What is stress? Stress is the body’s physiological reaction to a perceived (real or imagined) threat that puts us into fight or flight mode. For example if confronted by a lion while walking to your car in the parking lot, you may notice your adrenaline spike, blood sugar levels rise, and your heart begin to pump more blood to your muscles to prepare you for flight (or fight I guess if you are willing to go head to head with a lion).
While small amounts of stress can be beneficial, see lion example above, I think we can all agree that prolonged or chronic stress in the workplace can cause harmful effects to our physical and mental well being. According to Dr. Rudy Kachmann, over 50% of adults in the United States report feeling high stress on a daily basis. This is not only harmful to ourselves, but can be a huge cost to corporations, who the CDC say are losing profits by the millions due to higher medical expenses and premiums as well as lost productivity and absenteeism in the workplace.
So what can we do to manage stress in the workplace?
Controlling stress is vital to a person’s long-term health and wellbeing. Learning to manage stress can reduce your chances of developing long-term health issues such as heart disease and cancer. The first step in combating stress is recognizing you are in a stressful situation or becoming self-aware (a word we love here at THG). Education, understanding the six dimensions of wellness, and putting a plan of action in place to combat stress and achieve balance are also essential to stress management.
Also, if your company already has a successful Corporate Wellness program, feel free to leave tips below in the comments section.
Written By: Karen Schutte & Tammy Mitchell
