Written By: Dr. Kandice Smith
Business Instructor | Aston American University
Stress is considered a response to challenges or difficulties, which threatens a person’s well-being. There can be many stressors that are the causes of stress, including work-related stress and stress from school. The four main types of stressors include:
- Interpersonal;
- Role-Related;
- Task Control; and
- Organizational and Physical Environment.
Team related tasks can lead to interpersonal stressors because a person must interact more with co-workers or classmates. Students who feel stressed about meeting a deadline or completing a project experience role-related and task control stressors. Organizational and physical environment stressors occur when a person is unhappy with a work environment in which they are placed. These can range from the actual location of a desk to other employees or classmates in class.
Stress can be very dangerous and lead to different health problems. Some of the physiological consequences of stress include heart diseases, ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, sleep disturbances, and increased illnesses. And a student or employee can be affected psychologically by stress to experience dissatisfaction, low commitment, exhaustion, depression, moodiness, and burnout. Low job performances, more accidents, faulty decisions, higher absenteeism, and aggression can be the behavioral consequences of a worker who experiences stress.
It is important to effectively manage stress and balance your workload. Some ways to avoid stress include maintaining a positive attitude, spending time with family and friends, getting enough rest, and exercising. Be mindful of the four main types of stressors discussed and understand the effects it may present to better accommodate and control stress. As students, it is important to balance home and school obligations to avoid stress and remain productive. Always reach out to instructors for help if feelings of stress or anxiety surface, because dealing with the onset of stress before it escalates is an effective form of managing stress.
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