Neurological Underpinnings to Understanding and Dealing with Stress at Work

Abstract

In 1992, a United Nations report had called work stress as ‘The 20th Century Disease’. The ‘always on’ economy of the 21st century has ensured that the prevalence of work-related stress is omnipresent even now like the mobile phones that perpetrate it. As stressors in the environment are continually present, what appears to be an antidote, is to change the response and have a more resilient response. In discussing resilient response, the article more specifically focuses on neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity or ‘brain plasticity’ refers to the brain’s ability to change or adapt both physically and functionally throughout life by stimulation from one’s environment, behaviour, thinking, emotions, etc. The article is based on this plasticity and the contention that brain can be structurally altered through the practice of mindfulness and meditation to develop resilience to stress, and respond better to stress. The article draws from the recent findings in neuroscience to strengthen this argument.