Managing Job Stress

Feeling overworked? Join the millions of Americans who are in the same boat. The stress that comes from working longer and harder is giving rise to workers who are less productive and who feel drained and listless. If left untreated, stress can lead to serious health problems, including hypertension, depression, and even weight fluctuation. There is hope, however. With new techniques you can prevent stress from getting the best of you, and in turn, be a better employee.

In reality, small amounts of stress are often beneficial to us, as they motivate us to make changes that improve our lives. But when stress becomes a continual burden it can wreak havoc both at work and at home. There are two main types of stress—acute and chronic. Acute stress is brought on by immediate tasks or anticipating events in the future, such as working too many hours or worrying about a performance review. Chronic stress, however, is often the result of past events, like childhood trauma or unresolved issues. While methods have been developed to treat acute stress, it is best to seek the advice of a trained professional when dealing with chronic stress.

By learning to recognize the symptoms of stress, you can more easily manage it and prevent its recurrence. The general signs of stress include, but are not limited to, fatigue, short temper, a lack of enthusiasm, and a general feeling uneasiness. If these signs persist untreated, more serious health problems can occur. Watch for these clues to see if you’re dealing with stress:

• Insomnia: If you’re lying awake at night, thinking of your work responsibilities, stress could be affecting your sleeping patterns.
• Uncontrollable Emotions: Ever been stuck in traffic and just felt the urge to scream? Maybe you’ve been surprised by something and find yourself unable to stop crying. When you react disproportionately to situations, or display emotions for no reason at all, the cause might be stress.
• Weight Fluctuation: Some people eat and eat when they’re stressed, packing on the pounds. Others deprive themselves of all but the barest necessities to keep functioning. Either way, stress plays a big factor in our diet and digestive issues, and to make matters worse, those who feel overworked often find their work interfering with normal mealtimes, preventing them from getting proper nutrition.
• Body Aches: From that sore lower back to the jaw that clenches up, stress can be at the root of a lot of aches and pains. Stress that causes muscles to clench up can even make you more susceptible to on-the-job injuries.
• Chest Pains/Sweating: Yes, stress can be responsible for heart palpitations, sweating, and chest pains. Don’t mess around with those symptoms—get yourself to a doctor on the double.

These resources may come in handy when dealing with the bouts of stress that attack us from time to time. As with all medical problems, it is best to seek the advice of a professional before proceeding with any medicated treatment. These techniques, however, are simple things we should be doing anyway, but which have been found to be highly useful to combat stress.

• Exercise: It’s as simple as that. A 20-minute walk on a daily basis will help improve your cardiovascular health and make the weight of the world easier to bear. You may even try to squeeze it into your lunch break.
• Relaxation: A simple rest each day can help eliminate stress from your life. Try this: sit in a dark, quiet place for 5-10 minutes, getting as comfortable as you can. Close your eyes and think of something completely unrelated to work, like your dream vacation. After a few weeks you should begin to notice a difference.
• Sleep: Incredibly, Americans on the whole are vastly sleep-deprived. Try to get 8 or 9 hours per night, even if it means you have to go to bed at 9 or 10 PM. Make sleep a habit, not something to make up on the weekends.
• Talk: Talk to friends, family, and medical professionals about what you’re going through. Sometimes just getting things off your chest will make your mind more at ease.

In the end, stressed-out workers are unproductive workers, so if you find your stress affecting your workplace, let your boss know. If the source is your work, try to find a reasonable solution, like cutting your hours down, working on a different project, or taking a sabbatical. By pinpointing the sources of your stress and then addressing them, you will be on your way toward better mental and physical health, and a better work life.