Stress and Your Personality

What is stress in personality?

Stress is a natural part of being human. It is a complex physiological and psychological response that affects your body and your brain. Good stress is constructive and often brings out the best in you. But when the pendulum swings too far, stress starts working against you and could be catastrophic. At Personalysis? we know people need to feel confident, to have quality connections, and to do work that is personally rewarding. These are parts of your #personality, and when those parts aren’t satisfied, you may feel vulnerable, disconnected, or disengaged. Over time if nothing changes, those feelings intensify and can lead to stress – and possibly an unfavorable and automatic stress reaction. Because we are experts in personality, we are also experts at coaching and training our clients on stress through the lens of personality.

What happens when you feel stress?

When an individual experiences stress, the brain activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to initiate the "fight or flight" response (Selye, 1950). This response leads to the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which can have a significant impact on the body and health. This is why you feel genuine physical changes in your body when you are under stress. The science gets more interesting…

The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functioning and decision-making, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of stress. When an individual experiences chronic stress, it can lead to shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex, impairing cognitive function and decision-making abilities (McEwen, 2017). Chronic stress can also lead to an increased risk of developing mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, or physical health problems such as cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disorders (Epel et al., 2018).

To put it plainly, there are serious consequences to not managing stress, and people are dealing with stress now more than you may realize.

 In 2021 American Institute of Stress reported that 83% of U.S. workers reported feeling stressed on the job (American Institute of Stress, 2021). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), stress is a global epidemic, affecting millions of people worldwide. In fact, the WHO estimates that stress-related illnesses and mental health disorders will be the leading causes of disability and disease by 2030.

As a #leader, you can take proactive steps to manage stress in your team. Encouraging a culture of psychological safety, promoting positive relationships, and providing resources and support for self-care can all help reduce the negative impacts of stress on the body and mind. For example, incorporating #stressmanagement strategies into onboarding processes and leadership development programs can help team members develop resilience and coping skills. Additionally, promoting meaningful work and gratitude practices can help foster positive emotions and reduce stress (Edmondson, 2018; Jung, 1963). Just like each member of your team is unique, so are their personalities. And personalities have unique, and different stress triggers and behaviors. What one person needs is not the same as another. Understanding that while stress is normal and everyone feels it, everyone feels it differently.

What to do about #workplacestress to encourage #workplacewellbeing

Some universal best practices for helping team members cope with stress are listed below:

1.    Encourage Psychological Safety: Creating a culture of psychological safety is an essential part of team dynamics and leadership development. According to Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up without fear of retribution (Edmondson, 2019). Encouraging open dialogue, recognizing, and rewarding risk-taking and learning, and promoting a culture of inclusion and diversity can help reduce anxiety and promote open communication, thus fostering psychological safety.

2.    Promote Positive Relationships: Relationships at work can be a source of stress, but they can also be a source of support. According to relationship coach Esther Perel, promoting a culture of vulnerability and empathy can help build positive relationships in the workplace (Perel, 2018). By encouraging team-building activities, providing opportunities for collaboration, and promoting open communication, you can help build positive relationships among team members, thus reducing feelings of isolation and providing a support system.

3.    Foster Meaningful Work: Feeling a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their work can help team members manage stress. According to psychologist and author Adam Grant, meaningful work can provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment (Grant, 2016). By connecting daily tasks to the larger mission of your organization, promoting autonomy and ownership over work, and providing opportunities for personal and professional growth, you can help your team members find meaning in their work.

4.    Practice Gratitude: Incorporating gratitude practices in your team's daily routine can be an effective way to manage stress. According to research by University of California, Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons, practicing gratitude can help promote positive emotions and reduce negative ones (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). Encouraging your team members to keep a gratitude journal or incorporating a gratitude exercise into daily meetings can help build a positive team dynamic and promote stress management.

5.    Encourage Self-Care: Promoting self-care is an essential way to help employees manage stress and prevent burnout. According to organizational psychology expert Christina Maslach, promoting self-care is critical in preventing burnout (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). Providing resources and support for self-care, such as encouraging breaks throughout the day, promoting healthy eating and exercise habits, and providing access to mental health resources, can help team members prioritize their well-being.

By understanding the physiology of stress and the impact it has on the body and mind, leaders can take a proactive approach to manage stress in their teams. Understanding the personality dynamics in relation to stress is key. Incorporating stress management strategies into onboarding processes, leadership development programs, and team dynamics can create a more resilient and productive team in the long term.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Stress in America 2020: A National Mental Health Crisis. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report-october

Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.

Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377

Epel, E. S., Crosswell, A. D., Mayer, S. E., Prather, A. A., Slavich, G. M., Puterman, E., & Mendes, W. B. (2018). More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 49, 146-169.

Grant, A. (2016). Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. Viking.

Huang, Y., Wei, X., Wu, T., Chen, R., & Guo, A. (2021). Workplace stress, burnout, and coping: A national survey of China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2465. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052465

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103-111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311

McEwen, B. S. (2017). Allostasis and the prefrontal cortex: regulation of physiology and pathology. New York Academy of Sciences, 1396(1), 141-148.

Perel, E. (2018). The workplace is a relationship. TED2018. https://www.ted.com/talks/esther_perel_the_workplace_is_a_relationship

Selye, H. (1950). Stress and the general adaptation syndrome. British Medical Journal, 1(4667), 1383.

World Health Organization. (2021). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases