heat, cold or noise, inadequate lighting,
uncomfortable seating, malfunctioning
equipment, etc.
Effects of Uncontrolled
Stress
Work-related stress doesn't just disappear
when you head home for the day. In fact,
most of the times, clear indications that you
have work-related stress is when your out-
of-office life starts to get affected. When you
get home and realize everything revolves
around your work: This is a time you should
address the stress, or an indication that you
should have addressed it long time ago.
When stress persists, it can take a toll on
your health and well-being.
A stressful work environment can contribute
to problems such as headache, stomach-
ache, sleep disturbances, short temper and
difficulty concentrating. Chronic stress
can result in anxiety, insomnia, high blood
pressure and a weakened immune system.
It can also contribute to health conditions
such as depression, obesity and heart
disease. Compounding the problem, people
who experience excessive stress often deal
with it in unhealthy ways such as overeating,
eating unhealthy foods, smoking cigarettes
or abusing drugs and alcohol.
So, do you cope with or
manage stress at work?
In my opinion, it should be a mixture of
the two. It starts with acknowledging that
your work is stressing you, getting to know
what aspects of the work are stressful, and
coming up with an action plan to handle
those issues. At first, you should explore
the idea of adjusting your perception and
expectations to see if you can cope with
the initially stressful aspects of your job,
and then after that you should explore
steps of managing the issues.
It is only when you have exhausted all
your options, and you are still struggling,
that you will be sure it might be worth
looking for a new job. Always remember
that if a stressful job doesn’t make you ill,
it can erode your confidence in your own
abilities, which then makes it harder to
leave and find another job. It is therefore
advisable to take action before you get to
this level.When looking for a new role,
it is worth researching a company’s work
culture, so you do not find yourself in the
same situation.
Taking Steps to Manage
Stress
Track your stressors: Some authors
have suggested that it is helpful to keep
a journal for a week or two to identify
which situations create the most stress and
how you respond to them. Record your
thoughts, feelings and information about
the environment, including the people
and circumstances involved, the physical
setting and how you reacted.
Did you raise your voice? Get a snack
from the vending machine? Go for a walk?
Taking notes can help you find patterns
among your stressors and your reactions to
them. This pattern will come in handy in
the next steps of managing the situation.
Develop healthy responses: Instead of
attempting to fight stress with fast food
or alcohol, do your best to make healthy
choices when you feel the tension rise.
Exercise is a great stress-buster. Jogging
can be an excellent choice, but any form
of physical activity is beneficial. Also
make time for hobbies and favourite
activities.
Whether it's reading a novel, going to
concerts, watching a movie, or playing
games with your family, make sure to set
aside time for the things that bring you
pleasure. Getting enough good-quality
sleep is also important for effective
stress management. Build healthy
sleep habits by limiting your caffeine
intake late in the day and minimizing
stimulating activities, such as computer
and television use, at night.
Establish boundaries: In today's
digital world, it's easy to feel pressure
to be available 24 hours a day. Establish
some work-life boundaries for yourself.
That might mean making a rule not to
check email from home in the evening,
or not answering the phone during
dinner. Although people have different
preferences when it comes to how much
they blend their work and home life,
creating some clear boundaries between
these realms can reduce the potential
for work-life conflict and the stress that
goes with it.
Take time to recharge: To avoid the
negative effects of chronic stress and
burnout, we need time to replenish
and return to our pre-stress level of
functioning. This recovery process
requires “switching off ” from work
by having periods of time when you
are neither engaging in work-related
activities, nor thinking about work. That's
why it's critical that you disconnect from
time to time, in a way that fits your needs
and preferences. Don't let your vacation
days go to waste.
When possible, take time off to relax and
unwind, so you come back to work feeling
reinvigorated and ready to perform at
your best. When you're not able to take
time off, get a quick boost by turning
off your smartphone and focusing your
attention on non-work activities for a
while.
Learn how to relax: Techniques such as
meditation, deep breathing exercises and
mindfulness (a state in which you actively
observe present experiences and thoughts
without judging them) can help melt
away stress. Start by taking a few minutes
each day to focus on a simple activity
like breathing, walking or enjoying a
meal. The skill of being able to focus
purposefully on a single activity without
distraction will get stronger with practice
and you'll find that you can apply it to
many different aspects of your life.
Talk to your supervisor: Employee
health has been linked to productivity
at work, so your boss has an incentive to
create a work environment that promotes
employee well-being. Start by having an
open conversation with your supervisor.
The purpose of this isn't to lay out a list of
complaints, but rather to come up with an
effective plan for managing the stressors
you've identified, so you can perform at
your best on the job.
While some parts of the plan may be
designed to help you improve your skills
in areas such as time management, other
elements might include identifying
employer-sponsored wellness resources
you can tap into, clarifying what's expected
of you, getting necessary resources or
support from colleagues, enriching
your job to include more challenging or
meaningful tasks, or making changes to
your physical workspace to make it more
comfortable and reduce strain.
Get some support: Accepting help from
trusted friends and family members can
improve your ability to manage stress.
Your employer may also have stress
management resources available through
an employee assistance program (EAP),
including online information, available
counselling and referral to mental health
68 MAL28/19 ISSUE
professionals, if needed. If you continue to
feel overwhelmed by work stress, you may
want to talk to a psychologist, who can
help you better manage stress and change
unhealthy behaviour.
For one to really get around the issue
of work-related stress, you can see that
there is what the organization should do
and what you as an employee should do.
When we talk of creating human-centred
organizations, it is more of the leadership
of the organizations creating a culture of
care and consideration, but in managing
or coping with the stressful aspects of
the work, it is for the employee to take
the right steps to cope or manage, and
ultimately knowing when to let go.
The last thing you want to do is to hold on
to a stressful job when you have exhausted
all coping mechanisms. Getting to know
when to quit is as important as saving
your life. With the highly competitive job
market and the increasing saturation of
the market with skilful but unemployed
people, I know quitting is not an easy
decision. But when you look at it with
regard to your health and well-being, then
the question should be: “Should I die here
or leave when I am still alive?”
You know the right answer. You know the
right thing to do. Just be strong enough to
make that right decision. Only be sure to
make it while you are still alive.
George Mbithi is a Communications
and Public Relations professional
who has a keen eye on Authentic
Leadership. He has worked in
mainstream media, the private sector,
as well as in the development sector.
He is currently the Communications
Manager for Population Services
International, Somalia. You can
reach him via mail on: Mbithig@
gmail.com.
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