The consequences of harmful stress on the individual

  Prolonged moderate levels of stress can lead to physical ailments such as headaches, backache, poor sleep, increased heart rate, raised blood pressure, dry mouth and throat, and indigestion. The individual may also experience a range of physical symptoms associated with anxiety, such as muscular pains, tremors, palpitations, diarrhoea, sweating, respiratory distress and feelings of dizziness. On an emotional level it can lead to feelings of anger and irritability, low mood and depression. Socially the individual may experience increased levels of marital and family conflicts, reflecting the stresses of the work situation that they take home with them. People under stress also tend to withdraw from supportive relationships; in the longer term this can lead to marital breakdown and social isolation. Mentally the individual may experience difficulties concentrating and remembering things, or may be prone to more negative thinking leading to increased feelings of self-blame and reduced feelings of self-confidence. Behavioural consequences of stress can include increased alcohol intake, increased smoking and drug use, overeating or loss of appetite, and less of an interest in sex. In the work context the individual may experience increased arguments and interpersonal conflicts, be less productive and more prone to accidents.

Prolonged high levels of unmitigated stress can lead to more serious physical health problems developing. For example, it has been found that digestive disorders and diabetes often follow prolonged high levels of stress. High and prolonged levels of stress can also compromise the effectiveness of the body’s immune defences, making the immune system less effective. This allows diseases and infections which would normally be fought off by the immune system to take hold. Links have also been found between stress and coronary heart disease.

The consequences of harmful stress for the organization

  ‘Occupational stress’ is the term used to describe the stress experienced as a result of the job that one does. It is the common cold of the psychological world and has become a problem of pandemic proportions, affecting millions of people in every country across the world. This is due to the ever increasing pressures being placed on workplace organizations to adapt and change in order to become more efficient in the context of a highly competitive global economy. It is estimated that up to 40 per cent of all sickness absence from work is due to stress related symptoms, and this is costing employers and health insurance companies billions of pounds each year in lost productivity and health insurance claims. But the costs of occupational stress to employers are much broader than just those incurred through sickness absence. They include increased staff turnover, recruitment problems, low staff morale, decreased productivity, poor timekeeping, impaired decision making, increased industrial conflicts, increased accident rates, premature retirement due to ill health, redeployment, retraining, replacement costs, grievance procedures and litigation costs.

It is estimated that we spend on average at least one hundred thousand hours of our lives at work, so it is crucial that we find it a satisfying and rewarding place to be. Given the fact that we spend so much of our time at work and the serious consequences of chronic unmitigated stress, one might argue that if we are experiencing stress, we should remove ourselves from it. For example, we should leave a bad marriage, move out of poor living conditions or find another job. So why not just avoid the stress in the first place? The answer is that in reality it is often not that easy to simply walk away from the stress we are experiencing. With respect to leaving a marriage, there might be children involved, or with poor living conditions we may not be able to afford to pay for anything better. Similarly with employment there may be numerous reasons why we are unable to simply walk away from the job. We are thus left to find alternative ways to manage the stress we are experiencing.