Recovering from Work Stress
The link between motivation, needs and stress recovery
We all know from experience that work can be stressful. Hopefully, we can incorporate enough enjoyable and relaxing experiences in the evening that enable our cortisol to drop enough to get a restful night’s sleep. And then we get to do it all again the next day. How quickly we can recover from stress greatly impacts our overall well-being and health. If we are unable to properly reset in the evenings and at weekends we may face chronic stress symptoms including loss of sleep, irritability, exhaustion, raised blood pressure and weight gain or weight loss. But it's not just how we rest after work that can buffer the negative consequences of stress. Studies show that how we work and how our needs get met or don’t get met is also significant to our stress management ability.
Before we get to that, a note on intrinsic motivation. That’s the ‘good’ kind. People who are intrinsically or autonomously motivated engage with activities with full volition and choice and do so because the activity is aligned with their values and beliefs in life. People who are intrinsically motivated at work do the job because they find the work enjoyable; they are not doing it because they ‘have to’ or just for the pay cheque. It is well proven that people who are predominantly intrinsically motivated have higher levels of job performance, job satisfaction, creativity, commitment and well-being than those who are predominately extrinsically motivated.
How intrinsically motivated are you about your own work? (The good news is you can build your intrinsic motivation, keep reading…)
Now SDT - self-determinism theory. This is, it's fair to say, the gold standard in motivation theory. It's one of the most widely cited and imitated (looking at you Simon Sinek ;) ) theories around. The creators of the theory, Deci & Ryan actually have five mini-theories within SDT. The most famous theory is the basic psychological needs theory which claims that individuals have three basic needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence. When these needs are met individuals will perform better and experience higher levels of well-being.
“When needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence are met individuals will perform better and experience higher levels of well-being”
So back to stress. The type of work we do during the day matters for our stress recovery. Consider two individuals, who both work as junior lawyers in a fast-paced demanding workplace. The work is demanding, the deadlines are tight and the stakes are high. The first lawyer, we’ll call her Emma, alongside the stressful role, also has a manager who is always interfering with her work. Emma’s every move is closely monitored and feedback regularly comes in the form of criticism. Emma has been with the firm for 6 months and in that time she hasn't been able to get close to any of her colleagues. She feels like she doesn’t quite fit in and looks forward to the end of the day when she can vent to her best friend. Now consider another junior lawyer at the same firm, Sam. Sam has the same demanding job, the same deadlines and the same pressure. But Sam’s boss is supportive. He gives Sam freedom in how he does his role and points out what Sam does well and how he is developing. Sam has good friends at work and regularly takes breaks and lunches with people in the office to talk about what's going on. Who will be more stressed at the end of the workday?
The research shows that Emma, who isn’t getting her basic needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness at work met will be more stressed at the end of the day and will take longer to recover from the stress. The positive emotional states brought by having these needs met work against stress in a couple of ways. Firstly the broaden and build theory explains how positive emotions can ‘undo’ the effects of negative emotions by enhancing social connection and resilience and making us more receptive to new possibilities, problem-solving and creativity. Secondly, positive emotions produce serotonin which reduces the stress response signals in the body.
So how does this all link to intrinsic motivation? Well, studies show that there is a positive link between need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation at work. So if you work on getting your needs met you will start to naturally become more intrinsically motivated about your work.
“Your manager is the single most important relationship you have at work and the biggest influence on your mental health”
What to do now? Getting your needs met at work is heavily influenced by your manager. This is unquestionably the single most important relationship at work and the biggest influence on your mental health. You can of course take steps to shift the relationship and get your needs met, but it’s not fully in your control. Here's where you can start.
Getting your Needs met:
Autonomy
Volunteer for projects that excite you and support your values
Set your own goals that are meaningful to you
Seek out flexible working arrangements
Make suggestions to improve your role/department
Competence
Ask for feedback from your manager and colleagues on your performance
Keep a record of your accomplishments, big and small!
Continue your learning in your field and expand your skill set
Seek out work that plays to your strengths
Relatedness
Make an effort to get to know people more and establish friendships at work
Seek out a mentor/advisor who can support you in the organisation
Offer to support more junior employees as they navigate the workplace
Build small moments of authentic connection into your workday
If you are a manager consider how you are enabling (or not) your employees to meet their own basic needs. Are you creating an environment in which autonomy, competence and relationships can flourish?
