Stress management is becoming a bigger and bigger issue in today’s fast-paced world where change is ever-present. It’s important to create a culture that recognises that stress is not a sign of weakness – it’s natural, like a gun. It’s how you manage it that determines if it’s good or bad. Trivialising or discounting staff’s stress is not ony counter-productive, it can land you in court! In this article, I’ll be looking at two personality types and their approaches to stress management.
Type A Characteristics, Stress and Heart Disease
In the late 50’s two cardiologists Meyer Freedman and Ray Rosenham noticed that amongst their patients with coronary heart disease there were many who shared a common behaviour pattern. They called these people Type A’s. Type A’s were considered to be aggressive, competitive, impatient and in a hurry. They tend to speak rapidly and loudly, interrupted others, were poor listeners and were easily irritated. People without these types of behaviour were labelled Type B’s. They are people with few of the above characteristics and were calmer, more relaxed and patient in their approach to life.
In a major study, Freedman and Rosenham showed that Type A’s were twice as likely to have heart attacks than Type B’s, even when risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels were taken into account.
Organisations Reward Type A Behaviours
Subsequent research has shown that despite the health risk they run, Type A’s are more likely to hold senior positions in organisations and are likely to be successful at work. This is not matched in their social and domestic lives however. They are less likely to have happy marriages, will have fewer friends and outside interests, and in work are less likely to devote time to being with people. This is partly because they devote the bulk of their time to work itself.
Recent Research Into Stress
Recent research has shown the following:
a. Type A’s who feel in control of their environment are likely to be healthier than those who feel very little control over their circumstances. In other words, when a person’s competitive spirit is balanced by a sense of mastery, through good social skills, personal organisation and high self esteem, they may be much less susceptible to heart disease. Type A’s who lack social skills, and feel repressed and hostile, are less likely to feel mastery and may actually feel the victims of circumstances which they try to fight against.
b. All aspects of a work environment which reduce the sense of control may cause problems for Type A’s. For example over promotion, too much responsibility, work overload and low participation in decision making.
c. Type A’s increase their risk of heart disease by ignoring the warning signs their body gives them. For example, fatigue and chest pains.
d. Other risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, raised blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels, compound with Type A characteristics to increase risk.
There is evidence that modifying Type A characteristics works and helps in stress management. Use of relaxation exercises, time management and social support have been shown to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Learning when it is inappropriate to be competitive and OK to relax helps, as does learning to slow down and take a more realistic view of time.
The important thing is to modify Type A behaviours in a way that improves health and allows the person to maintain and even enhance their ability to success at a high level. In the next article we’ll look at the characteristic behaviour patterns of Type A and Type B personalities and how such information can help in stress management.