Starting a new job or changing positions brings with it a slew of new challenges and responsibilities. Based on their research, psychologists Holmes and Rahe compiled a list of the forty-three most stressful life situations. Getting fired from a job was ranked eighth, and changing jobs was ranked 18th. As you can see, work-life balance is near the top of the list. Why? Work is a source of income for many people, but it is also a source of satisfaction and a strong motivator for many others. Changes in previous work patterns, as well as some anxiety, are common when starting a new job. Is stress always a dreadful thing? What does it have to do with changing jobs? The answers to these questions can be found in the following article.
How can we define stress?
There are many different definitions of stress in psychology. We can define it biologically as a set of specific physiological reactions in response to stimuli that disrupt our body’s balance. We can also consider it a relationship between human resources and the demands of the environment. At the same time, people perceive this relationship as exceeding their resources in some way. It can take the form of a challenge or a threat. What emotions we will experience and how we will deal with the situation are determined by the meaning we assign to it and how we interpret it.
Is stress always a negative thing?
The answer is no :). Stress is a set of reactions that are also designed to motivate us to act in situations that are problematic for us at the time. Up to a certain point, we can talk about so-called “eustress,” or motivating stress. An optimal level of arousal during which we can maintain the effectiveness of our actions without negatively affecting our overall functioning. Distress or negative, debilitating stress occurs when stress is chronic, and a person lacks the resources to cope with it. Such prolonged stress can result in physiological symptoms as a result of the condition.
There has been a lot of discussion about how to conquer stress. Is stress something that should be avoided? Stress is an unavoidable part of our lives and should not be fought. Rather than fighting it, we can learn adaptive coping strategies to ensure that it does not negatively impact our health and daily functioning.
Why is a change of job a stressful event?
Changing jobs can cause stress because we are often afraid of the unknown. New work environment, new responsibilities, new work culture, and new colleagues. We sometimes worry that we will not be able to adjust to our unfamiliar environment. We wonder whether we will be able to integrate with existing employees, what our new responsibilities will be. And whether we will be able to manage them.
Stress can be caused by a lack of clearly defined and specified tasks at the beginning of cooperation. That is why good onboarding, in which tasks and requirements are presented in advance, is so important. This is an excellent time to ask questions and become acquainted with the operations of the new organization. It is normal to experience initial confusion and stress when changing jobs. Allow yourself some time to become acquainted with your surroundings. A new job means a lot of new challenges, and you should approach the change in that way. Not as a threat, but as a challenge. As an opportunity to grow and meet interesting people.
Education on stress
Raising awareness and knowledge of this phenomenon through various training and workshops is an effective way forward. Our Candid psychologists Klaudia Tomczyk and Jakub Zielinski recently led a stress management workshop for the Team. We talked about how to deal with stress as a group. We answered the question of what stress is for us.. And how we react to it in an open and intimate setting.
During this meeting, the team brainstormed ideas for dealing with stress in various situations. Furthermore, we discussed chronic stress, its symptoms, and the health consequences for the body. The team can get to know each other better and share insights on various stressors and reactions to them through this type of workshop. Remember that increased stress knowledge and awareness can help you spot some troubling signs in employees suffering from professional burnout. Such individuals can benefit from an appropriate response from the environment.
In conclusion – stress is unavoidable in the workplace. Working for a new company with new tasks can be stressful. But it is worthwhile to give yourself time to adjust to your new surroundings. Stress associated with a new job, particularly in the first few days, is quite normal. Any change causes some anxiety and uncertainty, but it is worthwhile to view the new job as an interesting challenge and an opportunity for further development.