english writing assignments

Stress: Stress in the Workplace

In today's economic upheavals, downsizing, layoff, merger, and bankruptcies have cost

hundreds of thousands of workers their jobs. Millions more have been shifted to unfamiliar tasks

within their companies and wonder how much longer they will be employed. Adding to the

pressures that workers face are new bosses, computer surveillance of production, fewer health

and retirement benefits, and the feeling they have to work longer and harder just to maintain

their current economic status. Workers at every level are experiencing increased tension and

uncertainty, and are updating their resumes.

The loss of a job can be devastating, putting unemployed workers at risk for physical illness,

marital strain, anxiety, depression, and even suicide. Loss of a job affects every part of life, from

what time you get up in the morning, to whom you see and what you can afford to do. Until the

transition is made to a new position, stress is chronic.

A Sense of Powerlessness

A feeling of powerlessness is a universal cause of job stress. When you feel powerless, you're

prey to depression's traveling companions, helplessness and hopelessness. You don't alter or

avoid the situation because you feel nothing can be done.

Secretaries, waitresses, middle managers, police officers, editors and medical interns are

among those with the most highly stressed occupations marked by the need to respond to

others' demands and timetables, with little control over events. Common to this job situation are

complaints of too much responsibility and too little authority, unfair labor practices, and

inadequate job descriptions. Employees can counteract these pressures through workers'

unions or other organizations, grievance or personnel offices or, more commonly, by direct

negotiations with their immediate supervisors.

Your job description

Every employee should have a specific, written job description. Simply negotiating one does

more to dispel a sense of powerlessness than anything else we know. It is a contract that you

help write. You can object to what and insist on what you do want. If there is a compromise, it's

because you agreed to it. With a clear job description, your expectations are spelled out, as are

your boss's.

A good job description is time limited. Set a specific date for a review and revision based on your

mutual experience with this initial job description. If you and your boss can't agree on what your

job description should be, look for another job, either within the same company or outside. Even

in these tough economic times, it is important that your job be a source of satisfaction and

respect.

When You're a Square Peg and Your Job is a Round Hole

Remember the old saying, "Find a job you love and you'll never work another day in your life."

Most people spend about 25 percent of their adult lives working. If you enjoy what you do, you're

lucky. But if you're the proverbial square peg and your job is a round hole, job stress hurts your

productivity and takes a serious toll on your mind and body.

There are many reasons for staying in a job that doesn't fit you or that you don't particularly like.

One reason can be the "golden handcuff"--having salary, pension, benefits, and "perks" that

keep one tied to a job regardless of stress consequences.

Many people are in jobs they don't like or aren't good at. The quick answer is to get a job they

like or one that better matches their skills, abilities, and interest--easier said than done. Some

clients have no idea what kind of job they would like or what kind of job would be better. Worse,

they don't have a clue on how to go about finding out this information.

Traumatic Events on the Job

Some jobs are inherently dangerous and others can suddenly become so. Criminal justice

personnel, firefighters, ambulance drivers, military personnel, and disaster teams witness many

terrible scenes and are exposed to personal danger routinely. They usually handle such

incidents capably. But occasionally a particularly bad episode will stay with them, appearing in

memory flashbacks and nightmares. Sleep disturbance, guilt, fearfulness, and physical

complaints may follow. Even ordinary jobs can become traumatic: a coworker, boss, or client

physically threatens an employee; a bus crashes on a field trip; an employee is robbed or taken

hostage; a shooting occurs. Such events can create post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and

result in workers' compensation claims if left untreated by a trauma specialist.

Work Setting

Sometimes your work setting creates physical stress because of noise, lack of privacy, poor

lighting, poor ventilation, poor temperature control, or inadequate sanitary facilities. Settings

where there is organizational confusion or an overly authoritarian, lassiez-faire, or crisis-

centered managerial style are all psychologically stressful.

Act through labor or employee organizations to alter stressful working conditions. If that doesn't

work, try the courts, which have become increasingly receptive to complaints of stressful working

conditions. Recent rulings created pressure for employers to provide working environments that

are as stress free as possible.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency charged with

monitoring the work environment in the interest of work safety and health. If you think your work

environment is dangerous to your health and safety from a physical standpoint, give them a call.

If nothing helps and the working environment remains stressful, exercise your avoidance options

and get a new job. Job hunting can be stressful, particularly in times of high unemployment, but

being ground down day after day by work is far worse.

Adapted from The Stress Solution by Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.

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© 2004 American Psychological Association

Retrieved from: http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=19, December 22, 2008.