The Dangers of Workplace Stress

We live in a world full of stress. Older folks will tell us stories of war and recession and say that we don’t know how lucky we are, and—to an extent—this is true. But, at the same time, we are living in a world with high demands. The recent increase in technology and globalization have led to longer hours at work. The Carleton and Western Universities study in Canada showed that 60% of white-collar workers were clocking over 45 hours a week, and 54% were taking up to 7 hours of work home with them.

The struggle between work-life balance is causing us massive amounts of stress. But, when you add things like traffic, pollution, personal responsibilities, and lack of self-care, we are becoming a generation of nervous wrecks. The need to be great at everything we do prevents us from taking a step back from stress.

The Negative Effects of Stress

If you have felt the pressures of stress over a long time, you will know many of its effects. You feel tired and overwhelmed. Stress leads to interrupted sleep, poor appetite, and a lack of energy. It is a vicious cycle to try and break and can often result in depression.

Researchers of stress have discovered the link between stress and hypertension, a higher risk of diabetes, and even some types of cancer. Other studies have calculated that you are 33% more likely to have a stoke if you work more than 55 hours per week.

Stress also affects the nervous system and can cause structural changes in different parts of the brain. In fact, studies show that chronic stress can cause brain tissue to waste away, making the brain lighter. These changes in the brain affect our cognition and memory.

Common Causes of Stress in the Workplace

Some causes are apparent—tight deadlines, an increase in workload, not enough time or resources. These are all we would call typical workplace stressors. When these things get on top of us, it is harder to deal with the irritating colleague, the broken photocopier, and the constantly empty coffee pot.

Here are some of the not so obvious things that will increase the stress we feel at work:

• Job insecurity—a very real issue that millions will be facing in 2020
• Shift work that includes long periods of over 10 hours
• Working in unfair circumstances or unfair conditions
• Bullying in the workplace
• Lack of health insurance—again, a very serious concern for 2020
• Not having enough control over your workload
• Having to take work home, eating into your time with your family

The Dangers of Stress in the Workplace

We have already mentioned many of the health effects stress can have. The problem is, we often don’t take the early warning signs seriously. We tell ourselves that a good night’s sleep or a weekend off is all you need. Even after a weekend of relaxing, when Monday comes around, you are once again filled with dread and anxiety.

Ongoing stress, or chronic stress, can cause headaches, chest pains, and compulsive behavior. Our bodies are simply not designed to cope with the pressure we try to deal with today.

Aside from the health effects, you then need to consider the atmosphere in the office. Stress is like a bad apple in the basket; it only takes a few people to be stressed to create an unpleasant and stressful atmosphere for others.

How to Deal with Stress in the Workplace

Some things will be out of your control. Even if you have the most Zen outlook on life, there will be situations in the office that get on your nerves. However, there are some things that you can do to alleviate your stress:

1. Take better care of yourself

Stress often pushes us towards unhealthy habits like drinking, smoking, and a bad diet. This type of lifestyle only worsens your overall health and will cause you to feel more sluggish. Make an effort to do some exercise as this will lower the cortisol in the body and help reduce stress.

2. Create limits for your time out of the office

If you do have to reply to emails or answer the phone after hours, that’s fine. But remember, to deal with stress properly, there has to be a cutoff point. It is perfectly reasonable not to respond to work communications after 7 pm. Spending quality time with your family will remind you of the reasons you do your job.

3. Find ways to improve your sleep patterns

Exercise will also help you sleep better. Other methods include reading before bed to slowly unwind, keeping your mobile phone out of reach, and reducing the amount of coffee you drink.

4. Take shorter, more frequent breaks

Studies show that 90 minutes is about as long as we can concentrate. After this time, you should literally walk away from the task, even if it’s just for 5 minutes and then go back to it.

5. Change your expectations

There’s a difference between what you need to do and what you can do. Once you are more realistic about what you expect from yourself, you will notice that you have taken a lot of the stress away before you even start.