Work stress and wellness programs

There is no doubt that many of the physical changes suffered by humans in the workplace are caused by stress.

Stress is a state or response of the body to external situations that are understood as threats or challenges.

An adequate level of stress provides the body with the necessary stimulus to deal with situations in an active and efficient way.

However, a prolonged and high level of stress produces devastating effects on our nervous system, causing innumerable alterations in the body such as headaches, anxiety, hair loss, constipation, fatigue, etc..

How do we value our work environment?

Stuart Taylor, director of the Resilience Institute conducted research on how workers perceived their workplace in terms of stress.

Before continuing, you can consult in this article the meaning of resilience.

The results have been surprising for the resilience experts, since 80% of the participants considered their work environment as highly stressful. The perception of the workplace as a stressful environment supposes the increased absenteeism and, how could it be otherwise, a notable reduction in productivity.

To solve these increasingly frequent problems in work environments, wellness programs are carried out within companies. These programs, also called resilience programs, They are based on providing training in occupational health to the members of the company, where they learn relaxation techniques and good habits to improve their physical and mental health, avoiding high levels of anxiety, fatigue, stress and worry.

According to the Resilience Institute, the implementation of resilience programs at work involves:

• 39% reduction in concern
• 34% reduction in insomnia
• 29% increase in happiness

However, not all resilience programs lead to an improvement in health status of the worker. Stuart Taylor insists on this, "A resilience program not properly established can make the employee's situation worse"

Therefore, we must know the risks of poor implementation of wellness programs to prevent them from generating even more stressful situations within the work environment. It is vitally important to analyze the situations that cause stress at work and work on them through certified wellness programs, which have a good strategy and their execution..

What situations cause work stress?

Work for objectives: the pressure to achieve sales or task targets puts added stress on the worker, often causing extreme situations.

Lack of communication. Communication is key within the work environment. It is vitally important that both managers and employees develop a communication system based on trust and clarity of ideas..

Working hours too long. The realization of daily work days of more than eight hours suppose fatigue and anxiety for the worker. The little time for leisure and disconnection increases stress and accentuates dissatisfaction.

Repetitive tasks. There are different profiles of workers, some more creative than others. If a creative profile performs repetitive actions, it is possible that their stress level increases significantly even without working long hours. Each worker must fulfill a function appropriate to his personality and knowledge.

Discussions between colleagues. It is evident that social problems at work pose added stress for the worker, since uncomfortable situations caused by the intervention of the other party multiply.