The Impact of Job Stress & How to Get Help

In today's world it seems most people are experiencing some degree of work stress. To help understand what type of impact job stress can have on someone and for tips on how to get help for job stress, I have interviewed psychotherapist Phyllis J. Bonds, MS, NCC, LMHC, LCAC.

Tell me a little bit about yourself:

"I have a graduate degree from Indiana University. I am currently in private practice on a full-time basis. A large percentage of my clients come as a result of job stress and its affect on their entire life."

What type of impact can job stress have on someone's overall life?

"Let's begin by attempting to define stress in general and job stress in particular." The American Heritage College Dictionary defines stress as "a mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression; a state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain." The Oxford Food & Fitness Dictionary has a simpler definition. Stress is "a psychological condition occurring when individuals feel unable to cope with the demands being made on them."

Using the above definitions and for the purpose of this interview, I will define job stress as, the emotional response of employees to the demands put on them in the workplace to which they have a lack of control and/or involvement in the decisions that are affecting them.

Job stress impacts all aspects of a person's life. It can lead to serious health problems, relationship and family issues, exacerbated by low self-esteem and other serious emotional problems such as anxiety and depression. Major signs of stress are moodiness, excessive worry, irritability, social withdrawal, and difficulty relaxing, concentrating and focusing. Other indicators are too much or too little sleep or appetite, gastrointestinal distress, neglecting duties, chest or neck pains and rapid heartbeat. An increase of alcohol or drug use and nervous habits are also common symptoms.

When workers are experiencing severe job stress and the resulting symptoms, they become difficult to work with, live with and associate with. They often become withdrawn, have intense mood swings, have a lack of energy or desire to do anything more than go to work, which they begin to detest.

Today's face-paced society brings about a level of stress in and of itself. Living in an urban area also increases the level of stress that one lives with on a daily basis. Recent studies indicate that self-reported work-related stress has increased over the last fifteen years.

In the workplace, most employees strive to do a good job. However, when they are faced with impending failure, by not being able to meet the demands made upon them, their level of stress automatically increases, namely because their failure will bring about significant consequences. The most stressful jobs are those that require a consistently high level of performance, have strict hours and rigid procedures, excessive repetitiveness, little chance for incorporating new skills and little to no participation in decision making. It used to be said that the least prestigious and lowest level jobs were the most stressful. However, today, because of the economic "crisis," job stress occurs at all levels. Employers want, and expect, more and more out of fewer and fewer employees.

Stress affects people in various ways as noted above. Some people have a considerable number of symptoms while others may have only a few. Workers who are having a difficult time managing a high level of stress on their jobs are most often experiencing stress in other areas of their lives. Job stress is such a pervasive problem because work consumes such a large portion of our daily lives as well as controls our economic status and often our self-worth. The nine-to-five workday and the five day work week are becoming less and less common for both men and women. This shift in the hours of work in and of itself causes a great deal of life stress because there is now the issue of not only daytime childcare but before and after school care, meals, homework, extracurricular activities and heaven forbid an emergency arises. As a therapist I am seeing more and more clients who have no "natural" outside support systems such as nearby relatives. Please don't think that single people are exempt from job stress because they aren't. They just have other life issues such as dating and relationships, school, family expectations, more work demands because they are single, etc.

In my opinion, stress from work has escalated in recent years for a number of reasons. The major reasons are:

Increased technology '" The advent of the computer has not only changed how we do business but also in the time employers expect work to be completed as well as the time in which they can tell what has or has not been done.

Corporate greed '" Profit before personalities. In other words, it's all about the money being made by the business at the expense of the workers. It seems that the common attitude now is that, "if you can't perform, there's someone else waiting for your job."

24/7 work cycles '" People are working shifts around the clock, more than five days per week and more than eight hours per day.

Increase in the basic cost of living '" The basic cost of living (housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, other necessities, and taxes) has increased tremendously over the past few years.

Change in management theory -- Someone somewhere found out that increased stress increases productivity. What they have failed to remember, or point out, is that this is only up to a point, because when that point is reached, things rapidly deteriorate. The other thing they have failed to remember is that the point at which stress no longer is productive differs for each person.

What are some tips for overcoming job stress?

"The following are some tips for overcoming job stress:

1. Maintain work/life balance and maximize your time off.

2. Get professional help when you FIRST begin to feel overwhelmed.

3. Be willing to say NO when job demands are too much or unreasonable.

4. Take breaks at work, mental and physical.

5. Budget your finances."

What type of professional help is available for someone that has a difficult time overcoming job stress?

"There is the EAP (Employee Assistance Programs), independent professional therapists, mental health centers and pastors that can help anyone that is having a difficult time overcoming job stress."

Thank you Phyllis for doing the interview on the impact of job stress and how to get help. For more information on Phyllis J. Bonds or her work you can check out her website at www.bondscounselingsolutions.com.