Stress at work can change your voice?!

A recent study revealed that stress at work can change your voice.

Researchers at the University of Augsburg and Universität des Saarlandes completed a study that tracked/monitored individuals’ voices. By measuring tones and vocal changes, the study revealed that voices do change when a person is under stress. The researchers find that vocal changes can be monitored to measure everyday stress levels and even provide “an early warning signal of stress-related health consequences”.

How was the study done?

For a week, researchers analysed voice messages each day from just over 100 participants. Using a special software designed to monitor changes in tones of voice, the participants are asked questions about their days, and researchers observed vocal changes. The findings are that when the participants spoke about a situation or general day that caused them to be stressed, they were more likely to speak with more intensity and to speak faster.

What is the science behind it?

The voice study illuminated that stress can “stimulate the production of adrenalin and cortisol”, and suggested that adrenalin and cortisol could cause tension on the vocal cords. It also found a particularly notable link between intense work stress and vocal intensity and speaking speed.

Why is this significant?

When we communicate with others, a very small part of our communication is through language. Non-verbal communication through things like body language and tone of voice communicate to others how we are feeling. If you are feeling very stressed, your voice is likely affected. In other words, just as the software picked up on vocal changes in the study, other people are probably picking up on your stress too. Our tone of voice is often as communicative as the things we are saying, sometimes even more so, but we rarely notice our voices changing.

Is technology the answer?

While it can be difficult for us to observe changes in our tone of voice, it is much easier for software to pick up on changes. Not only does this study demonstrate that these things can be picked up on by technology, but it opens up the debate of whether health monitoring software/tools could be beneficial. For example, it can be easy to get wrapped up in stress, without taking a step back and reflecting on how you are feeling. However, stress can have a detrimental effect on your mental, and physical health, so software such as this could help identify problems and make it easier for you to make interventions. The good thing about software like this is that it is impartial- just as it can be difficult to observe changes in yourself, it can be difficult to observe changes in your loved ones that you see regularly, particularly if they occur slowly over time. Could technology like this be beneficial?