Two Types of Workplace Stress

By Cotney Attorneys & Consultants.  

Stress can be a great motivator on a job site. Sometimes it is positive stress and sometimes it is negative stress. 

How employees feel at work affects their performance and ability to work safely. The level of stress they experience on the job significantly affects whether they can do their best work. 

Typically, this discussion revolves around two types of stress: eustress, or good stress, and distress, negative stress. But there are other ways to categorize it – motivating stress and unnecessary stress. 

Unnecessary stress 

Unnecessary stress is stress put on construction workers unnecessarily. There are some common sources of this negative stress: 

• Bad leadership – This category does not just fall to managers and supervisors. Experienced workers are also leaders. Everyone suffers when leaders are not doing the best job they can do. 

• Poor pre-planning – If work tasks are not planned out properly, it can impact production schedules and create hazards for everyone working on the tasks. Individuals will face unnecessary stress due to the effects on schedules and safety. 

• Poor communications – Those who disrespect their fellow workers, yell at them and belittle them create unnecessary stress, not to mention acting unprofessionally. How workers communicate with each other plays into work safety and efficiency. 

Motivating stress 

Motivating stress comes from other sources and it is positive stress. There are several sources of motivating stress: 

• Wanting to do a great job – Employees who want to do a great job for coworkers and supervisors want the entire company to benefit. This is motivating stress to do a better job. 

• Taking on a new task or procedure can be challenging to take on a new task or procedure. But this should be viewed as a motivating factor, not as negative stress. It helps everyone to get outside of their comfort zone. It is vital for growth. 

There are times in everyone’s life when something strains their capacity – stress that needs to be identified. It is imperative to turn negative stress into motivating stress. Otherwise, it is a drag on people both mentally and physically. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to one-third of U.S. workers report high stress levels at work. And 40% say their jobs are very stressful. Many feel burned out. This can lead to employee disengagement. 

Encourage employees to sustain their innovation through motivation, the drive from within. What is your company doing to drive motivation? 

Instead of thinking of stress in just the two traditional forms, rethink it as motivating stress or unnecessary stress. How can you eliminate unnecessary stress? Instead, embrace motivating stress, which leaves you with more efficient and safer workers. 

Give your employees autonomy and purpose and in return, you will get employees who thrive. If employees feel trusted and empowered, they are more likely to show initiative and take ownership of their part of a project. Giving employees autonomy is part of employee engagement and in addition to safety, it translates into improved performance and higher retention rates. 

About Trent Cotney  

Trent Cotney is an advocate for the roofing industry, General Counsel of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and several other industry associations. For more information, contact the author at 866.303.5868 or go to www.cotneycl.com. 

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.