If you are feeling stressed at work, I may have good news. Some stress is good for you! According to research done by Elizabeth Kirby from UC Berkeley, we are actually not optimal or happy unless we have a moderate amount of stress in our life.
- Too little stress leads to boredom and even depression
- Too much stress leads to overwhelmed, feeling incapacitated and ultimately a meltdown
Many of us are familiar with the latter point and try our best to reduce stress. This study is telling us however to have balance. This explained a lot to me. Prior to getting a full time job last year, I was working as a contractor for 6 years. It was a great lifestyle but at times I was pretty bored. I wondered during that time why I wasn’t happy. I had everything I wanted, it seemed. Now it all made sense. I may have made enough money,and had all the flexibility to have a family, but I wasn’t challenged enough. My brain was not happy.
Why am sharing this? Well, I came to learn from this experience that it’s important to our happiness to be at a job where we have just the right amount of stress to keep us at the top of our game. We will feel more satisfied with life and progress our career at the same time. Here are four signs that you have the right amount of stress
- You are learning at least 50% of the time. This means there are others at your job that you can learn from and you are also learning from trial and error.
- Your key responsibilities are challenging but not impossible. Your job challenges your intellect and creativity however you know you are the skills to figure out the solution.
- You have authority and accountability to do your work. It’s extremely stressful if you are accountable, but you actually don’t have any power to influence the direction of your work.
- You have some “air cover” by your manager – Many things at work are out of your control. It’s important that your manager appreciates this and 1) provide escalation support when you need it and 2) give you the benefit of the doubt when things don’t go quite right.
At the end of the day, what I learned from Elizabeth Kirby’s research is that there are two different types of stress.
- Productive stress – They can be acute but short lived. Those feelings, such as nervousness or uncertainty that prompt us to push your intellect to figure out a new solution. I am feeling that now as I am asked to do something at work that I havent’ done before, but at the same time I am excited to see if I can do it.
- Un-productive stress – This can be chronic and debilitating. This includes those never-ending negative dialogue about things or people’s behavior that are outside of our control.
Next time you find yourself stressed at work, figure out if it’s productive or un-productive. You may be surprised that perhaps the stress you are experiencing is exactly what you need to be happy and achieving at work. This new perspective can open up a whole new set of opportunities to enjoy your work and your journey toward a happier career and life.
Your Comment: Do you agree with Elizabeth Kirby’s research? Share your comments below.
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Best wishes,
Lei
I totally agree. Some level of stress is productive and can keep us from being bored. It feels more like a great challenge vs real stress. It will tip however when there is too much stress and you can no longer think clearer. Then you know you are on the other side of it.
Wow! You are so right about what constitutes the right amount of stress. Sometimes we tend to get so overwhelmed with work, that we start thinking we are at burn out level! These points help out that into perspective. Thanks for sharing this research!
so glad to hear it. 🙂
Lei
This article about positive stress is really helpful. It just turned the switch on and put ‘stress’ in right perspective. Thank you 🙂
best wishes and thanks for commenting