Job stress. Be careful of your health!!

Stress at work is a relatively new phenomenon of modern lifestyles. The nature of work has gone through drastic changes over the last century and it is still changing at whirlwind speed. They have touched almost all professions, starting from an artist to a surgeon, or a commercial pilot to a sales executive. With change comes stress, inevitably. Professional stress or job stress poses a threat to physical health.

Job stress is a chronic disease caused by conditions in the workplace that negatively affect an individual’s performance and/or overall well-being of his body and mind.

The signs of job stress

The signs vary from person to person, depending on the particular situation, how long the individual has been subjected to the stressors, and the intensity of the stress itself. Typical symptoms of job stress can be:

Stage 1 - speeding up, talking too quickly, working at high speed without tiring, eating and drinking faster.

Stage 2 - irritability, gastric symptoms, tension, headache and migraine, insomnia, loss of energy, using ‘comfort tricks’ such as alcohol, smoking, excessive sweating, unusually slow recovery from minor illness, etc.

Stage 3 - ‘cotton wool headache’, gastric ulceration, chest pains, cardiac incident, depression and anxiety, physical or mental breakdown, tiredness and lack of energy.

Studies in the world

The findings from a long-running study involving more than 10,000 British civil servants also suggest stress-induced biological changes may play a more direct role than previously thought, said Tarani Chandola, an epidemiologist at University College London. Heart disease is the world’s leading cause of death. It is caused by fatty deposits that harden and block arteries, high blood pressure which damages blood vessels, and other factors. In the study, stressed workers also had lowered heart rate variability — a sign of a poorly-functioning weak heart — and higher-than-normal levels of cortisol, a “stress” hormone that provides a burst of energy for a fight-or-flight response. Too much cortisol circulating in the blood stream can damage blood vessels and the heart, Chandola said.

The number of people who committed suicide or tried to in Japan because of work-related stress has doubled in the last five years, a government report said, illustrating the growing anxiety many here feel from increased workloads and competition. More than one-third of them reported working between 80 and 100 hours of overtime a month, with another 25 percent saying they worked between 100 and 120 hours of overtime monthly. About 10 percent of them did more than 160 hours of overtime, or an average of five extra hours a day, including the weekend.

Work is the leading stressor for U.S. adults, according to the American Institute of Stress. Consider these statistics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health:

- Forty percent of workers report that their job is very or extremely stressful.

- Twenty-five percent of workers view their job as the number one stressor in their life.

- Seventy-five percent of workers believe that employees today have more on-the-job stress than those of the last generation.

Stress can make you sick. “Stress may increase your vulnerability to almost any illness, partly by disrupting everything from your appetite to your sleep patterns,” say the experts at MayoClinic.com.

Causes of stress

Job stress may be caused by a complex set of reasons. Some of the most visible causes of workplace stress are:

Job Insecurity

Organized workplaces are going through metamorphic changes under intense economic transformations and consequent pressures. Reorganizations, takeovers, mergers, downsizing and other changes have become major stressors for employees, as companies try to live up to the competition to survive. These reformations have put demand on everyone, from a CEO to a mere executive.

High Demand for Performance

Unrealistic expectations, especially in the time of corporate reorganizations, which, sometimes, puts unhealthy and unreasonable pressures on the employee, can be a tremendous source of stress and suffering. Increased workload, extremely long work hours and intense pressure to perform at peak levels all the time for the same pay, can actually leave an employees physically and emotionally drained. Excessive travel and too much time away from family also contribute to an employee’s stressors.

Technology

The expansion of technology—computers, pagers, cell phones, fax machines and the Internet—has resulted in heightened expectations for productivity, speed and efficiency, increasing pressure on the individual worker to constantly operate at peak performance levels. Workers working with heavy machinery are under constant stress to remain alert. In this case both the worker and their family members live under constant mental stress. There is also the constant pressure to keep up with technological breakthroughs and improvisations, forcing employees to learn new software all the times.

Workplace Culture

Adjusting to the workplace culture, whether in a new company or not, can be intensely stressful. Making oneself adapt to the various aspects of workplace culture such as communication patterns, hierarchy, dress code if any, workspace and most importantly working and behavioral patterns of the boss as well as the co-workers, can be a lesson of life. Maladjustment to workplace cultures may lead to subtle conflicts with colleagues or even with superiors. In many cases office politics or gossips can be major stress inducers.

Personal or Family Problems

Employees going through personal or family problems tend to carry their worries and anxieties to the workplace. When one is in a depressed mood, his unfocused attention or lack of motivation affects his ability to carry out job responsibilities.

Job Stress and Women

Women may suffer from mental and physical harassment at workplaces, apart from the common job stress. Sexual harassment in workplace has been a major source of worry for women, since long. Women may suffer from tremendous stress such as ‘hostile work environment harassment’, which is defined in legal terms as ‘offensive or intimidating behavior in the workplace’. This can consist of unwelcome verbal or physical conduct. These can be a constant source of tension for women in job sectors. Also, subtle discriminations at workplaces, family pressure and societal demands add to these stress factors.

Self-help for the individual

A person suffering from work-related stress can help themselves in a number of ways, including:

- Think about the changes you need to make at work in order to reduce your stress levels, then take action. Some changes you can manage yourself, while others will need the cooperation of others.
- Talk over your concerns with your employer or human resources manager.
- Make sure you are well organised. List your tasks in order of priority. Schedule the most difficult tasks of each day for times when you are fresh, such as first thing in the morning.
- Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
- Consider the benefits of regular relaxation. You could try meditation or yoga.
- Make sure you have enough free time to yourself every week.
- Don’t take out your stress on loved ones. Instead, tell them about your work problems and ask for their support and suggestions.
- Drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, won’t alleviate stress and can cause additional health problems. Avoid excessive drinking and smoking.
- Seek professional counselling from a psychologist.
- If work-related stress continues to be a problem, despite your efforts, you may need to consider another job or else a career change. Seek advice from a career counsellor or psychologist.

Fighting Stress With Food

Food is often a convenient, easy remedy for stress on the job. And a poor diet can be just as dangerous as smoking or drinking. “Virtually all foods have ‘drug-like’ effects — they can improve your health or destroy it,” says Bill Phillips in his book “Body for Life.”

Use food to help fight stress. A healthy diet consists of stress-busting foods such as oily fish, nuts (especially walnuts), fruit and whole grains. Fuel up on foods rich in Vitamin C too, such as dark, leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.

Rather than having a big lunch mid-day, consider eating small meals. Eating more frequently helps keep your energy level constant. And be sure to get eight hours of sleep each night. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to feel stressed and overwhelmed.

Work Out At Work

Exercise is one of the most effective stress-busters around.

Try to incorporate regular exercise into your life before or after work. There are even exercises you can do at work to help fight stress.

A few times during the day, make a point to get up from your desk and walk around. Run an errand, take a walk outside, even stroll around the office — just get moving.

You can also do some basic stretching exercises several times a day. Reach your arms over your head and stretch, twist at the waist in your chair a few times or even just roll your neck slowly from shoulder to shoulder repeatedly.

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