Tips for Managing Workplace Stress That Can Save Your Health, Relationships and Well-Being Now

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH STRESS

Are you managing workplace stress? Are you pressured for time and overwhelmed by all you need to get things accomplished?  Do you find yourself anticipating bad things will happen even before your day starts?  Are there certain situations where you find yourself overwhelmed and even burned out? Do you dread encountering certain people in your life? Do you dread that co-worker or customer who always seems to have a dramatic problem?

Stress, including workplace, stress is normal. Productivity and performance will be decreased by excessive stress.  Your health and emotional wellbeing are affected by high levels of stress. Most people recognize that stress can severely affect your interpersonal relationships, often those closest to you.

Your success or failure in your occupation can be substantially impacted by stress in any and all areas of your life.

A 2016 University of California study found that stressful employment in countries where the income is highest contributed to the worldwide epidemic of heart disease. If you think about it, work organization in high income countries can lead to unreasonable demands, low sense of control over work flow, job insecurity, long hours and an imbalance in effort and reward.   The reality is that heart disease is a disease of the modern industrial societies around the world.

Lost sleep due to workplace stress is a factor.  A 2019 study reported by the European Society of Cardiology found that work stress and poor sleep are associated with a three times higher risk of heart disease death in workers with hypertension. The study included 1,959 employees with high blood pressure between the ages of 25 and 65.

Not surprising gender can also play a role in workplace stress.  A 2015 study at Indiana University found that stress exposure of women in mostly male-dominated occupations was problematic.  A major finding was that women in these kinds of occupations were less healthy and displayed fewer desirable patterns of cortisol (stress hormone) throughout the day.  This is related too difficult and negative workplace climates.

STRATEGIES CAN HELP REDUCE WORKPLACE STRESS

It goes without saying the abusive or bullying bosses lead to work stress for all people. The above study and others have demonstrated that the negative social climates encountered by women in male-dominated occupations may be linked to later negative health outcomes for these women.

What are some strategies that work to help neutralize workplace stress?

·       Communicating concerns to leadership at work rather than suppressing feelings has been shown by at least one study to be more helpful than not.

·       Learning how to reduce stress by simple methods like abdominal and diaphragmatic breathing periodically throughout the day can make a big difference in stress build-up.

·       Take a walk.  Between major activities, if possible, move to a different location and walk. Lack of exercise for desk employees is critical to stress reduction and improved health.

·       Consider other employment opportunities. There is no reason to be a square peg in a round hole. Sometimes we need to find alternative employment, improve our skills or return to school for more education and or training.

·       Develop good relationships with one or more people in your work space.  You will feel less isolated and more a part of a team.

·       Consider working with a counselor or stress coach.  Don’t do it alone. Reach out to someone who can help. The skills above and others can be enhanced and further developed.

Don’t suffer alone. Reach out for a FREE Initial consultation to see if we are a good fit.

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REFERENCES

P. L. Schnall, M. Dobson, P. Landsbergis. Globalization, Work, and Cardiovascular Disease. International Journal of Health Services, 2016; 46 (4): 656

Jian Li, Seryan Atasoy, Xioayan Fang, Peter Angerer, Karl-Heinz Ladwig. Combined effect of work stress and impaired sleep on coronary and cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive workers: The MONICA/KORA cohort study. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2019; 204748731983918

Indiana University. "Women in mostly male workplaces exhibit psychological stress response." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 August 2015.

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