We’ve all experienced stress in the workplace at one time or another, and sometimes commiserating with your colleagues can lift some of that weight off your shoulders. But when you consistently boast about your burdens, wearing stress as a badge of honor, your coworkers may view you as not only less likable but also less competent. That’s according to new research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business .
In addition, so-called “stress bragging” can induce higher levels of burnout among coworkers on the receiving end of the boasting, per the study published in March in the journal Personnel Psychology . “This is a behavior we’ve all seen, and we all might be guilty of at some point,” lead author Jessica Rodell, PhD , said in a news release about her research. “When I was wondering about why people do this, I thought maybe we are talking about our stress because we want to prove we’re good enough.
We found out that often backfires.” Stress comes in many forms; this study in particular examines it as “the psychological state when one feels that their demands exceed their capacity.” And it’s a major problem.
The American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey showed 77% of respondents experienced work-related stress in the past month. For 57%, this led to a range of negative impacts, from emotional exhaustion (31%) to lower productivity (20%) to feelings of being ineffective (18%). By 2025, the market for global workp.
