Stress: hindrance or help?

Stress is a typical problem in many modern workplaces. Too much stress means employees make more mistakes, burn out and leave the company. This is why HR departments often work on reducing people's stress levels. Here, however, we look at stress from a slightly different angle and try to determine whether in all cases it has only a negative impact or if there exists such a thing as a healthy level of stress.

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Managing stress

According to the The HR Director website, stress can be approached from a different angle than is customary, then used to boost work performance and improve results.

Many people are unable to process stress; this leads to frustration and overwork and may eventually result in paralysis. In order to avoid this, you need to regard stress as a positive alternative to inactivity. Rather like mini-contests, commissions and bets with colleagues, which may serve as a positive motivation to work (though they are essentially stressful models), stress can also be used in a similar way.

Push yourself to the limit

Many people work better under a certain amount of stress than when they are quite calm. An example of this is finishing a task before a deadline: it is often due to time pressure that we finish the task more quickly, and often more simply and better, than if we did not have a due date.

So you should start using stress as an engine that will help you push yourself to the limit. Your goal is to reduce the negative consequences of stress and use the positive ones. However, the prerequisite to this is excellent time management, which will help you keep time pressure under control and prevent stress from paralysing you.

 

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