Eustress versus Distress!

Did you know that stress could actually be good for you and your career? In everyday usage, stress is synonymous with negative stress or "distress" – the type of chronic pressure that can lead to high blood pressure, anxiety, and a host of other physical and emotional ailments. But positive stress or "eustress" also exists, and is the excitement you feel after being called for an interview, the thrill of getting a long-awaited promotion, and the desire to perform at your best. Most people don't even think of good stress as stress; instead, they describe it as drive, zeal, or motivation. In the workplace, good stress is not only desirable but necessary. A lack of it can lead to boredom and apathy.

In 1908, psychologists Robert Yerkes and J.D. Dodson developed the Yerkes-Dodson Law. In simple terms, it states that a person's performance improves as pressure increases because stress-related hormones, such as epinephrine and norepineprhine, improve a person's concentration. Of course, the Yerkes-Dodson Law only works up to a certain point. Sooner or later, the pressure becomes overwhelming, and the person's performance starts to decline. A graph of the correlation between stress and anxiety looks like an upside-down U, with good stress on the left side of the curve, and bad stress on the right. The tipping point between good stress and bad stress is different for each individual.

However, the picture becomes more complicated when we look at real-life scenarios. A single situation can cause both good stress and bad stress. For example, an upcoming job interview produces good stress in the form of excitement and anticipation, and also bad stress in the form of nervousness and anxiety. Furthermore, the overall amount of stress in your life will affect how much job-related stress you can handle. For instance, a nurse might ordinarily enjoy the challenges of her busy workday, but find those same tasks overwhelming after the birth of a baby.

In addition to the amount of stress, many factors can determine whether the stress you experience at work is positive or negative:

Duration: A brief burst of stress hormones leads to increased energy and concentration. However, prolonged stress can cause anxiety, depression, and a suppressed immune system that leaves you vulnerable to illness, as well as other problems. To avoid this scenario, avoid taking your work home, make sure to give yourself some down time after completing major projects, and use your vacation days to relax and rejuvenate.

Supportive Work Environment: Having clearly defined duties, manageable deadlines, the right tools for the job, and help when you need it are crucial to reducing workplace stress. The people you work with are equally important. A great boss and helpful coworkers can turn seemingly impossible tasks into exciting challenges.

Choice: People deal better with stress that results from a task that they chose to do than a task that is forced upon them. For instance, it's much easier to work overtime for a project for which you've volunteered than to cover for a coworker who is shirking his or her duties.

Payoff: Whether it's a Christmas bonus or a promotion, the right reward can inspire stellar performances, as well as a tolerance for higher stress levels.

Interest Level: Learning a new surgical procedure and filing a hundred intake forms are both daunting tasks. However, the stress that comes from interesting and challenging work is preferable to the stress created by menial and repetitive tasks.

Type of Pressure: Task-related pressure is generally easier to deal with than emotional pressure. Seeing a large number of patients per day is potentially stressful, but this stress ends as soon as the job is finished. The stress created by such high-pressure situations can even help workers come up with new and creative solutions. On the other hand, the stress created by personality conflicts and other emotional difficulties is almost always negative, since these situations are difficult to resolve and tend to escalate over time.

Positive Attitude: The ability to meet challenges head-on, accept the things you cannot change, and remain optimistic throughout, are key to managing both your stress levels and your career.

Eustress versus Distress!

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Sheng Wang

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