Stress in Our Lives: Effective Communication in Workplace Under Pressure

Communication is the strongest medium through which we can either build our connections with people or ruin it by creating misunderstandings. Hence to make our communication more effective we should make sure that we reduce our stress levels time to time. Stress plays a very important role in communication.

Stress level differs from situation to situation. Sometimes if we observe, there are instances or days when a person is too stressed out and, on that day, it becomes a little tough for him to communicate freely. For example, you want to convey a message but ‘right’ words don’t strike your mind and you tend to become irritated and impatient. This further leads to frustration and anxiety.

Communication is a two-way process thus language is also an important aspect of communication. India is one country which is known for its diverse culture and languages. Hence when we work in an organization it is essential for all of us to talk in a common language. For example, if a person from south India goes to north India or vice-versa to work, he/she will not be able to understand the regional language properly and might face problems at his/her workplace. This will not only give stress to that person but will also reduce his productivity and efficiency at the work place. Also, that person will not be able to comprehend the information and messages that are being passed to him clearly, which eventually will lead to a misunderstandings and confusion.

Examples of Acute and Chronic Stress in Our Lives

Acute Stress:

• For instance, when a student enters his tenth standard, there is humungous amount of stress not only in the students’ life but also in the lives of parents. Hear the stressor is the board exam and the level of stress is high because it’s the first time that the student is appearing for a board exam.
• Another instance is when we sit for our job interview for the first time. The apprehension of what question will be thrown at us and if we will be able to crack the interview is the stressor here. The stress prevails for a short period of time and diminishes the moment we get a job.
• Workplace is such where we all need to be punctual and by that, I mean time, which is the stressor here. Time does not wait for anyone; hence we tend to get stressed out when we are late for our office and are running short of time.
• Stress here also includes situations where a person has to give a speech or a presentation in front of the audience. There are people who do not have stage fear but even then, they do deal with stress of performing well.
• Another instance of a stressful event is when a person is moving into a new home or an apartment. Here stress is due to a lot of responsibilities that need to be taken care of be it financial expenditure, setting up the house, transportation etc.

Chronic Stress:

• Divorce is that stress which leaves a strong impact on a person’s life. A person tends to break down completely in such cases and the stress level they deal with is quite high. If the emotions and mental state is not taken care of it can lead to consequences like depression and anxiety.
• Dysfunctional families are another type of chronic stressors which tends to affect a person and that person can even go through a breakdown after a point of time, when he cannot find any solution to the problem.
• Death of a spouse too gives you chronic stress as it depends on person to person, that how much time they require to overcome this trauma. But in majority of the cases people go into depression for a long time and it take a lot of time to recover but still the absence of that person can never be replaced.
• Unhappy marriage is a situation where two people are caught up in a relationship where they go through several fights, misunderstanding and have clashes of opinion. Such events and situations impact a person’s health and can affect his state of mind. Such kind of stress stays for a longer period of time and cannot be resolved easily. This eventually leads to consequences like divorce.
• Traumatic events like rapes, sexual harassment, abusive relationships, domestic violence etc also leaves a deep impact on a person’s life. A person can go into depression, anxiety attacks and can also face problems in their mental health. Such traumatic events can lead to high level of stress which sometimes can turn fatal and lead to suicides.

Ways of Effective Communication in Workplace Under Pressure

Workplace is one such organization where it is very important for all of us to manage our stress in such a way that it does not affect our communication. If stress in a professional world is not taken care of, then it may affect our productivity and efficiency which will impact our performance as well. Some ways of effective communication that can work wonders to overcome our stress in the professional world are:

• Communicate in Person: Whenever there are any conflicts that arise within your team or with your boss, it is always better to resolve the issue by talking to the concerned person due to which the conflict has risen.
• Controlling Emotions: When a person is under stress then that person tends to control his/her emotions due to which the point he puts across is not conveyed clearly and the message does not reach the receiver properly. Hence, we should always be confident and not show ourselves weak in front of others in any situation.
• Being Assertive: By this we mean being able to express your thoughts and opinions freely. This not only boosts your self-esteem and decision-making skills but also helps reduce your stress level.
• Work-Life Balance: Depending upon what the situation demands from the person, he should prioritise his work life over family life and vice-versa to maintain the balance else, it might cause stress and affect his communication and behavioral pattern. For example, if a woman has had a terrible fight last night with her spouse then the next working day she will not be able to perform properly and will not be able to communicate smoothly with other people due to the ongoing stress in her life.
• Looking for Satisfaction and Meaning in your Work: It’s very important to enjoy any type of work that one indulges in be it office work, household chores or other activities like dancing, singing etc. If a person does not like his work he will never be able to work smoothly and eventually will end up taking stress for all the tasks that he will undertake.