STRESS

Stress is a part of our daily life. We cannot escape its reach and there is a good reason for that: we need it to survive. Too much of a good thing is not good, either. There is stress in just getting out of bed in the morning, stress in driving to work and stress in decision making. There is stress in dealing with people, processes, technology and the mechanisms with which we interface on a regular basis. We can even experience stress in our sleep. Stress is built into our brain function in order for us to survive. Normally we can meet stress and deal with its consequences without repercussion.

When we were a hunter/gatherer society and living on the plains, we were also a food source for other predators. We were not the strongest or biggest animal on the plain so we adapted survival mechanisms. Stress is one of those survival mechanisms designed to keep us alert. When we scanned the terrain thousands of years ago, our attention was directed to what was out of place. We picked up on what was moving in a still setting or what was still in a dynamic setting. We looked for things to eat or things that could eat us. 

Have you noticed that when things are running smoothly that your stress level is almost zero? You remain vigilant but, as soon as something out of the ordinary occurs, you become more attentive to the change? If the change increases to become a threat, then your stress level increases commensurately. If the threat is immediate, we also have the ability to react immediately. If we had to think of this process before reacting, we would be some other animal’s dinner. Stress bypasses the normal thinking-reasoning network so we can react to a threat. You don’t have to go through the thinking-reasoning process to know to pull your hand away from a hot stove top. This is also why we react so quickly to an electrical shock — it’s immediate. There is no time to go through the normal protocol of traveling through the nervous system to the brain to decipher what is happening, decode the information and then encode it so the proper signal is transmitted to our proper muscle to pull away from the threat. Adrenaline is pumped into our body to react instantly.

Job stress can be defined as an individual’s reactions to characteristics of the work environment that seem emotionally and physically threatening — it just has to have the appearance of a threat, not necessarily be a real threat.

the good, the bad and the stressful

There are good and bad sides to stress. The good thing is that it keeps us safe. The bad thing is the same thing that keeps us safe — it is reactionary. Excessive stress leads to distress that is mentally and physically damaging as well as cumulative. Stress builds when we don’t decompress during our time off after dealing with stress at a certain level of degree and/or duration. My wife can attest to that.

Research has discovered that accumulated stress in many individuals had a significant negative effect on physical health — stress causes an increase in notated high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. With regard to cognitive function, important negatives include noted degradation of long- and short-term memory, situational awareness, ability to communicate, risk assessment and vestibular function (balance), and the potential for a profound psychological impact. These include depression, high divorce rate, a marked lower quality of life and higher incident of suicide.

Systemic stress inhibits long-term potentiation. This is an important biological model of synaptic plasticity which is the ability of the brain to function properly and acts like an insulator between two electrodes. It causes hippocampal atrophy (associated with dementia), impairs learning, facilitates long-term depression, contributes to brain aging, causes many generalized behavioral changes, is implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders and depresses the immune system. It also modulates neurotrophic factors, especially brain-derived neurotrophic factor that is an important feature in the production of proteins that regenerate nerve cells.  

According to research cited by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 40 percent of employees believe their jobs are “very” or “extremely” stressful and at least 26 percent of employees feel “burned out” at work. The American Psychological Association reports that job stress costs U.S. companies about $300 billion per year in absenteeism, productivity loss, turnover and health care costs. Holy cow! How many of us would categorize ourselves as being in a high-stress environment? Are we all doomed?

finding a middle ground

Interestingly, moderately-stressed people perform better, are more productive, effective and efficient, have lower absenteeism, are healthier overall and live longer than individuals in a no-stress environment. In moderately-stressed individuals, the adrenaline injection into our body is abated and our thought process stays in control where logical decisions are made through insightful observations. Have I confused you yet?

Here the clincher: pushed beyond this state is a tipping point and you enter the reactionary zone where the thought process and logical decision making are discarded. You shift from stress to distress. You move into survival mode and self-preservation takes control. Have you ever touched an electrical wire and reacted so fast that you hit yourself? That’s your adrenal system taking over. If you continued to touch the wire, which is rather stupid, you would eventually beat yourself up. We need some stimulation in our life to remain vital but not so much to where it becomes detrimental. The distressed brain doesn’t work well. 

Each human is unique and we react differently to stressful situations. What one person takes in stride can cause another to experience a meltdown. How stressful do you think an air traffic controller job is? It’s hours of boredom and routine interrupted by moments of sheer terror. I couldn’t imagine doing that job. I also couldn’t imagine sitting at a desk and doing accounts receivable work all day as my head would be hitting the desk every two minutes. Tedium is also stressful if you are used to activity. 

managing stress

How does an air traffic controller or someone in accounts receivable manage the stress? The key is within training, experience and an individual propensity to cope. In other words, being prepared reduces stress. What level of stress would you have doing something without being trained compared to being well versed on the subject? How stressed were you the first time you did something? How about the tenth time? It was a lot less stressful the tenth time, wasn’t it? Then we have the individual factor where all the training and experience doesn’t help in reducing stress. Some individuals are more vulnerable to high-stress situations and do not handle it well.

We all have a stress level that is optimal for our performance but there is a tipping point where we move from being very capable to a breakdown of abilities very quickly. This is called the Yerkes-Dodson Law. It is after that tipping point that our cognitive and decision-making abilities are at their lowest. It’s probably at that same point where clear, logical decision making is required to be its sharpest. This adds to the stressful situation and we enter the death spiral.

Training is not just the technical variety — what if you are confronted with something you haven’t been trained to do? Do you shut down? You cannot be trained in every situation you might encounter, so you need to learn how to deal with the stress from the unexpected when confronted with those situations. Job stressors typically revolve around work overload, ambiguity (job/role clarity and lack of support), conflict (both personal and cognitive) and resource inadequacy. These job stressors have one common theme: they are not in your sphere of control. The more you don’t have control over the stressor, the more stressful the situation. If you have ever driven in the north in winter and came across black ice on the road, you know what I mean about the correlation between instant loss of control and high stress.

the role of control

You cannot control what you cannot control but you do have control over yourself. This is easy to say when you are not in the heat of the moment, but you need to step back and take another look at the situation. What can you do with the resources you have, including the training and experiences you have acquired? This might be a limited solution but it is at least an objective decision and not a subjective, reactive one. Even if your decision is wrong, you can be content that your decision was based on the facts you had at the moment. Even WAGs (wild-assed guesses) are based on some facts to give you an edge in the decision. Like George S. Patton said, “Take calculated risks; that is quite different from being rash.”

the management function

Will that save you from the wrath of management? The answer will be no unless you have wise management. Management, especially middle management, has largely not progressed to understanding human behavior. The 1920s concept of managing people is still in place in many organizations. People are not chattel to be looked at as a commodity or asset to be used and discarded. You manage resources and lead people. Don’t get this confused with manpower, which is a resource. I am referring to the people, the person, the personalities, the human side of the organization. There is some progress but it is slower than many researchers would like as witnessed by questions like, “Why doesn’t the workforce follow the procedures?” It might not be the workforce forcing the issue. 

Using the Pareto Principle, I would say that 80 percent of the problem in not following procedures is situational and 20 percent is the workforce. Management has control of the situation (resources). Management needs to manage the level of work, clarify roles and job functions, provide support and allocate resources where needed. Conflict resolution is going to be an ongoing factor that must also be controlled and adjudicated fairly. Providing what is needed is a management function. With that accomplished, the “workforce not following procedures” issue will be minimized, stress will be reduced, engagement will increase and the stage will be set for a leader to emerge. 

the dirty dozen

Stress is one of the Dirty Dozen but if you read between the lines, you will notice that more of the Dirty Dozen are embedded into this article. A precursor to job stress is pressure which can come out of ambiguity from poor job or role clarity derived from conflicting social and cognitive norms technically called cognitive dissonance. Stress can be caused by work overload which can lead to fatigue. Resource inadequacy is also on the list of job stressors. Since we are talking of inadequacy here, any of the six Dirty Dozen that refer to scarcity will fit: lack of parts, lack of communication, lack of knowledge, lack of teamwork, lack of assertiveness, and lack of awareness. Nine out of the 12 Dirty Dozen symptoms cause stress. If you want to go with the Baker’s Dirty Dozen which includes professional arrogance, you could say it’s 10 out of 13. Arrogance criticizes others and is about proving oneself. Confidence commends others and is about improving oneself. 

in summary

Leaders pull while managers push. A supportive management and a strong leadership is a dynamite package that is hard to beat. It’s up to your top managers and leaders to build an atmosphere that promotes engagement and trust. Stress will never be eliminated but it will, for the most part, be controllable. Anyone can duplicate your product and process but they cannot duplicate the organizational culture that produces your product or delivers your service.   

Patrick Kinane is an FAA-certificated A&P with IA and commercial pilot with instrument rating. He has 50 years of experience in aviation maintenance. He is an ASQ senior member with quality auditor and quality systems/organizational excellence manager certifications. He is an RABQSA-certified AS9100 and AS9110 aerospace industry experienced auditor and ISO9001 business improvement/quality management systems auditor. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aviation maintenance management, a master’s of science degree in education, and a Ph.D. in organizational psychology. Kinane is presently a senior quality management systems auditor for AAR CORP and a professor of organizational behavior at DeVry University.