Stressed at Work? You’re Not Alone. Here’s what every MBTI type should know...

Let’s start with the big picture. In the US, companies report nearly $300 billion in annual costs due to stress-related health care and missed work. In addition, 70% of people regularly experience physical symptoms of stress. And 48% of people feel their stress has increased in the past five years.

In the UK and Europe, 70% of people find their work stressful and one in four people risk health problems due to stress at work.

So what causes everyone stress at work?

In our research, the top stressors at work include:

• Public speaking
• Making big decisions
• Meeting new people
• Traveling on public transport
• Socializing

Stress is Unique to MBTI Type, and To You Personally

But not all stress is the same. A little stress everyday (even at work) helps us build resilience. Kind of like catching a mild cold helps us build immunity in the future. Little bits of everyday stress can actually drive you to peak performance. Why? Because the stimulation causes you to be more alert and put more effort forward because there’s something (fear of failure, fear of judgement, time pressure) that has a potential negative consequence.

However, if you take a look at the curve above, there’s only so much stress people can take before their performance starts to decline. Once you’ve moved past everyday stress, you move closer towards the realm of extreme stress. On the most extreme end, things like financial bankruptcy or death of a family member would be examples.

The Self-Awareness Stress Buster

They key to handling stress is (drumroll…) self-awareness! Because stress is personal. There are some things that seems to work for a majority of people (browsing the web, watching TV, listening to music). And still some things that work for a majority of one personality type. But still everyone is unique so it’s important to take information about stress from these sources and then tweak them for you personally.

Here’re a few blogs you can start with:
What stresses you out based on your Myers-Briggs type
4 ways to de-stress for each of the Myers-Briggs personality types

But decreasing stress and increasing your well-being in the workplace is different from what you can do at home to de-stress (the above links are more home-oriented).

Think your workplace doesn’t care about their people? While many workplaces haven’t figured out the best way to cater to their employees well-being, research shows that employee well-being is positively correlated with things that improve organizational performance. Things like an employee’s job satisfaction and affective commitment are related to workplace well-being, and when these things are high the organization itself actually performs better.

Similarly, things that negatively correlate to workplace wellbeing lead to worse workplace performance. Factors like turnover intention (are you thinking of leaving your job) and job searching are factors of lower workplace well-being.

But as we mentioned, what increases our well-being at work (and ultimately decreases our stress) is different for every MBTI type.

MBTI Personality Type Tips for Well-being and Mitigate Stress

Here’s what every MBTI type can do to increase their well-being and reduce stress in general, and at work:

ISTJ 

General well-being tips 
- Reading
- Exercise
- Adjusting my expectations

Work well-being tips
- When needed, help co-workers
- Undertake work where I learn something new
- Align my work goals with my career goals

ISFJ 

General well-being tips 
- Reading 
- Eating meals with others 
- Adjusting my expectations 

Work well-being tips 
- Align my work goals with my career goals 
- Structure my work so I have flexible work hours 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 

INFJ 

General well-being tips 
- Reading 
- Adjusting my expectations 
- Mindfulness techniques 

Work well-being tips 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 
- Undertake work where I learn something new 
- Remind myself of why my work matters 

ENFP 

General well-being tips 
- Reading 
- Mindfulness techniques 
- Meditation 

Work well-being tips 
- Undertake work where I learn something new 
- Invest time getting to know co-workers 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 

ENTP

General well-being tips
- Adjusting my expectations
- Watching television
- Yoga

Work well-being tips
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose
- Align my work with my career goals
- Acknowledge recognition I receive for work

ESTP

General well-being tips
- Eating meals with others
- Reading spiritual literature
- Attending parties

Work well-being tips
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose
- Take meal breaks at work
- When needed, accept help from co-workers

INTJ

General well-being tips
- Exercise
- Eating meals with others
- Mindfulness techniques

Work well-being tips
- Undertake work where I learn something new
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose
- Manage my work to ensure I have leisure time

ISTP

General well-being tips
- Adjusting my expectations
- Mindfulness techniques
- Reading

Work well-being tips
- When needed, help co-workers
- When needed, accept help from co-workers
- Remind myself of why my work matters

ISFP 

General well-being tips 
- Eating meals with others 
- Reading 
- Participating in my religious group 

Work well-being tips 
- When needed, help co-workers 
- Invest time getting to know my co-workers 
- Manage my work to ensure I have leisure time 

ESFP 

General well-being tips 
- Participating in my religious group 
- Listening to or playing music 
- Exercise 

Work well-being tips 
- Invest time getting to know co-workers 
- Manage my work to ensure I have leisure time 
- Discuss positive work experiences with others 

ENFJ 

General well-being tips 
- Eating meals with others 
- Exercise 
- Mindfulness techniques 

Work well-being tips 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 
- Undertake work where I learn something new 
- Remind myself of why my work matters 

ENTJ 

General well-being tips 
- Reading 
- Walking 
- Listening to or playing music 

Work well-being tips 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 
- Align my work goals with my career goals 
- Invest time getting to know my co-workers 

INFP 

General well-being tips 
- Mindfulness techniques 
- Exercise 
- Meditation 

Work well-being tips 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 
- Undertake work where I learn something new 
- Structure my work so I have flexible work hours 

INTP 

General well-being tips 
- Exercise 
- Participating in my religious group 
- Using stress management techniques 

Work well-being tips 
- Undertake work where I learn something new 
- Seek assignments that give me a sense of purpose 
- When needed, help co-workers 

ESTJ 

General well-being tips 
- Walking 
- Listening to or playing music 
- Watching television 

Work well-being tips 
- Align my work with my career goals 
- Undertake work where I learn something new 
- When needed, help co-workers 

ESFJ 

General well-being tips 
- Eating meals with others 
- Reading 
- Mindfulness techniques 

Work well-being tips 
- Invest time getting to know my co-workers 
- Align my work with my career goals 
- Structure my work so I have flexible work hours 

As our research teams dove further into these activities, we found that how people engage in the same well-being activity differs depending upon their personality type.

For example, several Extraverted and Introverted types reported eating meals with others as effective. However the qualitative analysis found Extraverted types enjoy eating with a wide range of family and friends, whereas Introverted types preferred to share meals with family and close friends. 
Basically, a person’s personality type shapes whether they benefit from, and how they engage with, activities to better their well-being and reduce stress. 

Want to learn how to create your own personal stress resilience plan? Check out our recent Facebook Live where we show you the three things you need to know to make your true-to-you stress management plan. 

Stress Resilience Online Course Now Included with MBTIonline.com

Have you already taken the Myers-Briggs assessment through this site? If so, then you have access to a learning course all about stress and your specific personality type. You’ll be able to understand and deal with stress, including how you tend to react in stressful situations and the best way to manage stress for yourself.

Login to MBTIonline.com (the information you used to take the assessment) to start this course and put your MBTI type knowledge into action.