Stress means a negative reaction to pressure, accompanied by fear of not coping, loss of control and lack of support. It is a physical and emotional experience and involves increases in blood pressure, hormone activity, digestive disturbance and sleep patterns. Thoughts are also affected and mood and behaviour changes considerably. Stressed people often don’t realise they are stressed, but those around them probably do.
Because stress is a reaction to pressure it involves feelings, thoughts and behaviours as well as physical symptoms. It is a state of being and not an illness in itself. We all suffer from stress at certain times and know the feeling – it can be compared to panic, feelings of being over burdened to the extent that you cannot cope, feelings of disaster just around the corner. It involves behaviours that range from being irritable, cranky, angry, aggressive and hostile or certain people become withdrawn, fatigued, demoralised and depressed, depending on your personality type.
If you have the symptoms of stress outlined above and are unsure why you are feeling this way, you need to reflect on your life and maybe for the first time try to diagnose where the stress or the pressure is coming from. Ask yourself the following questions and try to be honest with yourself
- Is this feeling coming from the environment at home?
- Is it coming from relationships?
- Is it coming from within yourself, or from memories which you find upsetting?
- Is it a recent event, which has caused this reaction in you?
- Have you felt this way before or is this a new feeling/experience for you?
- What else has changed in your life at the same time as the stress feelings began?
- Is it associated with work? If so, is it the job you do or some social aspect of the workplace itself?
The employer has a general duty of care to all employees within the organisation in so far as is reasonable. That means that the employer must have a reasonable system of work, so that working there would not damage most people. Damage means physically or mentally injured or harmed. For stress, employers are entitled to expect that employees who take on jobs are equipped to perform the general duties of that job. Employers are entitled to expect their employees to handle pressure and master the work environment, once it is reasonable and ‘the norm’ for that category of work. Employers must abide by legislation and various regulations in terms of working time and office equipment and space as well as health and safety legislation in order to protect employee’s safety and well-being.
No employer can be expected to do anything about a stressed employee if he/she does not know about it, so it is important if you are suffering on- going stress, which you believe is caused by work, to bring this to the attention of the employer and try to work together to remedy the situation.Most employers will accept that a stressed employee needs assistance and support in order to be healthy and productive at work and so through consultation, alterations may be made to the work you do to alleviate the stress, at least in the short term, if not over the long term.
If the situation has gone on for some time and you feel overcome, you need to take immediate and effective action as you may be at risk for stress-related illness. You should visit your GP if you are feeling so overcome that your functioning has totally disintegrated. There are various treatments for stress. Medication, short term or over the longer term can very effective. Therapy – cognitive, behavioural, or other forms of counselling related to the type of stress you are experiencing, and also lifestyle changes to include a more physically and mentally healthy way of living. Your GP may refer you to specialist psychological treatment.
Adapted from: http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Workplace_Health/Workplace_Stress/Stress_in_the_Workplace/
