Brag about how busy you are at work? Don’t, says science
We’ve all had a co-worker who constantly talked about how busy they were, from bringing up their overloaded schedule to the late hours they put in. Or maybe it hits too close to home? Stress bragging has become the new workplace buzzword. It means to frequently boast about one’s busyness or workload to drive home a message of importance, productivity or dedication. According to findings published in the journal ‘Personnel Psychology’, stress bragging can have the opposite effect and damage relationships at the office.
Stressed to impress
“This is a behavior we’ve all seen, and we all might be guilty of at some point,” commented lead author Jessica Rodell, professor of management at the University of Georgia in the United States, in a news release. “When I was wondering about why people do this, I thought maybe we are talking about our stress because we want to prove we’re good enough. We found out that often backfires.” To assess the impact of stress bragging, a research team asked 360 participants to analyse statements from imaginary colleagues who had returned from a conference. Stress braggers complained about how it was just one more thing on their plate. Results showed that the survey volunteers perceived the stress braggers as less competent and less likable. They were also less likely to help them. Another survey involving 218 real-life employees yielded similar results. In addition, the braggers more often suffered from burnout and stress.
Keeping worrywarts and stress balls at bay
“When somebody is constantly talking about and bragging about their stress, it makes it seem like it is a good thing to be stressed,” explained Prof. Rodell. “It just spills over onto the co-worker next to them. They wind up feeling more stressed, which leads to higher burnout or withdrawal from their work. Think of it as this spiraling contagious effect from one person to the next.” She says that braggers should think again before engaging in this seemingly harmless habit. “If you genuinely feel stressed, it’s OK to find the right confidant to share with and talk about it. But be mindful that it is not a badge of honour to be bragged about—that will backfire.” Management and human resources departments should also be on the lookout for this type of behaviour. “It’s not benign. It not only harms the bragging co-worker. If employees see somebody bragging about their stress, it will have a spillover effect that can have bigger implications for the workplace,” concluded Prof. Rodell.
Keywords
work, stress, stress bragging, stress bragger, workplace, employee, co-worker