Page 48 - Occupational Health & Safety, May 2019

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
must remain cognizant that not all stress is negative in nature. When properly trained to use the forces of stress to enhance performance, then we can look at this as being positive. Hans Selye (1956), a pioneer in stress theory, referred to positive stress as “eu- stress.” This form of stress provides focused energy, feels thrilling, improves performance, and is perceived within the coping abilities. This concept forces us to adjust and increase our adaptive mechanisms while advising us that a lifestyle change is justified to maintain optimal health. This same action-enhancing stress gives the special operations forces their abilities to perform almost su- perhuman feats while engaged with enemy forces at levels some- times exceeding days at a time. Other eustress examples include starting a new career, getting married, having a child, or buying a
new car or home.
On the other hand, stress is negative when it surpasses our ca-
pacity to cope, fatiguing body systems and causing behavioral or physical problems. This harmful stress is called distress. Distress produces confusion, performance anxiety, overreaction, and poor concentration resulting in sub-par performance. Some examples of distress include last-minute projects, death in the family, unem- ployment, or financial problems. (See Figure 1)
When Stress Becomes an Issue at Work
So how does this stress affect an employee’s health to the point that we need to take it into consideration when evaluating their work-
Figure 1. The Centers for Disease Control (2017) reports: one-fourth to one-third of U.S. workers report high levels of stress at work. Americans spend 8 percent more time on the job than they did 20 years ago (47 hours per week on average), and 13 percent also work a second job. Two-fifths (40 percent) of workers say that their jobs are very stressful, and more than one-fourth (26 percent) say they are “often burned out or stressed” by their work.
ing environment? Should this stress be included in the evaluation to management as a matter of concern?
Chronic stress affects the body’s ability to induce a prompt and effective reaction that would allow our immune system to work as required (Hafen, 1991). This concept is carried in the belief of psy- choneuroimmunology (PNI), or the intricate interaction of con- sciousness (psycho), brain and nervous system (neuro), and the body’s defensive ability against infection and aberrant cell division (immunology) (Pelletier, 1977).
HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE
EUSTRESS DISTRESS
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