Think twice before announcing how stressed you’ve been at work; it may not serve you well. A study found that employees can feel burned out and pick up on seemingly unhealthy common behavior from colleagues.
No matter how much you love your job, stressful situations are inevitable. While it’s a common experience most endure, some pride in it. But they are causing more harm to themselves and others by doing so.
Study says bragging about stress makes you seem competent
New research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business found that people who brag about their stress are seen as less competent and less likely by their co-workers, reports Science Daily.
People don’t brag about inconvenience at their workplace for nothing. It’s driven by the need to prove your worth. The lead author of the research, Jessica Rodell explains:
“When I was wondering about why people do this, I thought maybe we are talking about our stress because we want to prove we’re good enough. We found out that often backfires.”
The survey included 360 participants who rated their imaginary co-workers on likeability and competence based on the statements the latter made at the end of a conference.
The imaginary co-workers described the conference as “just one more thing on my full plate. And I was already stressed to the max … you have no idea the stress that I am under.”
According to the participants, the complaining colleagues were less likable and less competent than someone who said work had been stressful or who just talked about how great the conference was, the publication reports.
The unhealthy behavior is contagious
Meanwhile, people who love to brag about being under stress are harming themselves and those who are subject to their oversharing.
“People are harming themselves by doing this thing they think is going to make them look better to their colleagues,” the lead author explained.
The researchers, after surveying an additional 218 real-life office workers, learned that some of the most stressful situations stem from employees spilling over their stress onto their co-workers.
The habit also makes bragging at the workplace normal, thus creating “the perception that chronic high-stress levels are an expected and normal part of the work culture”
However, people who were naturally stressed and didn’t boast about the workload or mentioned it in passing didn’t have a similar effect on their colleagues.
The researchers believe the said behavior shouldn’t normalized and managers should recognize it to avoid more damage.
Jessica said: “It’s not benign. It not only harms the bragging co-worker. If employees see somebody bragging about their stress, it will have a spillover effect that can have bigger implications for the workplace.”
