it. I have learned to cope up with stress at work by frequently taking some time to relax whenever I feel under pressure, hence helping myself to recharge and start off better. I also try to talk to my supervisor to see if he is at least able to extend work deadlines that can put me under unnecessary pressure. By doing this, I have always been able to keep professional stress in a manageable state.
Impact of Personal Stress on Professional Life
Although learning to cope with professional stress can be easy, personal stress can affect one's professional life. Personal stress can result from relationship issues or family issues, for example, having a sick member of the family. Low self-esteem can also be another personal stressor and can lead to depression if not well managed. I have personally suffered from low self-esteem in the past, and I can say dealing with low self-esteem is not an easy task. However, I get to learn earlier that it was directly affecting my professional life and I had to deal with it. After identifying my stressor, I learned on healthy ways of helping manage personal stress like leading a unique lifestyle. I also try to reach and talk to many people who are of help like therapists, hence managing stress.
Work Cited
Rathus, Navid. 4 Ways To Cope With Stress. 2012.
American Psychological Association: Coping with Stress at Work, 2012. www.apa.org>helpcenter>work-stress. Accessed 1 May, 2018
