Work stress is no longer a strange topic for workers, but it is still a difficult problem for each individual and especially for organizations because stress can leave many unpredictable consequences. At the individual level, from a biological perspective, when individuals feel stressed at work, they can suffer from diseases related to the heart, blood pressure, and stomach. From a psychological perspective, stress also reduces the feeling of happiness in personal life, with the risk of causing workers to become exhausted or apathetic about their jobs, abuse drugs, have mental disorders, and commit suicide. At the organizational level, when an individual feels stressed at work, the level of emotional attachment to the organization will be lower, they will feel that the benefits they receive are not much, and they will put less effort and dedication into their work, which results in low work efficiency and an increased tendency to quit.
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Minh Loan pointed out the causes of stress at work:
- Personality traits of individuals
- Among the five personality attributes, people who are conscientious about their work and people who are neurotic/emotionally unstable are more likely to experience stress at work.
- In addition, extroverts are also at risk of stress if their jobs do not give them the opportunity to interact and exchange with others. On the contrary, for introverts, if their jobs require a lot of communication, it can cause them stress.
- According to Cattell's 16-factor personality scale, “anxiety” is a risk factor for stress.
- Type A personalities (competitive, aggressive, time-pressed, achievement-driven, hostile) are more likely to experience job stress than type B personalities with opposite type A personality traits.
- Work issues:
- Nature of work: Work that is too easy or too difficult compared to the worker's capacity is also a great pressure for them.
- Occupational specificity: Some occupations also carry risks that cause stress, for example, medicine, construction, aviation, accounting, business. Besides physical risks, there are also mental risks.
- The working environment is too noisy, dusty, stuffy or the office is designed too simply or flamboyantly.
- Long working hours.
- Individual responsibility at work: the greater the responsibility, the more likely they are to be pressured because the consequences or problems that occur at work not only affect themselves but also many other people.
- Job roles held: Employees who are role ambiguous (not clear about their position and scope of work) or have role conflict (know clearly about their job but feel that the demands are too high, the tasks are not suitable, and are not compatible with other roles) are at higher risk of job stress.
- Lack of balance between work and family roles
- Organizational environment
- Changes in information technology:
- Relationship with colleagues is not really favorable, there are conflicts.
- Leaders are distrustful, prejudiced, unfair, and lack objective judgment...
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Minh Loan introduced to the participants the steps to deal with work stress according to the guidance of Cartwright and Cooper (1997): (1) Correctly perceive and accept the existence of the problem; (2) Identify the problem and try to eliminate or change the stress of the problem; (3) Find ways to cope if the stress problem cannot be changed; (4). Monitor and review the results of the response. Through that, the speaker shared some ways to cope with work stress from the perspective of individuals and organizations.
- From the personal side: Make a to-do list, prioritize different tasks; Change negative beliefs into more supportive and uplifting positive beliefs; Use defense mechanisms (temporary), such as repression, blaming, rationalizing problems, etc.; Relax: talk to family, friends, colleagues that you really trust and have similarities with you; play your favorite sports during breaks at work or at the end of the working day; do yoga, gym; drink a cup of tea/coffee, listen to your favorite music; play games, use social networks, etc.; Use psychological counseling services to get support to relieve stress.
- From the organization's side: Support employees to adapt to the working environment by setting rules for employees to follow; Build a relaxation area/room; Open a counseling room/center for employees to have appropriate ways to overcome stress; Re-establish jobs for employees with role ambiguity or conflict; Establish a healthy working environment - that is, a friendly, positive, low-pressure, and safe environment for employees.
Concluding her sharing, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Minh Loan emphasized that completely eliminating stress is not easy and there is no general coping formula for anyone because it depends on the specific conditions and circumstances of each individual and organization. Therefore, each of us needs to take the time to learn and use the methods that are suitable for us to be able to relieve negative emotions after stressful working hours and go further to reduce work stress in general.
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Minh Loan (Faculty of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities)
Host: Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thi Hong Thai ((Faculty of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities)
Through the experts' intimate sharing, we hope that each participant will find a healthy way to cope with work stress that suits them.
The talk show has received the attention and participation of many students in the school and universities in Hanoi.
