Physical Affection Can Help You Manage Work Stress

Although Christine had every reason to be pleased with her recent promotion to a corner office you most certainly couldn't tell by the way she stormed her way into her office this morning. Work colleagues turned to gesture a greeting to her but quickly withdrew in response to her bristling disposition. One colleague who hadn't seen Christine's arrival casually sauntered to the doorway of Christine's office loaded with an armful of documents. She knocked as she began to enter.

"What now?" blurted Christine in frustration to her unsuspecting workmate.

"Sorry, but here's the documents you asked for," replied her visibly shaken coworker as she made for a hasty retreat. Realizing what she had done, Christine offered a gesture of an apology but her compatriot had already left leaving an uneasy tension in the air. She clasped her hands over her mouth and nose and let out a muffled a cry of exasperation as other workers deliberately put their face down to work not wanting to draw any enemy fire. You could cut the air with a knife.

Many businesses place great emphasis on trying to deal with workplace stress. The challenge is that like Christine, many employees and bosses sometimes have trouble in leaving their outside problems at the door when they arrive at work. It is often these outside stresses and frustrations that end up creating stress at work. It is also true that things you do outside of work can also help you better manage work stress.

One such study reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine  measured the levels of stress hormone (cortisol) in 51working couples who were living together, most of whom were married. Over 1 week, participants kept detailed records of their daily activities, including instances of physical affection with their partner, and collected saliva samples so that the researchers could measure the daily fluctuations in cortisol levels.

In general, the researchers found that the more physical affection that the couples reported in a given day, the lower the levels of stress hormone.

Interestingly though, the study's lead researcher, Dr. Beate Ditzen of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, refused to recommend that people express more physical affection and intimacy per se but "to find activities that creates positive feelings for both partners". But according to her own research that activity that creates positive feelings for both partners and lowers stress hormones is physical affection!

To me the researcher's failure to encourage physical affection despite her own research results highlights how hard it is for some to show physical affection for the partners. In a society where  images of violence is freely displayed yet zealots object to displays of love and affection it is no wonder everyone seems stressed.

I say it is time for everyone to lighten up. Before you go to work be physically affectionate to your partner. If that means you end up having sex, well good luck to you. If not, you can still give your partner a beautiful warm, loving affectionate embrace. Not just a momentary obligatory squeeze. Embrace with meaning. Put some emotion into it.

While you are at it, give your kids a great big loving hug. Give the dog a hug as well. The lower stress hormones occur because it feels nice going off to work knowing that someone loves you no matter what happens today at work.  It's having that little skip or bounce in your step that can be that intangible factor that is the difference between a sale or not.

Give someone you care about a hug today.