Thriving Under Pressure: Stress Management Skills for New Graduates in Financial Institutions

INTRODUCTION OF THE POST:

According to WHO (2020), work-related stress is most likely to arise from an inappropriate alignment between what people can actually cope with at work and what they actually know or can actually do. Thus, the initial foray into the world of work is an extremely significant and difficult step for fresh college majors. This is particularly true in a finance company, where there is a multicultural setting, extremely stressful work, and high performance levels. For fresh recruits, it would mean learning to cope with work-related stress associated with very limited practical experience, extensive work, close deadlines, and acclimatization to a culturally diverse and tightly controlled organizational culture. According to Aderibigbe et al., (2020), which examined the effects of work experience and educational attainment on the level of stress among over 1,500 Nigerian graduates in diverse fields of the economy, findings showed that those with more work experience reported higher levels of occupational stress compared to those with less work experience. Consequently, dealing with stress not only involves individual physiological aspects but is also essential in work performance as the key to successful assimilation within the work environment.

1. Expressing Feelings

For newly graduated individuals, unfamiliar tasks, the feeling of having high expectations, and issues concerning communication at the workplace are very common. This means that newly graduated individuals can freely express their feelings, concerns, and struggles at the workplace with colleagues and superiors.

Furthermore, according to the Lazarus and Folkman (1997) Stress and Coping Transaction Model  stress originates from an individual's perception of an event and their strategies of how they deal with it. Emotionally expressive coping with emotions, for example, conversations with workmates, bosses, or even friends, can be effective in reducing stressed feelings triggered by work situations. Thus, for an employee experiencing new job challenges, discussing the situations will be better addressed with an aim of getting either reassurance, constructive criticism, or helpful instructions. Apart from reducing mental pressure, the strategy will help boost clarity and understanding at work. Expressing emotions at work will also help reduce misinterpretation of work communication, especially in a multicultural working environment.

From a theoretical perspective, this strategy is strongly reinforced by the Emotional Intelligence (EI) theory (Bhardwaj et al., 2012). It focuses on self-awareness and knowing how to express emotions as important skills to help one understand and control his or her emotions effectively. The fresh graduates with high emotional intelligence are capable of expressing their emotions in a work-related manner and thus will decrease stress and improve adaptability in the work environment.

2. Knowing One’s Strengths

This awareness of their professional skills and excellent soft skills will boost the confidence of recent graduates to tackle issues in the workplace. By appreciating personal strengths, new employees will know what their areas of strength are, so that instead of comparing themselves to others who may be more experienced, they will not feel inferior and will retain a good perspective of themselves (Advani, 2024). In a multicultural work environment, confidence in one's strengths will lead to clearer communication and more effective participation in international teams.

According to the "Self-efficacy Theory" researched by Bandura (1997), it is emphasized that people who believe in their abilities handle stressful situations better (Eastman et al., 1984). Therefore, beginners would also need to identify their strengths and capitalize on them, resulting in an increased ability to deal with work requirements and communicate with international counterparts confidently.

3. Following a Schedule

A structured working schedule is very important for graduates as they move from a learning environment into a working setting. By setting daily and weekly schedules, graduates would be able to get a better perspective of their tasks and manage their working hours better. A working schedule enables the graduate to categorize tasks based on priority levels and avoid being overwhelmed at work.

“Time management theory” provides the appropriate context that effective time planning and allocation enhances an individual's ability to control their work (Macan et al., 1990). As a result, when worktime responsibilities are in the hands of an individual, he/she experiences reduced levels of stress and increased work satisfaction. When new graduates work in financial institutions, strict observation of work schedules enables them to have better deadlines, thus decreasing stress resulting from work accumulation and a sense of being short of time.

4. Organize work efficiently and create detailed plans.

Effective work organization and detailed planning are crucial for financial organizations, where tasks are highly interdependent, tightly managed, and often require coordination across multiple departments and cultural contexts; therefore, individual performance alone is insufficient to guarantee overall effectiveness. Belbin's Group Role Model emphasizes that effective teamwork depends on achieving a balance between complementary roles within the group, not solely on individual productivity (Belbin & Brown, 2022). It also highlights how different behavioral roles such as ideation, evaluation, coordination, execution, and quality control contribute to group success, thereby helping teams better manage complex financial tasks to maintain high levels of accuracy and accountability when these roles are clearly defined and allocated.

Furthermore, by focusing on role-based contributions rather than personality traits or cultural background, this model helps minimize role conflict and foster mutual respect among team members, thereby helping employees, especially recent graduates, understand not only their individual responsibilities but also how their contributions align with the broader goals of the team and organization.

For recent graduates still developing their job planning skills, clearly defining roles and cross-cultural communication are essential to reduce workplace stress, as new employees often feel anxious due to uncertainty about expectations, overlapping responsibilities, or fear of making mistakes in a high-risk financial environment. According to Levinson et al. (1965), unclear roles and expectations are a major source of stress in organizations; therefore, improving role clarity helps alleviate psychological pressure and enhance job satisfaction. In this context, effective work organization and detailed planning help improve operational efficiency and support the smoother integration of new graduates into multicultural financial organizations. By clearly understanding their specific roles within the team and communicating effectively across cultural boundaries, new employees can contribute more confidently, collaborate more effectively, and adapt more quickly to the professional environment.

5. Work-Life Balance

Learning how to balance work and life is crucial for managing workplace stress and maintaining long-term productivity, especially for fresh graduates. Organizations often have high workloads, tight schedules, and high performance pressures, which can make it difficult for newcomers to establish healthy boundaries between work and personal life. According to Work-Life Balance Theory, prolonged work-life imbalance drains energy and emotional well-being, leading to mental exhaustion, reduced concentration, and impaired communication (Bello & Tanko, 2020). The risk is even higher for recent graduates who must adapt to organizational expectations and work culture, often leading to work overload.

Furthermore, individuals who are proactive in managing these two aspects will experience fewer role conflicts and less stress in their lives (Bello & Tanko, 2020). In multicultural financial organizations, where workplace cultural norms are prevalent, cultural diversity is possible, making work-life balance even more crucial. Clearly defining factors such as working hours, breaks, and separating work-related communication time from personal time can help adapt more effectively to the pace and cultural norms of the organization, thereby reducing stress, supporting smoother integration, enhancing cross-cultural communication, and promoting sustainable career development within financial organizations.

6. Learn to say “No”

Many new employees experience stress because they feel pressured to accept a variety of different tasks to prove their competence, thus becoming immersed in self-created busyness. According to Altucher and Altucher (2014), “When you say yes to something you don’t want to do, the result is that you hate what you’re doing, you resent the person who asked you to, and you hurt yourself.” Therefore, for a new employee or someone new to the company culture, learning to say “no” can help reduce work stress by allowing them to choose what is important, thereby creating space to “breathe” and focus on the most important tasks.

Learning to say “no” begins with self-reflection, understanding one’s own capabilities to determine if they can help, if they can do it, or simply if helping would affect their schedule. Most people are afraid to refuse others for fear of offending them and ruining a previously good relationship (Altucher and Altucher, 2014). However, learn to say no and don't overthink it to avoid affecting your personal life and work. This will help you improve at work and reduce stress in a new business environment. Furthermore, the "gap" created can be a time to learn and adapt to the pace of the business, thereby enhancing your ability to adjust to the work environment.

REFERENCES 

Altucher, J., Altucher, C., 2014. The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness. Hay House, Inc.

Belbin, R.M., Brown, V., 2022. Team Roles at Work. Taylor & Francis.

Bello, Z., PHD, Tanko, G.I., PHD, 2020. Review of Work-Life Balance Theories. GATR Global Journal of Business Social Sciences Review 8, 217–227. https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2020.8.4(3)

Levinson, H., Kahn, R.L., Wolfe, D.M., Quinn, R.P., Snoek, J.D., Rosenthal, R.A., 1965. Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. Administrative Science Quarterly 10, 125. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391654 

World Health Organization. Occupational health: Stress at the workplace. 2020 Oct 19 https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/ccupational-health-stressat-the-workplace.

Aderibigbe JK, Nwokolo EE, Solomon O. Occupational stress among some Nigerian graduate employees: The impact of work experience and education. Cogent Psychol. 2020 Aug 10; 7(1):1802948. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.1802948

Macan, T., Shahani, C., & Dipboye, R. (1990). College students’ time management: Correlations with academic performance and stress. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-13852-001

Park, C., & Folkman, S. (1997). Meaning in the context of stress and coping. Review of General Psychology. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/1089-2680.1.2.115

Bhardwaj, G., Boyatzis, R., & Caruso, D. (2012). Emotional Intelligence: Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3d5007a7aec675a3c1a0f1aca9859f198aee283c