How stress affects performance: six steps to creating a healthy workplace atmosphere

The time in which we live, can be safely called crazy. We always have to keep within certain deadlines, manage to combine work and family life, and also take a few steps forward to calculate the course of any project we are taking. This requires a significant concentration of willpower and is very tiring. Life under the constant effects of stress has become the daily norm. But is it true that stress is so bad? And, if this is true, how to behave, when it is impossible to avoid?

Positive stress

Stress, in fact, is the body's natural response to a difficult situation. When something can harm you, a chain of physiological processes is activated in your body, giving you strength and helping you cope with the problem or avoid it. So what really happens?
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The disturbed brain sends a signal to the body, which activates the sympathetic system - the mechanism responsible for connecting additional reserves when the need arises for an increased reaction rate.

The adrenal glands begin to produce adrenaline and release it into the bloodstream; heartbeat is accelerated, due to which the blood flow to the muscles increases, the pulse rate increases, the feelings become more acute, and as a result you are ready to overcome obstacles.

Imagine the situation (hypothetically). Your boss suddenly called you and said that an extremely necessary meeting with some very important people was scheduled much earlier than was previously scheduled (or you just got confused in your schedule). You are completely confused, but somewhere in the subconscious you still know what you can handle. And here comes the place of the stimulating effect of positive stress or eustress :

• attention is focused on a specific task;
• energy levels increase significantly;
• you feel excited and burning with the desire to overcome all difficulties;
• improved performance.

It turns out that stress reactions are adaptive . However, do not forget that the parts of the brain controlling the processes described above can be called rudimentary. Simply put, they have not yet had time to realize the fact that people no longer have to struggle for survival with the help of hunting for wild animals.

The organism simply had no chance to keep up with the pace of cultural and technological evolution. It turns out that stressful reactions can be very useful when there is a threat of an emergency, however, they are not intended to solve long-term problems.

In practice, this means that we are well adapted to overcome any one difficult task, but we cannot be in such a state for a long time.

Negative stress

The bad news is that a positive action lasts only about 30 minutes. After this, stress begins to harm our internal organs, immune and nervous systems.

The reason is obvious - maintaining a state of full alert requires a lot of energy, so the body can not take care of itself as well as in a normal situation.

The processes responsible for the growth and recovery of the body are stopped, the efficiency of the digestive organs is reduced, the immune system ceases to fight viruses, bacteria or other infections. Long-lasting stress can lead to exhaustion. When you are in “survival mode”, there is no time for regeneration.

Than negative stress (distress) can threaten your body:

• muscle tension;
• insomnia;
• digestive problems;
• loss of appetite;
• increased susceptibility to infections;
• high blood pressure;
• strokes;
• heart attacks;
• oncological diseases.

Primitive subconscious reactions of our brain

Stress also severely hurts the cognitive system. During work, we can not do without brain cells. Therefore, you should be alarmed by the fact that stress can actually lead to a decrease in the volume of gray matter.

The prefrontal cortex is particularly susceptible to damage — a part of the brain that is responsible for higher functions, such as reasoning, decision making, planning, and overcoming difficulties. Of course, for this to happen, some time must pass.

However, remember that under stress, the pre-frontal lobes cannot perform their work normally. At the same time, more primitive, but faster parts of the brain will work in full force. Therefore, available coping strategies are limited to simple and not always adaptive procedures. It is possible that you will often roll up tantrums, become enraged, become uncommunicative or withdrawn. In addition, emotional stress decreases serotonin levels, which can lead to depression and neurotic behavior.

Strong stress can affect your emotions and logical thinking in various ways. You can expect:

• scattered attention and inability to concentrate and remember something (how to improve your memory, read here );
• obsessive thoughts;
• deterioration of the emotional state (both yours and other people);
• feeling of loss of control;
• feeling of emptiness in the head.

More importantly, long-term stress itself can be a problem. You concentrate on your difficulties, not on your job responsibilities. Problems continue to accumulate, and the vicious circle is getting closer. Worst of all, your brain will look for simple solutions to this problem — chocolate instead of a full meal to restore energy levels; alcohol or something worse to calm the nerves; as well as other destructive ways to let off steam.
A bit gloomy, isn't it? So what to do? There are several ways to change your stressful life!

Means to combat working stress

Let's be honest - even working in the most comfortable conditions cannot guaranteedly protect you from stressful situations. As already mentioned, stress is a natural and completely safe reaction. All you have to do is learn to cope with this mechanism before its action turns against your brain and body.

1. Learn to identify stress symptoms.

The sooner you notice that stress begins to affect your overall condition, the better. You must monitor your body’s reactions and learn to understand when you are moving from enthusiasm to insanity. Try to determine when and for what reason there is a surge of adrenaline, which introduces confusion and interferes with work. It happens that various stressful situations are interconnected. Only by fully studying this mechanism, you can create your own personal program for the prevention of stress.

2. Develop a voltage distribution system

Having laid out your usual work day in small pieces, starting with the morning activities , and ending with the evening habits , you can get a clearer picture of what actually happens when a stressful situation occurs. Constantly analyze your behavior, environment and people. The most important thing here is to find out at what point you tend to be under stress and when you can relax and let off steam.

Then take a close look at your stress management strategies. Do you have any? Do they benefit? What do they cost you? Can you somehow change your habitual behavior to become more effective? Can you really improve the situation? Where to look for support?

3. Enlist support

Talk to your supervisor about the difficulties you have to overcome. Discuss with him the workload, as well as assigned tasks that should not go beyond your capabilities. Do not be afraid to speak honestly about your premonitions and doubts.

But at the same time try to remain as constructive as possible. Complaining completely pointless. This also applies to your colleagues. Do not load them with stories about how hard you have to, better ask for specific advice. And in any case, do not put out your anger on other people, especially if you want to become a true leader or an indispensable worker. You will quickly realize that with what measure you measure, with the same measure you measure (as it goes around comes around, it will respond as well).

4. Moderate your perfectionism

Excessive perfectionism quickly leads to exhaustion. Think about the quality of your work and determine a level high enough for yourself. It’s impossible to set records every time you work on a project. Setting unrealistic goals not only can bring you to a nervous breakdown, but also causes loss of control over the situation and reduces self-esteem.

5. Find a balance between work and personal life.

There is no need to be in touch 24 hours a day - you need a certain period of free time from work to restore harmony in your body and mind. This is not about overtime hours that you use in the evenings to catch up on work. This is most likely due to what we discussed above. To clear your mind, you have to hide from all the factors that are reminiscent of work.

Stay away from work: do not even check messages coming to your mobile phone. Its very existence can support your sympathetic system on a platoon, so you can not relax. In addition, it will not be easy to resist the temptation to view the mailbox, if the phone is on your dining table. Better do something else. Take some time for social life or find yourself an interesting hobby. In general, do what you like, which may divert attention from work duties.

6. Watch your body

A hungry person is an embittered person, and a hungry organism is an organism subject to stress! No need to increase stress, refusing to eat or greedily absorbing everything that falls into your hands. Plan your meals in advance. In the morning, eat a nutritious breakfast, take time for lunch during the day (preferably not in front of the computer screen), and also keep some healthy snacks nearby.

Stress also loves a sedentary lifestyle, so try sports. A spike in the level of endorphins after a light workout will make your body and mind less vulnerable. However, if you need quick relief after a hard day at work, you should train to the point of exhaustion. When the whole body is a compressed bundle of nerves, moderate activity will only increase the heartbeat and your body will remain in a mode called “fight or flee” in psychology.

Summarize

Stress always depends on the perception of a particular person - while a small amount of sweet will cause almost no harm. The general recommendations are quite simple: listen to your body, learn to understand its reactions, and make as more informed decisions as possible when trying to overcome difficulties. At home and at work try to enjoy life!

And what strategies do you use to deal with stress?

PS We recommend another useful article on the subject of work on yourself - 25 productivity tools (and which of them you should not use) .

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.