Stress and Emotional Intelligence at the Workplace

Introduction

  Everyone in today’s workplace is under pressure. We are living in an era of

uncertainty, with widely fluctuating markets and fiercely competitive business

conditions. Organizations are determined to get more and better work out of fewer

people, and most employees are routinely told they must work smarter, faster, better,

longer and harder. It is no wonder that study after study shows that stress is a growing

challenge.

  In general, we tend to think of stress as something negative; but in fact, it does have

tangible benefits. Stress generates action. It creates a psychological boost that gives

you increased energy and clarity with which to perform well. If channeled correctly,

stress can enhance your performance and the performance of those you manage. Of

course, if channeled incorrectly, stress can be overwhelming and performance will

rapidly decline.

  Stress is derived from the Latin word stringere, meaning to draw tight, and was used

in the 17th century to describe hardships or affliction. During the late 18th century,

stress denoted “force, pressure, strain, or strong effort”, referring primarly to an

individual or to an individual’s organs or mental powers ( Hinkle, 1973 ).

  Early definitions of strain and load used in physics and engineering eventually came

to influence one concept of how stress affects individuals. Under the meaning of this

concept, external forces are seen as exerting pressure on an individual, producing

strain. Proponents of this view claim that we can measure physical strain on a

machine or bridge or any physical object.

  Although this first concept looked at stress as an outside stimulus, a second concept

defines stress as a person’s response to a disturbance. In 1910, Sir William Osler

explored the idea of stress and strain causing disease when he saw a relationship

between angina pectoris and a hectic pace of life. The... [continues]

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