How to Deal with Work Stress and Job Change by Personality Type

Talked to someone this week who was really disturbed and angry about changes in the large organization this person works for. The 70 year old organization is finding it needs to change with the times; in some ways very drastic.

The bigger the organization, the bigger the impact and the harder it is to make change within the organization. Certain types of personalities become more stressed by change than others and are less able to cope. Those who find changes stressful do so for different reasons, depending on their personality.

Check out "In the Grip" by Naomi Quenk. She describes these differences in behavior and reactions in the context of when a person is in the grip of stress.

The book "In the Grip Understanding Type, Stress, and the Inferior Function" by Naomi L. Quenk explains the part of our personalities that bubble up during times of stress, fatigue, and illness. She examines what triggers it for each of the 16 MBTI personality types and how these different types expressed it.


I have found that an understanding of personality types and the normal behavior for a given type helps me recognize a person is overly stressed. There can actually be 8 different patterns of anxiety symptoms to chose from, base on personality type.

A stressed person doesn't act his or her "normal" self. We can actually be so stressed to the point that we act the opposite of our norm and we don't feel "ourselves". This can be what is often referred to in exasperation as a feeling that we or someone else has gone "crazy".

This video one tip, Stress Tip #1 for anyone's stress management.

Here is a book, at the right, that my organization is reading. I have found it a provides a way to begin to see how I can positively engage in inevitable change always happening in organizations.

I've heard some say it is one of the most important business books published during the last several years. When read and digested carefully there is additional information and assistance to obtain at a specific online site. 


Here are a few books that deal with the stress of change in our lives.