Saturday, May 29, 2010

Stress At Work - What To Do About It

By Mark Walters

While going to work may give us income, structure, and a sense of pride, it can also cause a lot of worry and stress. While some pressure at work is necessary to make our work fulfilling and to make us more productive, stress happens when the pressure is excessive and / or continuous and we do not have adequate recovery time. The primary cause of employee exercised sick leave is often work-related stress. In fact, studies have demonstrated that as many as one in six individuals indicated their jobs were exceedingly stressful.

Most stress from work is the result of many smaller situations that build up over time, although work-related stress may also be triggered by a sudden or unexpected event. There are a number of factors that can make you feel stressed at work, including poor working conditions, long working hours, relationships with colleagues, lack of job security, mismatch between the requirements of the job and your own capabilities and needs, too much or too little responsibility.

You can experience physical and emotional and mental problems due to work-related stress. Stress may cause physical symptoms such as digestive issues, sweating, headaches, difficulty sleeping, backaches, and tiredness. You may become disinterested in sex, lack motivation, have difficulty concentrating, feel overwhelmed, irritable, experience mood swings and shifts in emotionality, as well as difficulty eating or eating too much. All of these can indicate work-related stress.

Since you cannot completely eliminate pressure at work, it is important to know how to effectively handle stress. If you are trying to learn to deal with stress on the job, consider these three strategies...

- Changing how we react to an event that causes stress

- Lower the impact on your body from stress

- Educate yourself on other ways you can manage stress

If you have tried to cope with your work-related stress but your situation has not improved, you may need to consult with a specialist. Do not resist seeing someone because you believe this indicates weakness. It is weak to simply sit and pretend there is no problem. It takes strength to solve your problem. Your doctor will be able to spot the physical symptoms of work-related stress and they will also help you identify the causes of stress, give advice on relaxation techniques and / or refer you to a counselor.

If you feel that your stress is a result of being bullied or harassed then you need to speak to your company's human resources or personnel department. You should not have to be the victim on the job. That is not a good situation. Most companies have policies outlining appropriate behavior, which specify the measures to take in these situations. These policies restrict the treatment of their employees and demand that everyone be respected. If your manager does not seem to be taking your complaint seriously, then you must press forward because you are legally protected. You do not need your manager to take action.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Search This Blog