Melissa had been the ideal worker, always willing to take on new projects, work long hours and weekends -- until last year. There were subtle changes at first. Her demeanor turned from always positive to a growing streak of negativism. She began to have problems sleeping. She felt frustrated with a lack of progress within the firm, and a growing sense of no longer being a part of the team. She started to use sick days for the first time -- some for a nagging number of illnesses, some for “mental health” days. Luckily for Melissa, she had some friends who recognized the problem she was suffering from was job stress.
What is Job Stress?
Job stress is something we all face as workers -- and we all handle it differently. There is no getting around it. But, not all stress is bad, and learning how to deal with and manage stress is critical to our maximizing our job performance, staying safe on the job, and maintaining our physical and mental health. For workers like Melissa, infrequent doses of job stress pose little threat and may be effective in increasing motivation and productivity, but too much -- and too prolonged -- can lead to a downward spiral -- both professionally and personally.
Some jobs, by definition, tend to be higher stress -- such as ones that are in dangerous settings (fire, police), that deal with demanding customers (service providers), that have demanding time pressures (healthcare), and that have repetitive detailed work (manufacturing) -- but stress is not limited to any one particular job or industry.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, states that job stress, now more than ever, poses a threat to the health of workers –- and the health of organizations. NIOSH defines job stress as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Stress also occurs when the situation has high demands and the worker has little or no control over it. Job stress can lead to poor health and injury.
Job Stress Statistics
Numerous studies examining job stress sound an alarming bell about the mental and physical health of American workers:
* A Northwestern National Life study found that 40 percent of workers report their job is “very or extremely stressful.” And that one-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.
* A Families and Work Institute study found 26 percent of workers report they are "often or very often burned out or stressed by their work."
* A Yale University study found 29 percent of workers feel "quite a bit or extremely stressed at work."
* A Princeton Survey Research Associates study reports that three-fourths of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.
* A Gallup Poll found that 80 percent of workers feel stress on the job, and nearly half reported that they needed help in learning how to manage it.
* According to an article in Shape Magazine, women are 60 percent more likely to suffer from job stress than men.
Symptoms & Warning Signs of Job Stress
While the causes can be something other than job stress, here are the most common symptoms and early warning signs of job stress and burnout:
* Apathy
* Negativism/cynicism
* Low morale
* Boredom
* Anxiety
* Frustration
* Fatigue
* Depression
* Alienation
* Anger/irritability
* Physical problems (headaches, stomach problems)
* Absenteeism
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar