June 10 was dedicated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to mark the international stress day which aims to draw attention to this phenomenon that we all face in our life, one way or another. According to statistics, over 300 million around the world experienced stress on daily bases, 85 million of whom are children and young adults while women make over 60 per cent of the total number.
Stress in itself is not a mental illness but if not addressed and managed properly it can cause mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or even psychosis when the person typically loses sense of reality and experiencing abnormal beliefs.
We are agree that stress became part of our lives and that a little stress can be motivating to be more productive. Think about the student preparing for his or her final exams, a little stress would keep him more focused on his study instead of watching football or going out with his friends.
Yet if that stress becomes more it can have a daunting impact on his mental and physical health. Scientific studies showed that chronic stress is a risk factor for several diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and low immunity which makes the person at risk of catching viral and bacterial infections.
Work related stress is a topic of interest to organisation and the classical situation is when work demands become more that what a worker can handle, be it long working hours, difficult working conditions or unhealthy working relationships with the boss and other colleagues.
According to surveys based on working population, work related stress can lead to loss of productivity due to time taken as sick leave or work accidents due to poor concentration or changing jobs frequently due to lack of satisfaction.
Staff who feel unappreciated tend to have low work engagement and would leave to a new job even when the salary would be the same.
So what can we do to manage stress? The obvious answer is to identify the source of stress and work on them. Sources of stress can either be internal, in form your personal traits, like when you are perfectionist or too relaxed, if you keep missing deadlines and arrive late to meetings work on your time management.
If you feel that you tend to please others and take up more than your allocated tasks, learn assertiveness skills and other essential management skills.
Some organisations develop mental well being programmes to improve the working environment and encourage staff to attend gatherings to strengthen relationships between peers and senior and junior staff.
Awareness about mental health is important to insure good working atmosphere and improve work productivity and overall well being.
At a personal level one would benefit from adopting healthy life style which included healthy eating, regular exercise and sleeping adequately.
Learning relaxation methods, mindfulness and meditation is known to improve concentration and overall outcome.
We all know that work is not the only source of stress as relationship problems, living environment and financial situations also play essential role in our happiness.
People who are experiencing marital problems or going through divorce are more likely to experience stress, as well as people with financial hardship or lack job security tend to experience high stress level which can impact their work engagement and productivity.
Finally, remember to seek professional advice when you feel that you are unable to manage your stress, in short, do not be shy and speak out.
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