Chronic stress affects the physical and emotional status of the individual. Physically, chronic stress can manifest in the form of back pain, headaches, enhanced cardiovascular reactivity, fatigue, insomnia, to name just a few. Emotionally, the impact is typically depression and anxiety. Susan found herself in chronic stress and was able to recognize that she needed help and with the help of a counselor, began to cope. Coping is the antidote for stress. Therefore, a skilled coach can help her through the primary and secondary appraisal process to determine a) is there a threat? and b) if yes, does she have control over the situation and can she minimize the impact of the threat through action? From there, the coach can help her identify and apply healthy coping strategies, which may be both cognitive and emotional (Wheeler, 2007).

Seeking gratification outside the workplace

As discussed earlier with Hall’s protean career, the protean person’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfillment are the unifying or integrative elements in his or her life. It would appear that Hall was speaking directly to work/life balance or integration before the terminology became widely relevant. By defining priorities and values in all aspects of life and developing the identity and adaptability competencies, the individual does several important things. He begins to remove the conflict between work and personal life and allow life to become more fully integrated. This helps make the management of changes and transitions easier for the person, because there is a perception of control thereby shifting the locus of control to internal versus external. Research shows that those with a higher sense of internal locus of control tend to feel more in charge with their lives. They tend to see events as being a result of their own actions and decisions, whereas a higher sense of external locus of control may be more of a fatalistic view of the events and world around. There are, of course, pros and cons associated with each locus of control, and it is not unlikely that a person has a degree of both internal and external locus of control; however, we propose that for those in the organizational underground that a higher internal locus of control is needed for greater adaptability, persistence, and emotional well being.

Additionally, we propose that it is healthy for those in the young adult through maturity stages of the life cycle to intentionally seek gratifying work, interest, and activities in all aspects of life. Time and energy are finite which makes the importance of intentional decisions about areas dispensing time and energy very critical. The inclusion of time for leisure, physical, home, spiritual, community, etc., in addition to career, is essential for holistic gratification.