For the 12th and final episode of the second season of Vecteur H, the HR program in partnership with Isarta, Émilie Pelletier welcomes clinical and organizational psychologist Marie-Eve Landry. The topic? Stress management in the workplace. Here’s a summary.
It’s the evil of the 21st century in organizations. And yet, stress does not have to be negative.
Stress is a physiological reaction that prepares us to deal with a real or perceived threat. We need it, and it’s what has enabled us to survive until now,” recalls Marie-Eve Landry.
In fact, when faced with danger, there are two main reactions: fight or flight. Stress then prepares the human body: breathing harder, blood circulation faster, sharper focus on the source of the threat… In other words, it’s the basis of our survival instinct. So, as a defense mechanism, stress is good.
To clarify terms, stress is generally linked to the emotion of fear. But it is to be dissociated from anxiety, which is the apprehension of a threat that is not yet there. The latter belongs to the realm of thinking about a scenario that could happen. The threat is not real; it’s an anticipation.
Anguish, on the other hand, is a very strong and sudden panic reaction. All these notions are thus manifestations of fear in different nuances.
As we have seen, stress is basically desirable. In the case of a performance to be experienced, clinical and organizational psychologists speak of three lights:
- Green: the person feels no stress whatsoever. This is not necessarily a good thing, as the person may not be sufficiently mobilized.
- Red: at the other extreme, the person is experiencing too much stress, paralyzing them.
- Orange: the right level of stress to cope with, mobilizing and increasing energy to face the situation.
The danger is in going over to the red light, the negative side which is often the first understanding when we talk about stress.
We’re not made to be under stress all the time; we end up exhausting our energy. We need to use it to deal with the threat. Our system needs to calm down. Chronic stress that lasts for a year is not normal. That’s what it’s all about,” explains the woman who studied clinical psychology at Université Laval.
How can we avoid falling into this extreme?
The answer can be summed up in two words: vigilance and listening. Clinical stress is in fact an observable manifestation: mood swings, hypervigilance with a feeling of permanent threat, isolation, frequent complaints… These are all symptoms of a malaise that needs to be treated.
The worst combination that can lead to negative stress? An inordinate workload and little decision-making autonomy. The person no longer has control over what happens to them, and ends up losing their footing. The support of colleagues and/or the manager are key at such times.
But it’s not just other people who can help us when we’re experiencing persistent stress: we also need to listen to our bodies. Digestive problems, difficulty sleeping, a reduced desire to see people, anger outbursts – these are all signs that should raise the alarm and lead to a discussion with your manager about your problematic situation.
There’s one important thing to bear in mind: you have to take action to deal with the source of the stress,” says Marie-Eve Landry.
Her first recommendation is to get rid of the energy: get moving, play sports, be physically active… Meditation can help, even if it’s not for everyone. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of sitting back and listening to a program you like.
Our body knows what it needs,” she concludes.
We just have to listen to it and… give ourselves the right to be stressed at times!
