Our lives are surrounded by people, places & work! There is no escape from it. We start our work, get used to it, make our comfort zone, develop through professional set up & then there is a change! It comes either from the work pattern or from the target group of people or from the surrounding forces in the macro-environment. People are generally reluctant to accept changes & this non-adaptive tendency brings stress for them. Then, with the passage of time, work-loads increase, responsibility doubles both in the workplace & in the family. Life is a balancing act; we came to know but sometimes this balancing act is a difficult one & people start to worry. Sometimes many learned & experienced employees can’t accept any deviation in their planned life & so they become vulnerable psychologically & here are some examples of how this stress makes someone a low performer.
| Most Common Sources of Stress | Percentage |
| Future of our nation | 63% |
| Money | 62% |
| Work | 61% |
| Political climate | 57% |
| Violence/crime | 51% |
1. Destroys confidence
When a person is in stress, it makes him or her naive which diminishes self-confidence. A person without self-confidence is not something welcomed at all. He or she becomes an object of mockery & in that state of mind it is not possible to work productively. So, the trepidation of facing uncertainty does take a toll. This stress can come from any source, be it personal or professional, can be potential or result of hyper-thinking about something.
2. Makes you afraid of all
Prolonged stress at the workplace at first destroys the confidence of an employee & then creates a sense of fear deep in the mind. If there is a change in the authority for example & the new boss gives a threatening vibe to some employees, especially to the senior ones, it can create a tension regarding job security which will just grow with time & while many will cope with this by applying their self-defense mechanisms, some will be there who will just get afraid of the whole thing in the workplace becoming a weak person.
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3. You become sick frequently
Sometimes, this feeling of stress is so deeply etched in the psyche of a person that the hormonal balance is hampered & the stressed person falls sick quite often. As we know, psyche influences physical condition, holding stress or stress over some issues for a long time results in physical discomfort which hinders the working process. It has been found that fatigue, quick exhaustion, insomnia become regular that slow down the work spirit of the person.
4. Failure to see the bright side
When a person is in chronic stress, life seems black & the light of hope seems missing. The true fact is life has all the lights & darkness at the same time. If there is a tension or stress about rejection for a post, life does not end here, it rather has a motivating power to identify the probable shortcomings within the candidate & become a better candidate by rectifying those mistakes. But many people after facing rejection for a post whether it is a new job or a promotion fall into depression & view things as the only black. They just fail to see any hope & positive side effect & thus lose energy to work hard.
5. Skills take a backseat
The worried person forgets that he or she had remarkable skills for which there used to be genuine appreciation from every corner in the office. When there is too much worrying over an issue in the workplace, the desire to show supremacy is lost. Stressing at first does not help to acquire anything productive & then it takes away the zeal & skill of a person.
So these are some ways through which a previously productive person can lose it to the dark state of stress. It has to be remembered that things will not always be favorable in the workplace, there will be a tough time, and certain people will be arrogant, disrespecting towards your ideology, still, there should be stronghold over yourself not to let these things put you into stress. You just have to keep in mind that, things will not go according to my will always & it is absolutely fine to learn to work & be happy in a situation that is not in my favor because that is how we grow.
Author: Abu Md. Abdullah
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Business Administration
Eastern University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Email: abdullah@easternuni.edu.bd