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Combat job stress: does work make you sick?

Health News, August, 1994

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Employee assistance programs, available in many companies, offer confidential advice and assistance for mental, emotional or other problems that disrupt family and work lives. Many programs are run off-site, and are available at no cost to employees and their families, offering assistance not only with relationship, anxiety and other problems, but also for legal, financial, child and eldercare concerns. Some have a 1-800 number and many also offer trauma response services around the clock.

Personal stress-coping tips

* Dialogue and share problems with others.

* Remember that everyone has some personal problems; you're not alone. Share worries with others.

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* Sort out the stressors in your life, assess which are avoidable, which are not. Try to avoid the avoidable.

* Do a reality check. Step back and appraise reality.

* Take stock of priorities -- decide what's a "must" and what can be deferred. Improve time management.

* Try to gain control and take charge of your life.

* Don't condemn yourself for failure.

* Expect uncertainty and be adaptable. Try to avoid rigid anticipation or expectations.

* Emphasize strengths rather than weaknesses. Admit imperfection -- just do your best.

* Incorporate rest periods into everyday schedules, making time for yourself. Be good to yourself -- at least once a day.

* Take regular exercise -- which helps to reduce tension and can provide friendly camaraderie.

* Try relaxation, biofeedback, meditation, soothing tapes -- whatever works for you.

For more information, consult your local health and safety committee, employee assistance programs (if available), or private corporate health consultants.

Some reasons for the rise in work stress

Part of the increase in stress-linked illness is blamed on computerization, monotony, restrictive supervision, under-utilized abilities and "deskilling." Deskilling, fragmentation and separation of "conceivers" from "executors" are blamed for much modern job distress. While the new technology has abolished the traditional assembly line, the routine computerized office is rather like a "mental assembly line," with boring jobs in which workers spend much of the day feeding data into a computer. Workplace stress can be fuelled by home stressors. An estimated 40 per cent or more of the population have serious enough personal and family problems (e.g., homemaking duties, conflicts, financial worries, caring for children or elderly relatives), which, added to job distress, can seriously undermine health.

Psychosocial contributors to work stress

* Environmental aggravation such as noise, fumes, cigarette smoke, inadequate safety precautions, can cause much distress.

* Job content: Fragmented, monotonous, repetitive, short-cycle tasks that underuse skills may produce profound stress.

* Work load and pace: Machine-paced or computer-monitored work often creates relentless pressure with clear signs of stress such as anxiety, headaches and muscular ailments.

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Combat job stress: does work make you sick?

Health News, August, 1994

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