Sources of frustration at work

By performing daily tasks, a person comes across many obstacles which don’t necessarily have to be a source of frustration and trauma. However, frustration at work is inevitable. They are intertwined with the activity directed towards achieving the final goal and they are always a product of the society and as such, they are incorporated into a personality. Mental capacity and individual abilities work together in defense against frustration. An individual sometimes accepts destinations which are an expression of social tendencies even if they correspond to his/her capacities and developmental abilities. However, every goal imposed at work which doesn’t correspond with someone’s personality can cause frustration.

Frustrations at work lead to the loss of intensity of capacity and potential within an employee’s personality which are eventually reduced to a minimum. Frustration leads to a demonstration of indifference due to lack of motivation or personal abilities, which often leads to failure and loss of willingness to work. Frustration at work can lead to perceiving even the smallest obstacles as something insurmountable, and it may cause the feeling of discontent, inferiority, depression or aggressiveness which results in a loss of faith and willingness to work. If frustration becomes an integral part of one’s personality, it is safe to assume that it will continue to dictate behavior at work which may result in a great number of wrong steps that may endanger the business as well as the quality of life.

Sources of frustration at work can be obstacles and issues which appear on a  daily basis through performing work duties. Confronting them may affect work because it causes negative emotions and tension. Besides the fact that attempting to resolve them unsuccessfully affects work negatively, negative emotions and tension within certain employees who, for some reasons such as lack of self-control, are unable to deal with frustrations in a rational way, can be transferred to the entire group. Frustration can cause some employees to respond to an emotional assault towards people in the work environment even to the smallest of obstacles. Such behavior hurts both the business and employees.

Every work change requires adaptation. Changes can come from the outside, that is, from economic and political environments outside organizations and enterprises. When it comes to changes on the inside, we should mention income, changing the number of employees, new workforce arrangements or losing current status, the uncertainty of reaching a new status or maintaining a present position, working technique change as well as the instruments. Changes that come from the outside are specific, they refer to something new and bring certain risk. Therefore, they cause tensions, fear, restlessness, depression, and aggressiveness, because these changes lead to the prosperity of some while ruining others.  All this can cause frustration at work because these changes are unpleasant for most employees.

A source of frustration can come from authority or when a person or a small group is superior compared to the rest of the staff. That can cause a series of wrong moves which can endanger business. For example, an organization’s executive can be disinterested, incompetent or inconsiderate towards the job he performs or he can demonstrate disinterest towards the staff which can lead to catastrophic consequences. However, he is the authority and he is superior compared to others. There must be an executive and an employee but that relationship can be based on a different type of authority which will allow others within the group to express their opinions and attitudes, to speak up about their demands etc. In such a case, when a frustration situation emerges, for example, if an attitude isn’t met with approval, the authority and the relationship that has been built is not lost. Otherwise, if the authority acts as a force which blocks, it will definitely encourage frustration at work. Authority is necessary but it must be separated from the formal rights directed towards damaging democratic decision-making.

Inability to provide important motives, inability to achieve one’s final goal or completing an important task can lead people to react in different manners. Mistakes and failures are more or less present in people’s lives but the way they will be interpreted depends on the individual development, social learning process, as well as the means of controlling and managing his reactions in stressful situations an individual has developed. A self-confident and psychologically stable person will probably start questioning himself to see the real reason for eventual mistakes or failure. It’s a constructive reaction to frustration when a person’s psychological state changes due to tension which leads to achieving a goal more easily. For instance, improvement, an effort to achieve a goal, choosing another more successful way or changing the original goal with an alternative one which would also help realize the desired goal or motive or redefine the situation. If a person believes he/she can achieve a goal they already attempted to achieve previously, they will attempt again with an earlier speculation, introspection, analysis, and assume the inconveniencies that one may come across on the way to achieving a goal. In that way, they will preserve their integrity and dignity.

Mistakes, as well as obstacles and issues, should be observed as something objective and real that a person must resolve in a rational manner in order to succeed in an attempt. Endurance and work progress as well as handling our own mistakes adequately is a quality of mentally healthy people. However, a problem emerges when a person reacts to failure at work an inability to achieve one’s goals in a different manner. For example, shutting down, avoiding work assignments, aggressive behavior, inconsiderate decision-making which may lead to an even bigger problem or failure. Negative emotions may also occur and as a consequence of frustration, they may become stronger and ruin one’s self-esteem and lead to anxiety. It involves a damaging, destructive reaction to frustration which leads to serious lack of self-esteem. In an attempt to defend his/her self-esteem, one may present himself in any possible way in order to conceal failure.

The long frustration which results from an inability to realize one’s goals and motives in work as well as in life in general leads to disorganized behavior and anxiety. It leads to poor quality of life and, if it lasts too long, to psychopathological conditions.

Through resolving issues independently and adequately resolving errors in work, every person feeds on his/her success, strengthens his personality, develops certain abilities, and becomes a strong and stable individual. It is only through an independent approach to work and resolving obstacles and errors which are an inevitable part of every job, can a practical person show prevalence over frustration that emerges at work and in business in general. Facing the obstacles in a  rational manner and understanding the importance of delayed gratification leads to a person’s socialization. In that case, frustration can have a positive impact.