Here's Why You Shouldn't Hide Your Stress at Work A new study suggests that looking stressed could lead to stronger social bonds -- and get aggressors to back off.

By Nina Zipkin

Shutterstock

If you're stressed out, even if you feel like nothing's going right, your instinct may be to grin and bear it to make colleagues think you've got everything under control. But despite your efforts to seem calm and collected, the findings of a recent study indicate that showing others you're stressed can actually help build social bonds. At least, it seems to work for our primate friends.

Researchers from England's University of Portsmouth observed the behaviors of a group of rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico over the course of eight months, and they watched for when the monkeys would scratch themselves, a common indicator of stress.

Related: Stress Kills! 5 Ways to Keep Your Stress Levels Low.

They found that the behavior would crop up when the monkeys were around other monkeys that either weren't their friends or held positions of power within the hierarchy. The researchers noticed that a "stress scratching" action decreased the likelihood that the monkey would be attacked.

If a high-ranking monkey approached a monkey of a lower status and that lower-ranking monkey didn't scratch, there was a 75 percent chance that the encounter would end in aggression. But if it did scratch, it had a 50 percent shot of getting out of the encounter without some sort of altercation.

Related: 10 Effective Ways to Beat Stress

Now, clearly a primate community and a human workplace don't share the same kind of stakes, but it seems that there is a lesson here to apply in our interactions with our co-workers. "By revealing stress to others, we are helping them predict what we might do, so the situation becomes more transparent," explained lead researcher Jamie Whitehouse in a summary of the findings. "Transparency ultimately reduces the need for conflict, which benefits everyone and promotes a more socially cohesive group."

A colleague might see that you're looking flustered and offer to help you, think twice before asking you to take on more work or give you some space to focus. So, the next time you think you should keep your stress to yourself, think about how transparency could help your cause rather than harm it.

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.

Growing a Business

5 Risk-Taking Lessons From Founders Who Bet Big and Won

Discover the bold moves and strategic risks that catapulted these entrepreneurs to success. Learn how their fearless decisions can inspire your own path to growth.