The need for stress management soft skills in the workplace

Stress has evolved into a constant concern for workers in today’s fast-paced and dynamic workplaces. Burnout, poor productivity, and compromised well-being are frequent consequences of the demands and constraints of modern organizations. Stress management soft skills among various others have become a crucial requirement to succeed in the workplace (Lagrosen, and Lagrosen, 2022).  Understanding and successfully coping with stress are now crucial for both personal achievement and the general effectiveness and culture of the organizations.

This article aims to examine the importance of stress management soft skills in workplaces. There is a detailed discussion on it to build a healthy workplace culture and morale. The goal of this article is to emphasize the numerous advantages of such soft skills for organizations.

Stress management improves employee well-being and health

In a workplace, stress management is essential since it directly impacts employees’ health and well-being. Employees frequently experience significant amounts of stress and strain in fast-paced, demanding work situations (Maslach, and Leiter, 2022). Prolonged stress causes several physical and mental health concerns, including cardiovascular disorders, burnout, anxiety, and depression. The development of soft skills to manage stress enables employees to improve their overall well-being and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Additionally, B. Agyapong, et al., (2023) examined the effectiveness of such interventions in the workplace in a comprehensive review of the literature. The review discovered that stress-management therapies, including mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and relaxation training, were successful in lowering worker stress levels and enhancing general well-being among them.

Pradoto, Haryono, and Wahyuningsih, (2022) looked at the connection between employee performance and everyday stress. According to their findings, employees who successfully handled their stress showed less performance degradation than those who did not.

Effective management of stress in the workplace is associated with enhanced productivity and performance

The development of a positive workplace culture and high employee morale are interdependent with the effective management of employee stress. Employees feel more tense, disputed, and disengaged in a workplace when their stress is pervasive and untreated (Bruce, 2023). On the other hand, organizations that prioritize soft skills that help manage stress foster a nurturing work environment. Employee work satisfaction, loyalty, and motivation are more likely to occur when they believe their stress is acknowledged and effectively addressed.

Achieving soft skills to manage stress improves employees’ capacity to focus, make judgments, and solve problems effectively (Oosthuizen, 2022). Contrarily, those who are skilled at managing their stress can remain collected and calm under immense work pressure. Organizations should develop an environment that encourages high performance, innovation, and efficiency by providing appropriate exposure and training to develop such skills. This implies that different stress management techniques support workers in maintaining their attention, ability to make the right decisions, and work performance, ultimately resulting in increased productivity.

A study by Paliga, Kożusznik, Pollak, and Sanecka, (2022), examined the connection between organizational commitment and psychological capital (PsyCap), which includes stress management abilities. The results showed a link between organizational commitment and PsyCap, suggesting that individuals with soft skills to manage stress are more likely to show higher levels of devotion to their work.

Stress management soft skills also enable effective collaboration and teamwork

A study by Baek and Lee, (2023), looked at the connection between teamwork and stress management in conventional workplaces. The findings showed that teams with members who had learned how to control their stress performed better as a whole in terms of cooperation, coordination, and teamwork.

Soft skills to manage stress are essential for encouraging successful teamwork and collaboration in the organization. Workers frequently work in teams in collaborative work environments, depending on one another to accomplish shared objectives (Maslach, and Leiter, 2022). Lack of appropriate stress management soft skills leads to strained relationships, and a breakdown in communication resulting in the lack of cooperation. Taking control of stressful circumstances helps them work efficiently with their peers. As a result, there is enhanced teamwork, problem-solving ideas, and improved productivity (Hilal, 2022).

Stress management soft skills play a crucial role in workplaces that are fast-paced and demanding. Organizations gain a variety of advantages by prioritizing such soft skills, including employee well-being, increased productivity, healthy workplace culture, and efficient teamwork. Moreover, stress management is a way to show an organisation’s commitment to employees’ overall well-being. Organizations that understand the value of stress management and actively encourage employee development lay the way for long-term success, employee happiness, and organizational growth.

References

• Agyapong, B., Brett-MacLean, P., Burback, L., Agyapong, V.I.O. and Wei, Y., 2023. Interventions to reduce stress and burnout among teachers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), p.5625.
• Baek, E.M. and Lee, B., 2023. Implementation of a workplace protection system and its correlation with experiences of workplace violence: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health, 23(1), p.1241.
• Bruce, P., 2023. An exploration of the causes and effects of interpersonal conflict-related stress among a self-selected cohort of second-level teachers in Ireland.
• Hilal, O.A., 2022. The role of organizational stress in the relationship between leader–member exchange and workplace envy. Business Perspectives and Research, p.22785337211070371.
• Lagrosen, S. and Lagrosen, Y., 2022. Workplace stress and health–the connection to quality management. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 33(1-2), pp.113-126.
• Maslach, C. and Leiter, M.P., 2022. The burnout challenge: Managing people’s relationships with their jobs. Harvard University Press.
• Oosthuizen, R.M., 2022. The fourth industrial revolution–Smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and algorithms: industrial psychologists in future workplaces. Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 5, p.913168.
• Paliga, M., Kożusznik, B., Pollak, A. and Sanecka, E., 2022. The relationships of psychological capital and influence regulation with job satisfaction and job performance. PloS one, 17(8), p.e0272412.
• Pradoto, H., Haryono, S. and Wahyuningsih, S.H., 2022. The role of work stress, organizational climate, and improving employee performance in the implementation of work from home. Work, 71(2), pp.345-355.