Workplace Issues: One of the Causes of Stress

Work is sometimes referred to as “the sum of our existence.” Work is why we get up early in the morning and go home late at night. It is what consumes most of our energies. We need to have jobs, to avoid idleness, have sense of purpose, and to survive in today's world. Work utilizes our talents, supports our family's needs and wants. However, work is also where we tend to be stressed out, with related issues making us feel weak, and in some cases, it gives us some anxiety panic attacks.

It is mostly at the office we spend our waking hours. It is there that the potential for conflict is high. You get to meet difficult people, you have an “impossible” and difficult boss, and you might encounter someone trying to make a move on the same position you've been eying for the past six months. Temptations abound in the office.

The long hours, the threats of being laid-off and workplace bullying can cause harmful emotional and physical responses. These things can happen whenever there is a conflict between job demands and work relationship with other people. In retrospect, the high demands of a particular job and the knowledge that we don't have any control over the situation often leads to stress.

Stress produces strain, disrupts equilibrium, and it can be said to be the source of many number of emotional, physical, economic and social problems. The stress from our work could be from countless hours in overtime, cutbacks on our privileges, and the pressure to perform to an exacting standard. Prolonged workplace stress leads to absenteeism, sickness, dissatisfaction, make one irritable, rash with their decisions and reduced job efficiency.

The National Institute For Occupational Mental Health report cites the following about workplace stress:

1.         25% view their jobs as the number one causes of stress in their lives

2.         Three-fourths of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago

3.         26% of workers said they were “felt burned out often” by their job

4.         Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial problems

SYMPTOMS OF WORKPLACE STRESS

-           Aching muscles

-           Restless sleep

-           Fatigue

-           Loss of appetite

-           Irritability

-           Low morale

-           Headache

-           Upset stomach

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Follow the tips below to manage workplace stress.

1.         Exercise – can be done in a gym, office or at home

2.         Proper Planning – schedule your jobs, business trips and other matters, however leave room for adjustments

3.         Balance – find time to focus on and strike a balance between your work,  personal and family life

4.         Social Network – surround yourself with reliable friends you can lean on

5.         Positive Outlook – let work-related issues cease to bother you 

Stress hampers productivity. Therefore employers should introduce stress management programs to teach their workers the nature and sources of stress as well as the effects on their overall health. Issues management should also be part of the program.

Stress Management And Health

Stress always goes hand in hand with health. Depending to the stress level of a person, the impact of stress in the body can range from minor sweaty palms to death. Letting stress build can slowly deteriorate health and can cause major health risks. Managing stress and health are important ways to avoid health risks in the future. In order to manage stress and health better, a person must first be acquainted to the severe effects of stress in the body. 

Physical And Behavioral Signs Of Stress

Stress can be induced by either external or internal factors. External stressors involve situations in the workplace, death, illness, or by simply becoming angry. In most cases, people suffer self induced stress. The good news is that stress whether self induced or otherwise can be taken care of.

Stress can affect major body systems. When a person is stressed, there may be an increase in heart rate and elevation in the blood pressure. The continuous pressure on the heart makes a person susceptible to cardiac arrest and other heart related conditions.

The digestive system may also be affected during stress. Some people experience diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, dryness of the mouth and the throat. Stress can also cause sleeping disorder, nausea, and in serious cases tightness of the chest, stiffness of the neck and jaw and also the back muscles. 

Changes in behavioral patterns are also noticeable in a person experiencing stress. Smokers experience increase in smoking pattern. Aggressive behaviors and hostility towards others and even inanimate objects are sometimes linked to a person experiencing stress. Irregular diet habit may also be noticed diet in a person suffering from stress.

Some people who cannot handle stress may resort to alcohol and drug use. Lack of concentration may also be noticed in people suffering from stress.   Additionally, compulsive behavior, impatience and carelessness are also the behavioral effects of stress.

Long Term Implications

A long term exposure to stress can surely deteriorate a person’s general well-being. During stress the body produces hormones that enable the body to cope with the current situation. Short term effects of stress tense muscles, queasiness and an in increase in breathing and heart rates.

The long term implications of stress include allergic reactions, digestive disorder, heart disease, fatigue headaches and migraine. Impotence and premature ejaculation can occur in men while erratic menstrual cycle for women. Sleeping pattern can also be affected and can sometimes lead to insomnia. 

Living Healthy

Identifying stress early is very important to one’s overall health. When stress becomes too much to handle, the damage to a person’s physical and mental well-being can be very difficult to reverse. Living a healthy life can help a person cope with stress easily.

Exercise is very important in stress and health management. Along with a healthy diet, exercise can be said to be the most effective way to lower and cope stress levels as well as general health. It improves sugar metabolism through efficient use of insulin. Taking vitamins and avoiding alcohol are other proven successful methods in improving health and help a person cope with stress better.

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Body Exercises To Dispel Stress

Have you ever experienced aches and pains while working, or feel tired all of a sudden even before you start working?. Well, this is practically the effect of stress on your body. Most medical experts agree that stress can be a profound influence in the decline of your normal body functions – tight muscles, migraine, drowsiness, and so on. 

Most medical experts agree and research has proved that a healthy bout of physical exercise can improve your health despite the daily bout of stress due to career, personal or social problems. It is advisable that you should take some time off from work, or an early good night sleep and wake up early in the morning to engage in some physical exercise.

Physical exercise for stress management

Physical exercise can help to improve your body’s adaptability to stress. This involves routine movements that will improve your cardiovascular functions and at the same tome strengthen your heart. This in turn improves the circulation of blood and other bio-chemicals which your body requires to maintain a good health.

When oxygen are well supplied to the muscles, muscle integrity will improve which will also enhance endurance, stamina and flexibility. Engaging in physical exercise can also serve as an outlet for mental stress – release of depression, anxiety, anger, fear, and so on by focusing on your workout.

Exercise tips

To get the required result, you must follow certain physical regime of exercise. Simply jogging around the block or lifting some weight will not provide the overall effect as a complete workout. Here are some tips that will start you off in releasing stress through physical exercise:

1. Time. To avoid interruption during workouts, you must set out a particular time that is suitable for you. Early morning is the best time for an exercise since the fresh air will help your body get the clean oxygen that it needs to recover from those accumulated stress.

2. Warm-up exercise. It is very important to engage in light exercise to warm your body up and also stretching out the muscles before engaging in heavy workouts to avoid cramps and injuries during and after exercise workouts.

Start off with some minor stretching, beginning with your ankles, legs, hips, arms and neck. Make sure you do it slow and with set time intervals so your body won’t react negatively. The purpose of the warm-up is to let your body adapt to the work-out that will follow afterwards.

3. Required sports equipment. Purchase some health books that features exercise routines for different parts of your body. You can also purchase light weight dumbbells, exercise balls, exercise marts, and so on to improve your body’s performance.

4. Proper Diet. One of the most important facets of the physical exercise regime is your diet. Make sure you eat enough balanced diet so that you won’t easily get tired and weak from the physical exercise. However avoid those unwanted cholesterol and calories. Stay away from fast food goodies and junk food rather stick with healthy fruits and vegetables.