Stress is a mess

Stress has become a very popular term in today’s workplace and it is quite common to hear people say they are suffering from stress, or are stressed out. When we feel bad at work, often the blame is placed on stress. The popular media and stress management industry release regular articles/information about the harmful effects of stress and also offer various solutions such as:

o Changing stressful job conditions
o Relaxation techniques
o Learning skills to manage workload
o Information about lifestyle issues (for example work-life balance, exercise, diet)
o Taking breaks or holidays

So what is the problem with this? There are quite a few problems actually. For starters, many of the solutions mentioned above, have not been scientifically proven to have long term benefits on well-being or performance at the workplace. Some are short-term fixes and are by nature ineffective. Others might be effective but only for certain people, in certain situations and therefore the practice of providing them as a general solution is of no use.

Furtheremore, before reaching the stage where one can offer solutions to a problem, it is very important to properly and specifically define the problem. However, academic researchers are still struggling with the concept of stress and are working hard to find proper ways to define it. Is it a stimulus or a response? Is it an emotion, feeling, thought, physical reaction or all of these? This is further complicated by the fact that stress is subjective in many ways and each individual has a different perspective on what is stressful. Hence, generalisations (of definitions, solutions or otherwise) are hard to make. Some people think that the concept of stress should be abandoned completely. However, the general consensus/direction seems to be that stress should be thought of as an umbrella term, which refers to multiple and diverse things. No one explanation can adequately account for the numerous kinds of phenomena or relationships that are captured by the notion of stress.

What this means is that rather than saying that you are stressed and consequently looking for general/ineffective/short-term solutions (holidays, relaxation techniques, general training/information, etc.), you need to be more specific – are you overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, frustrated, fatigued, angry and so on. Once you define the state specifically (or have a professional do it for you), you can look for specific solutions. It is similar to going to a doctor, saying you are ill and asking for treatment, without having the doctor examine you in detail for symptoms and then recommending treatment.

So to sum it up – be specific when it comes to ‘stress’ and avoid general (one-size-fits all) solutions, that are not tailored for you individually. Also, look/ask for the theory/evidence behind any solutions offered.

Source: Sandbox Advisors, University of London