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A recent study has found that constantly bragging about your workload, stress, and how busy you are might make you less likable to your colleagues and even make you seem incompetent.
Knewz.com has learned that "stress bragging" can also induce stress in those around the person doing it, making them susceptible to burnout.
A team of researchers from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business found that constantly bragging or complaining about how busy someone is or how stressed or overwhelmed they feel by their work, can make everyone in the workplace feel the same way.
The team published their findings in the journal Wiley, where they wrote, "Feeling stressed is an unfortunately common experience among employees—and one with significant consequences for personal and professional well-being. Yet, in addition to trying to manage high stress levels, some employees are actively bragging about it to others at work."
"[The study found] that stress bragging has resoundingly negative implications for braggarts as they are evaluated as less competent and less warm by coworkers, reducing their receipt of citizenship behaviors," the study noted.
"Additionally... we find that coworkers of stress braggarts also suffer by experiencing higher levels of burnout due to enhanced stress crossover effects," the research added.
The team from the University of Georgia surveyed hundreds of workers in the form of a two-part study and concluded that people bragging about their busyness and stress at work are also less likely to receive any sort of help from their coworkers.
During the first part of the study, the team gave 360 people fictional scenarios to read where a hypothetical coworker could be seen bragging or complaining about how busy they are, simply mentioning that they are stressed, or not mentioning their stress levels at all.
Based on the given scenario, the team asked the survey participants to rate the hypothetical coworkers based on likability, apparent competence, and whether they would help this person.
During the second part of the study, the team spoke to 218 actual employees and asked them about their experiences with coworkers who are prone to bragging about their stress and how busy or overwhelmed they are.
Combining the results of the study, the team found that one's "chronic stress broadcasting" can have a significant negative impact on an entire workplace.
"This is a behavior we’ve all seen, and we all might be guilty of at some point... 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," Jessica Rodell, the lead author of the study and a professor of management at UGA, said in a statement via Study Finds.
"People are harming themselves by doing this thing they think is going to make them look better to their colleagues," she added.
Rodell pointed this out in a statement, as she said, "If you genuinely feel stressed, it’s OK to find the right confidant to share with and talk about it."
"But be mindful that it is not a badge of honor to be bragged about—that will backfire. It’s not benign. It not only harms the bragging co-worker. If employees see somebody bragging about their stress, it will have a spillover effect that can have bigger implications for the workplace."