How Workplace Stress Can Affect Our Lives and Careers
Stress and anxiety are an everyday part of life, but sometimes it can build up much too far. The fact of the matter is that if stress becomes too much a part of your everyday work life, then it can quickly overtake it.
If you don’t work to curb these stress levels then the results may be overall quite negative; for both your career and your personal home life.
So, with that in mind, here are the ways stress can impact both your home life and career:
It’s Making You Sick
Stress is a real health problem, it’s just as present as the common cold except there are typically no noticeable symptoms.
But the impact of stress in both the short and long term can be massive, despite the symptoms being subtle, especially if you suffer from chronic stress.
Anxiety, obesity, high blood pressure and a particularly weak immune system can all develop as a result of chronic stress.
Which means that it is vital to try and reduce stress wherever possible in our lives.
If not for your daily peace of mind, then at least as a way to improve your long-term health prospects. As this can otherwise develop into a much more life-altering problem.
In this case, it is important to seek the help of a medical professional for advice on how to better manage your stress symptoms.
Poor Relationships
The fact of the matter is that if you have a lot of stress in your life it can quickly affect your relationships. This includes both work and relationships at home (friendships and family).
Stress can cause people to avoid interaction with others, as it just furthers their stress or causes them to ‘blow up’ as a result of the pent-up frustrations.
Becoming withdrawn and unwilling to socialise is a big indicator of prolonged stress.
This can quickly ensure that workplace productivity suffers, as people are less willing to communicate and work with others due to stress.
Therefore, causing them to be less proactive overall. Stress can quickly cause workplace relationships to deteriorate.
Which, over time, can impact the way we come to think of work. With more stress and poor relationships, it can quickly feel like a negative environment on the whole, rather than a productive and happy workspace.
Dissatisfaction
If you love your job, enjoy your family time or simply have a hobby that you love to do, it can all quickly fall apart thanks to stress.
You may end up disliking all of the things that you once enjoyed so much. For no other reason than feeling the negative impact of a stressful work life.
This dissatisfaction eventually leads to someone leaving their job. As they feel overall run-down, less optimistic about their future in the role and it can be overwhelming in some cases (too much to do, adding to the stress).
Stress and becoming dissatisfied in your job from time to time is normal, but it is important to manage these feelings over time.
As, otherwise, you would be leaving and trying to find new jobs far too often to ever really be satisfied. It can also stop you doing the things that you want to do.
If an otherwise engaged employee suddenly starts to feel distant or less active at work, then this is a sign of dissatisfaction.
Though it should not be an immediate cause for concern from day one, it can quickly become a problem if showcased over a longer period.
Sickness/Tardiness
Any employee that is stressed and finding it difficult to cope with their work will quickly start showing worrying behaviours.
Taking more sick days, showing up late to work and even taking extended breaks can all be very serious danger signs.
Turning up late can be a result of lethargy. Unwillingness or inability to get out of bed on a regular day, feeling that such a simple task is actually a mountainous effort.
Lack of sleep, restlessness during the night and continued inability to relax (due to the stress) can all be the underlying cause of this.
This can quickly gain you a negative reputation at work and result even in disciplinary action, meaning it is important to try and curb this in if possible.
As otherwise you put yourself at real risk of losing your job.
In such cases, it is important to get back in control of your day to day motivation. Set an earlier alarm, reward yourself for being on time and make sure that there is positive reinforcement behind every potential sick day not taken.
It is all too easy to fall into a stressful wormhole, but keeping yourself out of this gravitational pull is so, so, important. As if you do not it can quickly lead to much more serious consequences.
How To Reduce Workplace Stress
Invest into your wellbeing – Your wellness is more than a simple bath. Wellbeing is both mental and physical wellness, and they take time to nurture them.
For mental wellbeing, consider taking time for technology in the evening after work, and read or meditate instead.
Reading a nonfiction book is a great way to take your mind off the chaos of the day. Not to mention mediation, which has been proven to reduce depression and anxiety.
Take time off – Sometimes, all you need is some time for yourself. Use some of your annual leave to ‘reset’ and remember that you have a life outside of your workplace.
Use this time however you please, just be sure to steer clear of any work emails.
Whether you want to spend all of your time off relaxing on your couch and buying cushion covers online, or book a weekend away in a relaxing log cabin, make sure you detach from work.
Talk about it – If your work is causing unmanageable stress, talk about it. Talk with your manager about why you’re struggling, and perhaps discuss reallocating some of your workload.
Conclusion
Overall, stress can be a silent enemy that anyone can face. Even the happiest of your coworkers could be fighting a silent battle against stress daily.
For that reason, actively fighting against the daily stressors in your life and working to reduce stress (as you will likely never be rid of it completely) is of vital importance.
You won’t be successful every day, but even trying can be a step in the right direction.
Category: Career
