3. Believing That You Are a Victim
Viewing yourself
as a helpless victim buffeted by the winds of change only maximizes your
stress, allows you to feel awful, and guarantees failure. Victims
maintain that life is unfair and there is nothing they can do about it.
Victims revel in throwing a big pity party for themselves, focusing only
on what they have lost and what sacrifices must be made. There is also
the hope that others will feel sorry for them and perhaps come to the
rescue. If you are a victim, you need to be saved.
Perceiving yourself
as a victim totally disempowers you. Although you may do so to defend or
soothe yourself, the reality is that you are only damaging yourself
further. You are setting yourself up for even more victimization because
victims do not make attractive employees. Acting like a victim will
threaten your future.
This self-induced stress
perpetuates itself and can end up in a vicious cycle that only you can
break. Remember that the Chinese character for crisis,
when translated, actually means “dangerous opportunity.” Within every
change or crisis there is opportunity. Look for these opportunities.
Learn to view them as challenges. Remember the stress hardiness
characteristics. Refuse to yield to the seductive pull of self-pity.
Remaining productive and developing resilience will pave the way out of
your doldrums. Accept the situation, pick up the pieces, and learn to
make lemonade from lemons. You are a victim only if you decide to be
one.
4. Thinking That If What You Are Doing Isn't Working, You Should Just Try Harder
If what you are
currently doing in your job is not working, then what makes you think
that trying harder will work any better? The key may not be to try harder, but rather to do something different.
You cannot play a new game by the old rules. This “more of the same”
strategy is destined to fail in a changing environment. On the other
hand, if your current strategies are working, then by all means stick
with them. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Struggling to do your job
with methods that are not working can significantly increase your level
of stress. Study your work situation to determine exactly what has
changed and exactly what is not working, and then experiment with new
ways of doing tasks. You must be willing to alter your old techniques
and routines if you are to remain viable. Choose to view this as a
creative challenge rather than a chore. If you are clueless as to what
to do differently, ask a colleague or a co-worker who is highly
competent about what he or she has tried that has proven fruitful.
5. Assuming That You Will Always Benefit from a Low-Stress Work Environment
Whether you search for
a job with minimal pressure or work behind the scenes at your current
job to lower stress (by slowing the rate of change, for example), you
may only be hurting yourself in the long run. Beware of the trap of
believing that there is such a thing as a low-stress organization that
is on track to survive. All available evidence points to the conclusion
that slow changing organizations are headed for trouble. If you opt to
slow down change today, you can temporarily lower your stress, but you
are sacrificing your future.
Clearly, working in an
environment of rapid change is stressful. But you may be headed for
greater problems and stress down the road if your outfit fails to change
or responds too slowly to changes in the external environment. Remember
that the stress of accelerating change is here to stay. The key to
stress mastery is often less about avoiding environmental stressors and
more about how you respond to the inevitable stresses you will face. You
will actually serve your own best interests by getting involved with an
organization with the courage to move ahead in a changing world.
Concentrate on lowering workplace stress in ways that do not involve
minimizing change. Refer to the tips in faulty assumption #2 for ways
you can reduce workplace stress in a manner that is in your best
interests.
Another way to lower
your level of job stress is to lighten your workload by abandoning tasks
that may be expendable. Many times workplace stress builds because
employees are expected to produce a heavier volume of work, improve
quality standards, and work faster, all at the same time. In this era of
downsizing, more work keeps falling on fewer shoulders. Has this
happened to you? If not, do not be surprised if it does in the future.
Customers are expecting better services. Competition is rising in almost
all sectors. Workloads naturally rise as a result. But we all have
limits to the amount of work we can carry.
If you keep taking on new
duties without giving some up, you will eventually become overloaded. If
you overview your work and then reorder your priorities, you may
discover that certain tasks or procedures are expendable, some can be
streamlined, and still others can be delegated to other workers. But
this is easier said than done. There is a tendency to hang on to old
habits and familiar ways of doing things, even if they are inefficient.
This is particularly true if it involves tasks you are good at and
reluctant to part with, even if they have minimal importance for your
job. Does any of this apply to you? If you eliminate that which is
expendable, it will create valuable time for you to devote to projects
and tasks that really count. Not only will it help relieve the pressure
on you, and therefore lower your stress level, but it will also allow
you to devote more time to the important work that higher management
will use to evaluate your performance.
So creating a low-stress
work environment often involves re-engineering your job by (1) getting
rid of busywork, (2) ditching unnecessary steps or procedures, and (3)
abandoning tasks that are not necessary to achieve the current goals of
your company. This may even mean unloading duties that don't count much,
even though you do them incredibly well. If you are feeling overloaded
in your work situation, we invite you to do this overview and determine
what you can reasonably delete. Of course, you do need to also assess
what your organization and/or boss will allow you to discard.
6. Believing That It Is Usually Unwise to Take Risks
Many people adopt the
strategy of “when in doubt, do nothing.” Change often requires that
decisions be made. Many people wait indefinitely until all the facts are
in to move in a chosen direction. But the reality is that all decisions are made on the basis of insufficient information,
for none of us are soothsayers who can accurately predict what the
future will bring. Doing nothing is merely a decision not to decide.
This does not mean that you should make impulsive decisions without
carefully weighing alternatives, but if you wait around until all the
data are in, it may be too late!
We are reminded of the
story of a friend who worked in a professional capacity for a large
mental health care practice. The owners decided to sell the practice to
an interested buyer. Clearly, the shift in management was going to
result in massive internal changes in the organization. Our friend was
given an opportunity to buy into the practice and become one of the
owner/partners, and he was offered a financial arrangement that was well
within his means. Taking advantage of this opportunity would have
greatly increased his authority, status, and earning potential, but
would also have increased his responsibilities and therefore his level
of stress. Fearful of taking on new duties, he balked. He decided to
wait and “play it safe” to see how things shook out with the new owners.
Within six months the new owners fired him, viewing him as “too
cautious” to be a viable part of their organization. The irony here is
that by playing it safe, he lost in a big way. He ended up without a job
or an equity position. Had he bought into the business, he could have
at least sold his shares later on, had he found out that he did not want
to work with the new owners.
7. Expecting That You Can Control Everything If You Try Hard Enough
Many people make the
mistake of expending lots of energy and effort trying to control that
which is uncontrollable. They resist the inevitable and try to undo that
which cannot be undone. This leads to frustration and chronic stress
because they are fighting a battle that can never be won. This is more
likely to occur in rapidly changing environments, where people fear
uncertainty and loss of control and try to take charge to maintain
equilibrium. They forget that sometimes you can gain control by going
with the flow rather than resisting it.
When white-water rafting, one of the dangers is that you could fall out
of the raft and be carried downstream past large boulders and swirling
rapids. Clearly, if this should occur, it would be frightening (that is,
stressful) and potentially dangerous. How does one cope if this should
happen? Conventional wisdom would have you swim with all your might
against the current, toward the raft. Actually, what is recommended is
to allow yourself to go with the current and not fight it. Go feet
first, arms at your sides, and allow the current to carry you to the
shallows. Surrender to the current, which, if you do not fight, will
navigate you safely through the rapids into calm water, where your
fellow rafters can then retrieve you.
So assess whether a
struggle makes any sense or will it just be a waste of time. Some people
maximize their stress level by picking the wrong battles and waging war
on too many fronts. Often these individuals oppose almost every change
their organization makes, sometimes even fighting for things that would
not be in their best interests even if they got their way. This strategy
is bound to fail and put them at odds with their boss, supervisor, or
colleagues. The result is that they often alienate others whom they need
as allies. Picking the wrong battles can eventually lead to burnout.
Remember the advice of
Jonathon Kozol: “Pick battles big enough to matter but small enough to
win.” Likewise, avoid the trap of pursuing issues that are a lost cause.
Recognize what decisions are irreversible and learn to accept that
which cannot be changed. Channel your energies toward issues where you
have a chance of making a real dent. Acceptance of the inevitable will
greatly lower your stress.
8. Believing That It Is Okay to Psychologically Unplug from Your Job If It Gets Too Stressful
It can be difficult to
maintain a high level of commitment to your job in the face of
high-velocity change. If you are concerned with job security, or just
feeling overworked from long hours or underappreciated from not enough
pay or recognition for your work, it is easy to get fed up with the
situation. You may be tempted to emotionally disconnect from your work
as a way of coping.
A common method of
unplugging is to avoid new assignments or unfamiliar duties. The
assumption here is that it will be less stressful to stick with what you
already know. When motivation is low and you adopt an “I don't care”
attitude, it is easy to shy away from new demands. But that is a very
shortsighted strategy for managing your stress. You are buying comfort
today at the expense of tomorrow. Avoidance and delay tactics may end up
making you a target for dismissal at worst, or guarantee that you are
overlooked for promotion at best. Your confidence and self-esteem will
certainly be a casualty of this approach.
We would like to
encourage you to be wary of the desire to unplug. Recognize that a bad
case of the blahs is a common side effect of workplace stress. It is
easy to understand how you might fall prey to becoming disconnected, but
recognize that this will only do further harm to your emotional
well-being. When you lose passion for your work, when your commitment
wanes, part of your life loses meaning. As a result, job pressures weigh
heavier and your vulnerability to workplace stress increases. You
cannot afford to stop caring, no matter how attractive that might seem.
High job commitment is an
excellent antidote to stress; there is something magical about
commitment that gives us emotional strength. Remember the three C's.
When we are committed we are happier, more resilient, and more satisfied
and secure, even about our jobs. And commitment shows. It is like a
light that glows from within that your colleagues and boss cannot help
but perceive. Sometimes a high level of commitment can end up saving
your job. In times of downsizing, employers are often faced with tough
choices about whom to keep and whom to let go. How they perceive your
level of commitment may very well determine whether you get the ax.
We advise you to plunge
in and accept new or tough assignments as a way of broadening your
experience base and heightening your commitment. This may temporarily
increase your stress at the outset, but over time it is likely to
improve your job skills, making you more valuable to your employer or on
the job market. You are stretching yourself today in order to be in
better shape tomorrow. One of the best stress-prevention techniques is
to keep updating your skills. Over time, this will make your current job
easier to handle and guarantee that you will be highly employable if
your job does not work out. Also, do not assume that it will be less
stressful to ease in to a new situation. Instead of taking time to build
up your nerve before tackling something new, build your nerve by doing
it. Once you plunge in, you will often discover that your fears were
unsubstantiated. The sooner you face your fears and go through them, the
sooner your level of stress will diminish.
Find a way to fall back
in love with your job. Don't let the stress of change drive a wedge
between you and your work. It is true that your employer will benefit
from your commitment, but you will reap far greater rewards.
9. Assuming That “Caring Management” Should Always Strive to Keep You Comfortable
In our so-called
enlightened age where we have done away with sweatshops and other forms
of employee oppression, we consider it an inalienable right that our
employers “treat us well.” We believe we are entitled to “caring
management.” But over and above that, we believe that caring for us is
in the best interest of the employees and the business itself. But what
does that really mean? You need to be careful about what evidence you
look at in determining to what extent your organization cares about its
workers.
You may make the
mistake of assuming that “caring” always means keeping employees
comfortable—that management would always put employees first and strive
to make things easier for workers. Therefore “caring management” would
be about lowering workplace stress and not about making things harder.
This would amount to greater job security (no downsizing), ample pay
raises, improved work conditions, and a slower rate of change. In an
ideal world this scenario would be possible and highly desirable. But
the business world of today is hardly a utopian environment. While
minimizing job stress might sound like a caring move on the part of
management, in this day and age it could be a cruel option. Why? Because
first and foremost, management can show it cares for you by making sure
the business stays in business, by doing what works so the company does
not go under. Remember that management also must care about customers
and even stockholders. Employees are not the only people the
organization must cater to if it is to succeed. Your employers must ask
you and your colleagues to do what needs to be done in order to survive
in this age of instability. And that usually means hard work and stress.
Thus, the best definition
of caring management in the business world of today needs to be defined
by the end result. The organization must do what works so that it can
meet its payroll and provide you with your job. What good would it do
you if your company treated you like royalty, kowtowing to your every
whim and need, but then inevitably went under, leaving you jobless and
hopelessly spoiled?
A stressful work
environment and steady work demands are often the best proof that your
company is on the right track and will remain viable. Management
definitely has your best interests in mind when it is concerned with
keeping your job secure and your paycheck intact. Without that, what
good are all the frills? If management always bent over backward to keep
you comfortable, it could be the most heartless thing they could
possibly do, for then you could easily end up on the unemployment line.
So if you find yourself bemoaning the fact that your company is not
making life easier for you, use this viewpoint as a helpful reframe for
conceptualizing the situation. Once again, how you view the situation
will determine in great part how you feel and how you respond.
Many larger
businesses or corporations do attempt to provide support for employees,
not necessarily by lowering stress levels or workloads, but by offering
employee assistance programs (EAPs), which can offer short-term
counseling, referral services, alcohol and drug intervention programs,
and so on. If you are experiencing difficulties and your company offers
EAP benefits, it may be worth taking advantage of those services.
10. Believing That the Future Is to Be Feared
Worries about the
future have reached epidemic proportions. The acceleration in the rate
of change has led to marked uncertainty and job instability. You might
be worried about how you will be affected by changes in your field or in
your workplace. Do you ever find yourself obsessing about whether you
will be downsized, or if self-employed, whether your business will
survive? If you have a high tolerance for ambiguity or uncertainty, then
perhaps you are not concerned. But if you have difficulty coping with
change and confusion, then you probably wish you could bring some order
and certainty to your situation. You might find, however, that attempts
to eliminate uncertainty and instability might backfire.
An environment of
rapid change is by nature unstable and uncertain. Stability by
definition implies that things stay the same. In contrast, today's world
is very fluid and transitional. The ability to improvise, to roll with
the punches, has become an essential skill. Instead of futilely working
to stabilize the situation, learn how to exploit instability and take
advantage of the opportunities inherent in a changing atmosphere. So if
you attempt to settle things you might be setting yourself up to fail.
In our rapidly changing business world, rigidity sounds the death knell
for you and your career. Therefore, although it may appear that you
would experience less stress if you could stabilize the situation, the
reality is that you could not succeed in doing so and therefore would
only end up heightening your stress.
It is in your best
interest to increase your tolerance for constant change and midcourse
corrections. Begin to welcome confusion into your life and allow
yourself at times to “wing it.” Learn to flex to the demands of the
immediate situation rather than always trying to make your job conform
to your preset expectations.
Learning to live
with uncertainty will help quell your fears of the future. Expending
large amounts of energy catastrophizing about the future depletes the
energy left to invest in your work. Instead of worrying about all the
things that might go wrong, put your energies into creating the kind of
future that you want. To quote Price Pritchett, “The best insurance
policy for tomorrow is to make the most productive use of today.”
