What is stress and in what types can it be expressed? We must start this article by warning that it will be impossible to list each and every one of the causes that can make a worker feel stress, so we will necessarily have to group them together and thus simplify the problem.

It also becomes essential to draw a line between what are punctual stress levels and those sustained over time . It is normal to experience a certain amount of stress from time to time; it helps us to get on with our work. Here we will talk about situations of sustained stress, those that exceed the worker’s capacity to feel control over the task, the work environment or their own emotions.

The emergence of occupational stress

Broadly speaking, a worker will feel job stress when he perceives that there is a lack of adaptation between his resources and the demands of the environment . The optimum would be that there is an adjustment between both, person and environment, but when this adjustment does not take place, the stress situations are generated. Rather, stress will occur when the person is aware that such an adjustment does not exist because either the demands or the working conditions exceed his or her capacity to resist.

The excessive workload, the lack of control over the work, an inadequate reward , the ambiguity in the role, a toxic boss, fussy colleagues, crazy schedules, boredom, the feeling of injustice, the feeling of stagnation or lack of professional development, tasks with impossible deadlines, the emotional demands of the job, one’s own abilities…

The list can be endless and each worker can have circumstances that are a source of stress. Sometimes you won’t even be able to identify them concretely. So where do we start?

Types of Job Stressors

A first way to identify stressors may be to classify them into three groups: those related to the specific job, those related to the organization and to the person himself . Other factors can also be included, perhaps more remote, that have more to do with the political/economic/legal/cultural framework of the labour dynamics.

This “magma” on which the organizations and the workers themselves are based is undergoing slow but profound changes that condition many of the “precipitating” factors of stress.

Organizational referrals (poor job design or inadequate environment)

In this first category of occupational stressors we find, fundamentally, the following problems.

1. Conflict and/or ambiguity of role

In office workers it is one of the main stress factors associated with the job. It occurs when the worker does not really know what is expected of him or is not clear about his goals or responsibilities. He receives conflicting orders, does not know where the limits of the task lie or what his work is judged on. This is a typical problem in large and unstructured organisations .

2. Role overload

It is also due to a bad work distribution. The worker is entrusted with more responsibilities than he can take on, be it in terms of time, training or hierarchy. There is also “role under-loading”, when the worker’s capacities are underestimated and he or she is assigned jobs that are not in line with his or her training or skills.

3. Communication problems and interdepartmental conflicts

Conflict between departments due to conflicting objectives between them, an imbalance of power between them or a poor type of communication.

4. Insufficient career and development plans

People aspire to improve and expect their companies to help them do so through training and professional development. If the company is not able to satisfy the career expectations there may be a deep dissatisfaction in the worker. The problem can be aggravated if the company had previously fed these expectations.

5. Organizational structure

If the company or organization is highly hierarchical, it is likely that decisions will not reach lower levels and that top-down communication will be poor . This is a source of dissatisfaction and stress.

6. Work climate

Tension within the organization, excessive control over workers and conflicting relationships increase stress among workers and can ultimately lead to extreme situations of aggression (mobbing) or emotional burnout. Both have a lot to do with the organizational climate and culture , although in the case of mobbing, the assistance of an aggressor or “bully” is also necessary.

7. The location of the company itself and its design or the services it offers to the worker

For example, a job that is far from home or the lack of services such as parking, cafeteria, etc. may lead to a longer working day or to having to invest free time to alleviate some of these deficiencies.

Associated to the work place

In this category we find the following types of work stressors.

1. Job insecurity

Precarious and temporary work is a focus of pressure and stress .

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2. Mental workload required to perform the task

If the task requires sustained attention or mental effort

3. Control over the task

It is one of the variables most associated with occupational stress in many of the studies carried out. It occurs when the worker has no control over the tasks that he/she must perform and/or cannot organise his/her agenda or work content as he/she depends on third parties or on situations that are beyond his/her capacity to manoeuvre.

4. Variety and complexity of the task

If the task is too monotonous or too complex it will produce stress.

5. Identity and coherence of the task within the organization

The worker must know what their individual – or group – impact is within the context of the organisation. If the worker feels that their work is useless, not visible or dispensable they will experience frustration .

6. Intradepartmental relations

Like interdepartmental relationships, bad relationships with close colleagues will produce stress and may lead to other more acute problems .

7. Physical conditions of the workplace

This would include factors such as poor lighting, excessive noise, temperature, humidity, pollution, etc.

8. Material conditions of the workplace

Not having the right material (computers that are too slow, machinery that does not work properly, etc.) can also generate moments of continuous stress.

9. The physical risks of the workplace

This would include all those that can cause muscular-skeletal damage; long days standing and not being able to move or sit, carrying weight, forced postures, handling of dangerous and/or toxic materials, rigid positions when using the computer, physical and visual fatigue, etc.

10. Duty and night shift cabins

They have an important impact and disorder at a physical and psychological level .

11. Remuneration of work linked to objectives

If the goals are too high, they can produce either stress or laziness (if you are not able to reach them).

12. Timetables, breaks and holidays

Very long days and/or accumulation of long days over weeks , no breaks between tasks, etc.

Person-related

We said at the beginning that stress occurs when a person feels a mismatch between the demands of the environment and their own capabilities. Therefore, the worker’s personality plays an important role in assessing the threat. Some personality traits can feed or lessen the feeling of stress and influence our coping strategies.

1. Emotional Control

There are people who manage to maintain a great deal of control over their emotions and are able to adapt them to the moment and situation. Both positive and negative emotions are part of life and work. It is important to face them properly and maintain a balance , neither overreacting to negative emotions nor denying them.

2. Emotional empathy

In the same way that you have to know how to manage your own emotions, it is important to recognize the emotions of others and know how to empathize with them. This will facilitate good relationships with colleagues and will provide the person with “social support” within the organization. Social support has been consistently associated with less experience of stress.

3. Self-motivation capacity

It is achieved through intrinsic motivation, the feeling that one’s work has “meaning”, the perception of self-efficacy in the assigned task and the recognition of others. Motivation is also a stress absorber.

4. The degree of tenacity

Understood as the ability to be self-responsible, reliability, addressing tasks systematically and in an orderly manner has been consistently associated with job satisfaction and lower levels of stress. However, perfectionism and the degree of self-demanding are personality traits strongly associated with experiencing stress.

5. Emotional stability

The emotional stability of the worker will greatly influence his or her mood and perception of stress. If the worker is going through unstable life times in other aspects of his or her life, this will also affect his or her stress level at work.

6. Eating, Sleeping and Exercise

Living healthy habits increases the chances of managing stress.

Factors related to the political and social framework

Few human realities have changed as much since the dawn of time as labour relations. Change is the norm and the magnitude of change in this area has been colossal. Not long ago, people aspired to a stable job for life . Today this is more of a rare exception linked to the administration than to private companies. The massive incorporation of women that began in the middle of the last century, the strength of developing economies, fundamentally Asian, that have profoundly modified the industrial fabric on a global scale, etc.

In the last twenty years other trends are having a strong impact on how we relate to our work and the companies that employ us . We can point out some of them:

  • Jobs have become insecure and temporary contract types are imposed .
  • Overtime has increased progressively. Usually without financial compensation.
  • Variables linked to productivity and ratios that demand better results from workers year after year have been introduced.
  • Middle and upper management workers in companies, whose jobs were relatively more stable at the end of the 20th century, are experiencing more professional insecurity .
  • The global crisis that began in 2007 has contributed to the destruction of many jobs and the precariousness of others.
  • Social networks (the extended family, social cover), traditionally protective of the worker, are disappearing.
  • Individualism, labour mobility and the lifestyle of big cities make the worker more isolated.
  • Some types of work are changing profoundly as a result of the introduction of new technologies.

In short, jobs have become more insecure while workers are more vulnerable . The level of demand has increased and social supports tend to decrease. These circumstances may explain why in some industrialized countries stress has replaced muscular problems as the main cause of sick leave.