Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

resilience

The New York Times ran a really interesting story earlier this month about people who, rather than falling apart in high-stress jobs, actually thrive. (“Cracking Under the Pressure? It’s Just the Opposite, for Some” - 09/10/04)

The article cites several characteristics of people who tend to work better in high-stress conditions, and the environmental characteristics most conducive to helping them succeed.

To colleagues, these men and women may seem simply like workaholics. But psychologists who study them call them resilient, or hardy, and say they share certain backgrounds and qualities that enable them to thrive under enormous pressure.

“People who are high in hardiness enjoy ongoing changes and difficulties,” said Dr. Salvatore R. Maddi, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of a forthcoming book, “Resilience at Work.” “They find themselves more involved in their work when it gets tougher and more complicated. They tend to think of stress as a normal part of life, rather than as something that’s unfair.” …

People who thrive under pressure do not necessarily seek out particular professions, researchers say. But whether they are on the trading floor or the campaign trail, they all appear to have had early experiences in difficult environments that taught them how to regulate their stress levels. They can sense when they are reaching their breaking point, and they know when to take a walk or turn off the ringer…

But regardless of what propels people to push themselves, what allows them to prosper, psychologists say, is a strong commitment to their career, a feeling of being in control, and a tendency to view stress as a challenge rather than as a burden.

People’s attitudes toward their jobs and the degree to which they feel they make a difference by showing up each day have long been considered powerful indicators of how well they will do. Being just another cog in a machine with no say over what happens is almost guaranteed to cause burnout. But even in the most grueling work environment, people can cope if they feel they have some control…

It’s a condition I certainly identify with: I feel much more engaged, much more productive, much more “alive” even, when I’m working under deadline conditions … and even moreso if I feel as though I’m expending all that effort for a worthwhile cause. There’s a slight undercurrent of panic hidden just under the frenetic pace, and the degree to which I can bury that fear is measure by my level of confidence — in myself, in my skills, in my understanding of the situation under which I’m working. That “under pressure” rush is second only to the exhilaration of completing the task successfully.

The frustration for me, then, is when I sometimes feel as though I could be doing more — doing something more challenging, doing something more visible, doing something that will have a greater impact. And when I do have those projects … watch out. :)

I think it’s why I like the idea of news work so much. Journalism is a kind of “calling,” I think, and I have the idealistic notion that the work I might do is serving a community need … plus, it feeds my craving for constant stimulation and fast-moving projects.