Personality plays a fundamental role in stress. Each individual on the planet has a unique personality. We call these individual differences, which essentially accounts for the unique characteristics an individual has, with potential consequences to how they interact with their environment.
Personality plays a fundamental role in stress. Each individual on the planet has a unique personality. We call these individual differences, which essentially accounts for the unique characteristics an individual has, with potential consequences to how they interact with their environment.
Personality plays a role in wellbeing. It impacts on how we feel, how positive and optimistic we are, and how we approach stressful situations. How we feel about stress is a unique phenomenon- some people thrive and some people cave. Stress is therefore a subjective experience based on an individual’s perception.
Individual differences play a fundamental role in the choices we make- such as where we choose to work, and what we choose to do. It also plays a role in how we handle stress. Stress is seen as an appraisal of a situation- for instance, how we view the situation we are in matters more than what the situation is. If we appraise the situation as something we cannot handle, then we will feel like we do not have the resources to manage it and will feel stressful. On the other hand, if we view a situation as a challenge, and something we have the potential and resources to overcome, then we will view the situation with ease.
In workplace psychology, there are a number of models and theories that relate to how an individual handles stress at work:
One perspective on stress at work is the Person-Environment Fit. Here, stress is caused because an employee does not feel they have the capabilities to manage their workload. They feel that they do not have the resources to manage their work. Stress arises because the individual perceives it to exceed the amount of coping resources they have. Subjective feelings of overload can give rise to stress, especially if the stress surpasses what the individual believes they can cope with.
In another study, it was found how the stressor or stressful situation is viewed is what accounts for stress- we call this stress appraisal. When an individual views a stressful situation, they attach meaning to it based on their own life experience, and this in turn leads to them feeling either stressed out or not. Stress appraisal is done in two parts- firstly, the primary appraisal assesses whether the situation is harmful. Secondly, the individual will assess whether they have the situation to deal with the situation.
Some stressful events can cause negative emotions that subsequently result in negative attitudes and behaviours, rather than them actually being the result of any assessment of an event. In this sense, the event actually played a role in causing the stress and feeding into future appraisals of the situation and can actually change the individual’s emotions.
Researchers into personality theory have drawn a link between Type A behaviour and coronary heart disease, as well as other physical health disorders. Type A behaviour is a spectrum of behavioural traits that encompass highly competitive behaviour, impatience, hostility, time consciousness, feelings of pressure and restlessness. This is in direct contrast to Type B behaviour which is laid back and easy going.
Having an external locus of control (attributing control of situations to external sources) and Type A personality increased the likelihood of feeling stress. These greater levels of stress have also been linked to lower levels of life satisfaction, health and wellbeing too.
While personality differences play a role in stress, they also play a role in our life choices too- these include occupational choices. Those with Type A personality may actively choose high stress roles that match their go-getting and driven nature. It can be a catch 22 situation.
Building upon your strengths is the direct result of self-awareness. We cannot know our strengths and values without first knowing ourselves. Our strengths are what we are good at. They are what we enjoy. They give us the ability to stay in the zone, or what psychologists call ‘the flow’, where we perform optimally, taking our limiting beliefs out of the picture.
Consultant Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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