Posts Tagged ‘job stress’
What Is Job Stress And How Do You Cope With It?
Life in general stresses people out. That’s just the way the world works – there are lots of daily things that can cause stress like bills, car problems or getting your kids to school on time and making sure they have lunch. But one of the biggest types of stress out there is job stress – stress that develops because something in your job makes life difficult for you. Job stress can be very hard to cope with but there are ways to do it and still be able to relax and enjoy your work.
Research shows that 40% of workers feel their job to be extremely stressful. 25% view their jobs as the main source of stress in their lives. 29% reported feeling extremely stressed at work and 26% reported that they were frequently burned out at their jobs due to stress. 80% of workers feel some sort of stress on the job and want to know the way of managing it. 14% reported that they felt close to striking a fellow worker due to job stress but didn’t. ¼ reported that they have felt like screaming at their boss and 65% says that job stress has caused difficulties in other areas of their lives. 12% of people admitted that they have called in sick due to job stress and 19% say the job stress load has caused them to actually break down and cry.
And in this economy people are also coping job stress in unique ways – they worry now about their hours being cut or their jobs being lost altogether. And there is also the added job stress that comes when someone gets laid off and everyone else is forced to take on their workload because the company can’t afford to hire someone to do it.
What Does Job Stress Affect?
People don’t realize just how much stress can affect their lives, especially job related stress. 62% of people suffering from job stress reported that they deal with daily back pain. 44% reported eye irritations. 30% of workers have reported hurting hands and 34% have admitted to having severe difficult sleeping due to stress. People who have job stress usually report the above symptoms as well as an upset stomach, headaches, low morale, teeth grinding and a short temper. Their performance at work suffers because of it as well and their job morale usually takes a nosedive.
Is Workplace Stress Affecting Your Job Performance?
On-the-job stress is a commonly occurring problem in today’s society. For most workers, job-related stress comes with the territory so it’s important to develop coping skills. Stress can be minimized if you know the things that cause it in your workplace and develop ways to keep your sanity in the midst of it all.
Common workplace stress triggers include:
Unprofessional Co-Workers
It’s not uncommon for the people we work with to present a challenge at some point in our careers. Still, dealing with bad attitudes is a stressful challenge that can cause our own productivity to decline.
Several means of handling this type of problem exist. Here it’s important to choose your battles. If you can ignore the rude behavior and get your work done, let it go if at all possible.
Some co-workers take annoying too far. Some are downright rude or offensive. When ignoring the co-worker doesn’t work try confrontation. In a polite, but firm tone explain what behaviors are bothering you, why the bother you, and give suggestions for how the co-worker might improve. It is possible that the offender does not know they are upsetting you. Saying it out loud will help reduce the stress and anxiety surrounding the situation.
If that doesn’t help, you’ll have to go to your boss and tell them what’s going on and that it’s been affecting your work. Sometimes they’ll take ahold of the situation themselves in order for things to run smoothly.
Poor Management
Maybe it’s not a rude co-worker you’re dealing with, but a mean boss. Putting up with a boss that makes you miserable can be very stressful. You’ll want to try talking with them first to see if that helps the situation.
Bosses have bosses too. If a manager is creating a hostile or stressing work environment for you do not hesitate to involve their supervisor in your complaints. As with co-workers you will want to make sure that your complaints are factual, non-emotional, and supported by appropriate documentation. Write down offenses and document all inappropriate behavior before bringing the case to upper level management
There’s no reason to have to put up with that at the workplace when it’s not warranted. It’ll cause too much stress for you and make your job performance slide. Most companies will work with you to resolve the problem.
Increased Workload
Having more work than you can handle can make stress inevitable. Take on only what you can handle at one time. Ask for help from others and be willing to reciprocate and help them when they need it. A lot of things can be accomplished with teamwork.
Work-related stress can have many other points of origin. It’s important to recognise the things that cause you anxiety at work and develop strategies to deal with them. Most jobs are stressful at times but with the right solutions, you can find ways to get your job done while keeping your anxiety to a minimum.
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