Pressure in the Workplace
Most people have felt the pressure of impending deadlines at work. Whether it be for a client, supervisor or coworker, the push to produce can be stressful. There are arguments that certain quantities of stress encourage production, but exactly what that quantity is for an individual before it becomes harmful is an elusive quantity at best.
In some circumstances, an employee will be motivated by a looming deadline. The deadline may provide a sense of urgency that is needed to move a task or project forward. It may also give the employee a timeline in which to organize the workload into manageable and achievable goals. Pressure to meet a deadline and produce work at a certain quality may also give the employee a bar at which to measure their success by, thus encouraging them to work harder.
An undue amount of stress on a worker can produce very negative results, though. Likely an employee will be nervous and agitated when they feel that their workload is no longer in their control, or has surpassed a manageable level. This creates an unhealthy work environment for the employee and other workers. Once a worker has reached this state, the quality of work produced is often below typical standards.
One method that a stressed and overworked employee may employee to handle their workload is cutting corners. This may produce sloppy and inaccurate work. This can often be the first response, though, in an attempt to get the work ‘off the desk’. It can be manifested in many ways, such as miscalculations, improper grammar, or reports with missing and faulty information, all which can be damaging to the performance of a company as a whole.
Interpersonal relationships may also suffer in the workplace when an employee is under pressure to perform. A lack of confidence in an employee’s job and abilities may create resentment and anger towards coworkers and supervisors. Deceitful behaviors may be born from those feelings, causing underhanded and unethical exchanges in an attempt to appear competent by comparison.
Whether the pressure to produce is negative or positive, it can most likely be asserted that a certain amount and type of pressure for results in the workplace affects performance. A productive environment might well be found through experimentation in management techniques and goal oriented projects with the purpose of achieving the best results while maintaining a happy and healthy work environment.
