Is Your Office Work Making you Sick?

AS many as over 50% of workers feel stressed out at the office. In addition 77% feel burned out. The following were the top stressors given in the survey:


1. Inability to get along with coworkers. - This is one of the main stressors in the careerbuilder survey. No matter what you do, some people will always be negative and may be constant stressor at work. If this is your case, try to get yourself out of the situation as much as possible. Instead of having to talk to the person directly, it may be more suitable to send an email.


2. Unreal workload - I can understand this type of stressor, when a boss gives you too much work. Sometimes, employers expect too much work to be done in a quick manner. Little do they realize that giving this kind of pressure to employees, will ultimately affect the quality of the work they will get.

3. Unrealistic Deadlines. - "I want a complete website by tomorrow 3PM Sharp!" Sure, anything can be given in a short amount of time, but with unrealistic deadlines quality of the project as well as the quality of an individual's health may suffer.

4. Nagging boss - This is a hard one to avoid. Sometimes it's just wise to agree with the boss instead of arguing indefinitely with him. For one, arguing will get you nowhere because he is not going to change his/her position.

Remember, he's the boss and he makes the decisions.

Early Symptoms of Stress At Work:

Headaches, Difficulty Concentrating (what is this lens about?), Short Temper, Upset Stomach, Job Dissatisfaction, Sleep Disturbances, and low morale

1. Don't talk negatively about others - It doesn't help the corporate atmosphere when you talk negatively about others. Sometimes you will be surprised at how word spreads around. Besides, don't become a negative person, it will suck out additional energy out of you.

2. Take breaks when you can - It is important to take a break, so you don't feel overwhelmed in one setting. If you feel stressed go for a 15 minute walk, sometimes you just need a different setting to refresh your mind. Sometimes I wish I had a refresh button just like a browser so that my brain will refresh itself. There have been many times where I have looked at some piece of programming code at work and I just could not figure out the answer for hours. Once I went out to take a break and/or returned the next day, it was amazing how easy the answer was. It just took a little break from the problem to figure out.

3. Go on vacation if you feel overwhelmed, you don't realize how much better you'll feel after a vacation. If you haven't read my vacation deprivation lens, go ahead and read it. It shows from an Expedia survey how almost 40% of people who come back from vacation come back more productive? Maybe it's time to go on vacation.
Resources to help you out: Expedia coupon, Travelocity promotional code.

4. Don't gather clutter around your desk. The more clutter you have, the worse it will make your stress. Get rid of documents you don't need. Sort through your emails and keep only ones that are necessary.

5. Ergonomics - Make sure your seating arrangement is ergonomically correct. Seats should be of proper height, monitors of appropriate distance. IF you are getting shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome or neck aches after a day's of work then try rearranging some of your office ergonomic settings.

6. Air it out - Find coworkers, friends who will empathize with you. By talking it over with a coworker, they may be able to give you advice, laugh with you or just simply commisserate with you. Talking is very therapeutic, it's what
keeps the psychologists in business.

7. Exercise - You will be surprised to see how much better you will feel after you exercise. Exercise will revitalize you and help you feel energetic for the day. Studies have shown how exercise helps to improve mood and stress levels.

8. Block it out - When you go home try not to think about work. Relax with your companion if you have one, if you don't have a companion go walk Fido. Worrying about it at work is not going to make it any better.

9. Maybe you are in job that you are not suited for. Try to find a job that better fits your skills. Pursue your passions, you can't fit a square into a round hole no matter how hard you try. If you want to remain within the company seek out other departments where you can better utilize your skills.