QThe greater the professional experience accumulated over the years, the greater the confidence that one is capable of producing positive results in their work environment and better resolving occupational conflicts. In this sense, psychologist Arlete Portella Fontes defends, in her master's thesis “Coping with stress at work in adulthood”, a more attentive look and the need for organizations to value more mature professionals with greater experience. . She explains that it is currently common to observe the overvaluation of young workers at the expense of older ones. “I argue that organizations should merge their staff. On one side there are young people boldly acting on their ideals, offering agility and familiarity with new technologies and, on the other, older people with cognitive and emotional specialization. The first obtained due to the experience acquired in work processes and the other, due to the prioritization of emotional bonds, avoiding negative emotions and valuing positive ones”, explains the psychologist.

Maturity brings better coping with stress at work

In his opinion, more experienced workers are better able to cope with occupational stress when supported by their efficacy beliefs, that is, believing in their competence to deal with stressors and in their ability to act as an agent in their work. Experience makes them prioritize what to do, planning and execution, always evaluating actions and reviewing the results, which means greater care with the actions undertaken. In this way, the research presented in the Gerontology Program at the Faculty of Education wanted, precisely, to show the universe that guides work relationships, by gathering dozens of data on 71 service leaders in companies in the electrical sector.

In addition to researching the typical reasons for stress in this work environment, Arlete also sought to establish what relationships could be made between age, position, experience in the position and coping. “Aging and the exhaustion caused by work require understanding these relationships between age, experience and how occupational stress is faced by workers who are aging in their work environment”, she comments.

The target audience of the study works in a highly stressful environment. These are individuals who lead maintenance teams for high voltage electrical networks, sometimes working with energized networks. They are subject to falls and electrical risks, not to mention the overload of work to repair the networks, mainly due to shutdowns occurring during storms. “On these occasions, the customer becomes demanding and there is often an overload of work to quickly restore power, especially for hospitals, industries and schools. Ultimately, this is a profession with imminent risks,” he explains.

The population studied is made up of engineers and distribution technicians, who are aging at work, with 67% over the age of 40 and having more than five years of experience. Only 30% of team leaders are young people with less than two years on the job, a fact that shows the organization's investment in renewing its staff. The research identified a high level of stress perceived by the majority of workers. On a scale of 1 to 10, the indicated level was 7. The main stressors found were those related to the organization, specific to the tasks and related to people management.

Beliefs – According to Arlete Fontes, if experience makes professionals more capable of resolving conflicts, the belief in their ability to overcome everyday challenges may become more important than the strategy used to cope. For the psychologist, who has worked in the field of work psychology for more than 20 years, belief is essential to guarantee coping with stress. “The sense that one is capable would be supported by one's own resources such as knowledge, skill and effort”, she argues. Therefore, she advocates the adoption of proactive skills to stimulate quality of life in companies. “The performance must be prior and continuous, through the development of personal beliefs to maintain levels of competence, combined with skills that favor competent aging at work. In this aspect, organizations play a fundamental role in valuing strategies that effectively guarantee the quality of life of their workers”, she argues.