Traditional Views of Workplace Stress

Four traditional views of stress come to mind that are used to get a good day’s work from us. See what you think. I’ve noticed the moral view, the ego based view, the natural personality view, and the monkey always on our back so get back to work view.

The moral view works like this: we shame each other for not being able to handle stress, or we pride ourselves in handling stress, because it’s all in a day’s work. If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. It’s the workplace, stupid. No pain, no gain.
Pros: most people will fall in line, to avoid negative labels and keep their job.
Cons: shaming is repressive; it works in the short run, going postal in the long run.

The ego based view of stress creates heroes and cowards. If you handle stress well, you’re great, if you don’t suck it up, you suck. Are you a hero, or a wimp?
Pros: Heroes are great. We can all be heroes once in a while. They take on more than their share of responsibility and you can always depend on them.
Cons: Heroism gets workers into raging doubles, back to back weeks, and managers come to expect 24/7 heroism, which is a recipe for burnout of your best talent.

The natural personality always handles stress well. Hire the right person, and all your worries are over, one less slot to fill, one less headache to worry about.
Pros: Hire every stress tolerant personality you can. They create a great workplace environment, they do their jobs well with few problems, and they endure hardship well.
Cons: They’re usually in high demand, and short supply.

The monkey on your back view says: get over it.
Pros: We learn from athletics to ignore pain, it’s an ever present aspect of life. Those of us who get good at ignoring stress can usually commit to anything.
Cons: Ignoring the problem increases likelihood of a problem later on, a recipe for injury. Repress the validity of stress, and reactivity and defensiveness to flourish. If I have to live with it, you’re going to have to live with it as well.

What perspectives operate most often, especially by key and exemplary employees, in your workplace?