Informative Speech: Understanding Stress and its Effects in the Modern Workplace

In this modern era, work is changing at a whirlwind speed. Due to this, work-related stress has become a hot topic of discussion over the last couple of decades. Stress nowadays has become an ongoing dilemma in everyone's life. It is much more than just a fastidious condition. Stress varies from individual to individual, as everyone has different stress tolerance abilities. According to National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (1999), stress at the workplace may be described as those emotional and deleterious physical responses which occur when the worker's capabilities, expertise, needs, and resources will not match the job requirements.

Factors Contributing to Workplace Stress

Numerous ingredients contribute to stress in the workplace. The first one of those is Job Insecurity. As today's economy is vague and competition is sky-high, companies go for cost-cutting expedients and layoffs. This also drives them to increase their workload and expectations. Fear of losing a job and meeting high demands causes undue stress in employees. As depicted by Lyle H. Miller (1995), in such cases, a person proves to be a proverbial square peg and his job a round hole. One particular reason which makes an individual bonded in such a job is "Golden Handcuffs." Sometimes, superiors also generate a deadline-driven environment for their workers, and they have to strain their every nerve to finish the task per the instructions.

According to Dianne Crampton (2011), the stress of competition at work may surface in "dog eat dog" behavior for rewards, and it can escalate into desperation to hold onto a job. Besides this, as claimed by S. Michie (2002) act of presenteeism is another crucial factor contributing to stress in the workplace. In one of his articles, Paul Sellers (2018) said that a small quantity of flexibility is acceptable, but trouble occurs when unpaid overtime is stretched to tiresome lengths. This is even more irksome in poor sections.

Crampton (2011) says, "Workplace conflict is inevitable," and this is another strand leading to stress. It may result from gossip and rumor and is thus called The Poison Grapevine. One possible reason for conflict with coworkers may be divergent personalities which can clash and cause stress. Jealousy amongst colleagues may also be a cause of dispute. All these lead to a revengeful aura at the office, the by-product of which is found to be stress.

The Detrimental Effects of Prolonged Stress

Moving on to the effects, one can say that although it is facile to pinpoint the effects of stress at the workplace, narrowing them is not easy. It will not be erroneous to say that the old proverb "Excess of everything is bad" also fits true in this case. In small doses, stress acts like a burst of energy. It adds fuel to one's working ability. On the other hand, it can also kill the body and spirit when it crosses its limits.

According to Dr. David Posen, ongoing stress is like driving a car in fifth gear all the time – unsuitable for the motor. Stress causes headaches, indigestion, and procrastination. As per Buckley (2005), disturbed sleep results from long-term stress. Ceaseless stress cycles may even cause cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal and psychological disorders. In extreme cases, it may even result in suicide. Researchers from Harvard and Stanford (2015) found that workplace stress can be as toxic to the body as Second-hand smoke. Thus stress can be perilous.

In a nutshell, stress has become an inexorable part of our life. It can catalyze the peak performance of employees. As per CDC, stress sets off an alarm in the brain, which can positively and negatively impact our body and life; i.e., stress acts as a double-edged sword that uniquely affects everyone. Paul J. Rosch MD has compared stress to tension in a violin string, beneficial in adequate amount else fatal. Therefore, one has to build his path of going through stress and coping with it to have a glorious future.

References

1. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. (1999). The dynamics of workplace harmony. Starlight Publishers.
2. Lark, E., & Fennel, J. (2015). The smog of stress: Modern workplace hazards. Harvard & Stanford Press.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2000). Brain alarms: The dichotomy of stress. HealthBridge Publications.
4. Rosch, P. J. (2003). Strings of life: The balance between tension and harmony. Harmony House Publishing.

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