Stress expression at work and techniques to manage it: gender and age aspects

The article systematically presents the issues of stress at work in the context of scientific literature; the factors that cause stress at work are analysed, and techniques for managing stress are provided. Research objective: after examining the factors that cause stress at work to provide techniques for managing stress. Analytical descriptive, quantitative and statistical research methods were applied. When using a quantitative research strategy and considering respondents' assessment (n=303), the stress situation at work was identified, the reasons causing stress at work were determined, and techniques for managing stress at work were provided. After analysing the stress situation at work, it was found that more than three-thirds of the study participants experienced stress at work often or very often. In contrast, only a few participants experienced it rarely or very rarely. Whereas a comparative data analysis from a gender perspective showed that stress expression at work is more common in women than men, after providing a comparative study in groups of participants of different age groups, it was found that more stress at work experienced a larger portion of the study participants under 25 years of age and from 26 to 45 years of age compared to those aged 46 and over. The research results showed that the factors impacting stress at work are these: the lack of training on stress reduction in the organisation, heavy workload, too high demands at work which do not match the knowledge and skills of employees, the lack of time to complete tasks, as well as underestimation of a person's efforts and encouragement for high results, employees are not provided with professional development and career opportunities. According to the research results, it is evident that managing stress at work should be implemented comprehensively by covering the aspect of work organisation planning, ensuring workload and professional development opportunities, improving a motivation system, creating a favourable psychological climate, recognising employees' efforts and training how to cope with stress. On the other hand, while implementing the stress management system at work, it is appropriate to consider gender and age. The research results provided insights into the reasons causing stress at work and the possibilities for its management. The obtained results will have lasting value in scientific discussion, since guidelines for stress reduction at work with particular attention to gender and age peculiarities are provided.