Stressed at Work? Volunteers Sought for UMaine Study on Workplace Stress
Contact: George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — If work is stressing you out, causing anxiety, depression, nervousness, headaches, stomach and back problems or an inability to sleep well, a University of Maine research project could provide some solutions.
Adult volunteers are being sought for a study on workplace stress. Barbara Hermann, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology, is asking interested individuals to contact her by email at barbara.hermann@umit.maine.edu to learn more about the study.
Hermann and her advisor for the research, Sandra Sigmon, professor of psychology, say most people are affected at some point by stress in the workplace. For many, it can be an unmanageable, life-affecting experience, while for others it represents an everyday hassle.
Studies show that several different methods of dealing with stress can be effective in mitigating the detrimental effects. Hermann’s study will compare two different programs for work stress to see which skills help individuals most. The study groups will meet at the Orono campus for 2 hours per week, one for four and one for six weeks. There is no cost to participate and volunteers can leave the study at any time.
Both programs are designed to help volunteers understand how becoming aware of and changing their responses to stressors can help reduce the negative symptoms of stress and its impact on their lives.
“We have demands at work and we can approach those demands in different ways,” Hermann says. “Some work and some don’t. We can become aware of whether our approach is working for us, and, if it isn’t, learn alternative ways of responding.”
After the program ends, Hermann says, “We expect individuals to be able to have a greater sense of well-being at work, even with the continuing stresses that they are faced with.”
Hermann can be reached for more information at barbara.hermann@umit.maine.edu.