Job Related Stress

The alarm is ringing. You pull yourself out of bed only to realize that it's Monday morning and it is time to head back to another week full of work. Maybe you feel yourself becoming exhausted at just the thought of returning back to work or maybe you feel energized and ready to conqueror the day. If you are the type of person who dreads the thought of returning and can feel your whole body rebelling against going back to work than you just may have some job related stress issues going on.

Job related stress can be considered a chronic disease, yes a disease! It can be caused by negative conditions in the work environment that affect the person's well being of mind and body as well as performance. Job related stress can become so harmful that it becomes disabling and psychiatric help may be required (Source 1). That doesn't sound like too much fun at all and just being in the situation may lead to more stress. If you are experiencing family conflict, depression, insomnia, severe frustration, anxiety, are unable to concentrate mentally, or have a physical illness (backaches, headaches, stomach aches, or heat disease) then you may have stress related to your job (Source 1). The symptoms vary from person to person as each person deals with stress in different ways and people also come from different working environments.

There are many different causes of job related stress and knowing which of them are causing you stress is a great step to being able to take control to reduce the amount of stress you are experiencing. Some causes are personal problems (it is easy to carry over problems into the work environment), technology (with technology comes the expectation of everything being done quickly and accurately), job insecurity (it is next to impossible to not feel stress if you feel like you are going to lose your job all the time, demand for high-level performance (travel time, workload increased, or overtime are all going to affect stress related to your job), and culture of the workplace (feelings of not fitting in with the team can cause stress to increase at the job) (Source 1).

If you are experiencing any job related stress on a day to day basis it is very important that you find a way to deal with the stress you are experiencing even if it means quitting and finding a new job. If the stress continues it will become difficult to make clear decisions, recognize what you are seeking out of life, and wasting time in unproductive/dangerous activities (risk takers) (Source 1). If that's not bad enough you will also start to suffer physically. Stress causes our body to quicken our pulse, tense our muscles, sharpen our senses, and deepen respiration-similar to the "flight or fight" response. Experiencing stress in little doses does not involve many risks, but if you experience stress over and over day by day (such is the case with job related stress) your body remains in constant "flight or fight" stance. Eventually your body is going to become exhausted leading to many negative effects such as workplace injuries, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, physiological disorders, ulcers, suicide, depression, and decrease in the immune system (Source 2).

You can reduce your stress level in many ways once you find what works best for you. If you think you are experiencing job related stress try taking a break (just walk away and give yourself a moment to calm down), listen to peaceful music, start a support group with your co-workers, acknowledge your achievements, get a good night sleep, or try visualizing you are someplace nice and relaxing. If those don't work try talking to management about how you can feel more in control of your job maybe by be giving more choices in decisions, not having an overload of work, having a say in important decisions or if the environment is that bad simply quitting may be your best option. If job related stress is a chronic problem for you then you should seek our professional health before the consequences start affecting your health.

Stress is going to be everywhere you go, but the way it affects to you is up to you. You are in control if you are willing to recognize the signs and take action in ways to reduce/eliminate stress. I myself experienced job related stress and I tried many different courses of action. In the end I decided it was just time to move on and believe me life will still go on. There are many other jobs out there or maybe you will be lucky enough to have a boss that cares. The point is don't ignore your stress rather it's related to work or other issues-your health is at risk if you do. Please see my sources for additional information.

Sources:

1.) Unknown. "Stress at Work". LivePostivite.com. Unknown. http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/psychology/stress/stress-at-work.asp. 2 October, 2008.

2.) Government. "Health and the Workplace". Medicinenet. Unknown. http://www.medicinenet.com/health_and_the_workplace/article.htm. 2 October, 2008.