Stress on the Job
Perhaps it's due to a boss who seems to be making unreasonable
demands. Or it's the result of a co-worker who seems to
routinely pass her work onto you. Or maybe you're in a
profession where tension is great, such as medicine or law.
While a little bit of stress on the job can be healthy, too much
can be a killer--literally. It's been shown that there appears
to be a direct correlation between stress and heart disease.
As a result of this, it is important that you learn to deal
effectively with stress on the job. This can be difficult,
because a number of stress-inducing factors may be out of your
control. For instance, you have no say in who your boss is or
who your customers are. You may not be able to determine when
you start your day, or how much time you have for lunch.
However, it is important for you to recognize that job stress is
a serious health problem.
The statistics tell the story. A study conducted in 1999
discovered that we are working longer hours. In fact, the
average number of hours on the job have increased eight percent
in just one generation---to 47 hours a week. One out of five of
us works as much as 49 hours a week. We are a nation of
workaholics. This can cause a great deal of stress, not only on
the job, but on the homefront as well.
A number of divorces are attributed each year to the workaholic
syndrome. To put things in perspective, consider this: the
average American works three months more each year than workers
in Germany. The U.S. leads the industrialized world in the
number of hours worked. The workplace has become so competitive
in the U.S. that some employees compare it to the reality TV
program known as "Survivor."
In order to help reduce your stress on the job, you need to
make a realistic assessment of your hours. Is it possible for
you to cut back and still perform your duties? Are you wasting
time on the job that would be better spent at home? Can you
delegate some of your duties to someone else in the office? If
you design a more workable work schedule, you might find your
job-related stress decreasing significantly.
It is entirely possible that you will actually become ill
working those extra hours. Over a four-year period, from 1996 to
2000, the proportion of employees taking sick time due to stress
rose by three fold. Each day, as many as a million American
workers have called in sick because they are under too much
stress. This absenteeism is costing American companies
money--and making workplaces less productive.
Americans are also feeling stressed out because they no longer
think they're jobs are secure. Over a ten year period, the
number of employees who were afraid they would become unemployed
doubled. And a survey conducted in the year 2000 discovered that
half of all workers worried that they could lose their jobs. The
dot.com burst, corporate bankruptcies, and massive layoffs have
scared the American workforce.
With little job security, workers live in fear of being tossed
onto the unemployment line. A number of people have come to
realize that they cannot expect to retire from the company for
which they are now working. Therefore, they may have little
allegiance to their companies, resulting in stress for both
bosses and employees.
It would be wonderful if the economy could be changed so that
long-term employment at a single company was still possible, but
that may be wishful thinking. As a result, workers need to try
to lessen their stress--knowing that they may be in a volatile
position. For many workers, this might mean making sure that
they contribute to a 401-K plan so that they have money socked
away for retirement.
For others, it might mean starting their own businesses so that
they do not have to rely on someone else for their employment.
If you try to be proactive, chances are you will lessen your
stress level. You have to realize that you are ultimately
responsible for your own fate. If you are in the driver's seat,
you will feel a sense of control which could lessen your stress
level considerably.