Stress myths and misconceptions
People may, and frequently do, cause significant damage to
themselves by basing their lives on inaccuracies and
misconceptions. Some of the most commonly quoted in relation to
stress include the following.
'There's no such thing as stress' There is, but the word
'stress' itself is often applied incorrectly. Many people will
use it when they have a temporary work overload, whereas in fact
stress only occurs when a person perceives (over a prolonged
period) that they have insufficient personal resources to cope
with a given situation.
We can think of stress as a light switch that our body turns on
automatically under specific circumstances. What we need to do
is learn how to turn the switch off. This is an ability that
needs to be taught - as only through teaching can we learn how
to manage our body's natural response to perceived danger.
'Stress is good for you' Wrong. It's often mistakenly thought
that stress is good for people, when long-term stress is
invariably harmful. Ill-health due to work-related stress, or
conditions ascribed to it, is also one of the most common types
of work-related ill-health reported.
While a certain amount of pressure can motivate individuals and
therefore be useful, stress is never so. A probable explanation
for the myth that people perform well under stress is that in
fact they perform well under pressure that is 'controlled' (i.e.
effectively managed).
Controlled pressure is useful when our body and mind are finely
tuned in a way that enables them to achieve optimum results and
performance. A feeling of nervousness before giving a
presentation, for example, will often result in increased mental
acuity and responsiveness, which will stimulate the audience. By
comparison, arriving late, inadequately prepared or with a
laptop or projector that fails to operate properly would
inevitably be stressful.
'Stress is a mental illness' Wrong. Stress is the natural
reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of
demand placed on them. Stress itself is not an illness, but it
can lead to mental and physical ill-health such as depression,
back pain and heart disease.
'Stressors affect everybody equally' Wrong. An employer or
manager should appreciate that not all members of their team
will react in the same way to any given problem, and that which
one person perceives as merely pressure, another may perceive as
stress.
Managers and supervisors need to be aware of the symptoms of
stress and have the skills and expertise to defuse or mitigate
any issues before they become potentially serious or disruptive.
Being able to talk over difficult situations can often help
those employees who are under excessive pressure, and managers
should ideally provide the first line of support in encouraging
staff to take steps to combat the problem. This could be through
in-house referral, e.g. to Human Resources or Occupational
Health; or to an external counselling service, e.g. an employee
assistance programme or other outside agency.
'Suffering from stress is a sign of weakness' Wrong. Anyone can
suffer from stress. It all depends on the circumstances we are
in at the time.
Many people think that if they admit to experiencing stress,
it's a sign of failure, weakness or ineptitude. An individual
working in an organisation where there are imminent
redundancies, for example, may well seek to cover up any sign of
stress in the belief that they may be viewed as unable to cope
with their job and might therefore be regarded as expendable.
Many employees are also wary of any mention of stress being
noted on their work record in case it might prejudice their
chances of promotion, and so avoid discussing the problem with
colleagues. This is why it's so important that the workplace
culture embraces the notion that to be stressed occasionally is
a normal human condition, and that to admit to it - initially to
yourself - is the first step in modifying the situation or
meeting the challenge.
'There's nothing an employer can do if an employee denies
suffering from work-related stress' Wrong. Employers are under a
duty to protect their employees' health and safety, regardless
of whether an employee is willing to run the risk of harm. If an
employer believes that an employee is at risk of stress,
concerns should therefore be raised in a way that makes it easy
for the employee to be honest - for example through an informal
discussion with an independent third party, or away from a
particularly tough manager. If the employee continues to deny
that they are stressed, the employer should make a note of all
conversations on the subject (including dates) and ensure the
situation is monitored.
'Employers aren't responsible if an employee's stress is caused
by problems that aren't related to their work' Not necessarily.
An employer's duty of care does not extend to preventing ill
health caused by problems in employees' personal lives, such as
divorce, bereavement or money worries. Legally, because the
source of any stress-related condition resulting from these is
not the employer's responsibility, an employee would not
normally be able to bring a personal injury claim.
However, it is possible that a failure by the employer to take
such matters into account in dealing with poor performance
and/or increased absence might render any subsequent dismissal
(resulting from the employee's stress) 'unfair'. This might also
amount to a breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence
and, if the breach was sufficiently serious, the employee might
resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. If an employee
is known to be having problems outside work, this must be taken
into account when carrying out any stress-related risk
assessments, as this could make them more vulnerable to
potential stressors inside work.
'All you need to do to stop work-related stress is go for
counselling' Wrong. Counselling may help individuals who are
suffering from work-related stress, but is unlikely to tackle
the source of the problem. Research has found that support at
work, particularly from managers for their staff, has a
protective effect - frontline prevention by the organisation is
far better than third party cure.
About The Author Carole Spiers combines three roles of
broadcaster, journalist and corporate manager in the challenging
field of stress management and employee wellbeing.
With 20 years as a top industry guru on stress management and
wellbeing, Carole's energy and dynamism extends to providing
professional comment to media including television (BBC, ITV,
Sky, NBC, CNN), print (Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, trade and
professional journals) and countless radio interviews.
A successful entrepreneur herself, Carole is the founder and MD
of the Carole Spiers Group - a dynamic, niche consultancy, and
the UK's No. 1 provider of Stress Management and Employee
Wellbeing from the shop floor to the Boardroom
A former Chairperson of the International Stress Management
AssociationUK, Carole was instrumental in establishing National
Stress Awareness Day