Work Related Stress Symptoms

Stress can affect people in every aspect of their lives. It could be in their relationships, in their home life or in their jobs. As people could spend up to 45 years of their life working, I imagine job related stress would be a major source of their stress in their lives. This article will discuss work related stress and the symptoms that most people experience. It will also make suggestions on how to deal with work related stress.

First up, not all stress is bad. Stress serves to motivate and challenge us to change how we live, act and work. The phrase 'necessity is the mother of invention' springs to mind in this situation. Without the daily challenges that faced mankind throughout his history we would not have computers, cars, flown to the moon and cured many illnesses and diseases that killed millions of people in the past. Stress is good if it is managed. The problem occurs when stress isn't managed either because it is not understood as stress or there is no strategy in place to deal with it. Stress becomes a problem if we are ignorant to it.

The way to become aware of stress in the workplace is to identify the symptoms of stress. Work related stress symptoms can be broken down into three broad categories :

1. Physical symptoms

2. Behavioral changes

3. Changes in our mental health

Physical symptoms could be one or many of the following:

susceptible to colds and flu,

increase in headaches and migraines,

stomach complaints like cramps, constipation or bloating,

hands and feet seem to cut and bruise easily and take time to heal,

a general sense of weariness and lethargy

Behavioral changes could be

eating habits often change for the worse,

become irritable and easily annoyed,

become withdrawn and moody,

more absence from work,

marked deterioration in work quality

Changes in mental health

anxiety and depression are often experienced,

suffer from sleeping disorders like insomnia,

brain functions are dulled and concentration is harder to maintain

These are pretty general complaints so it is often difficult to figure out if they are stress related or due to something else like a disease or condition. It is advised to consult a doctor if you suspect that one of these symptoms is stress related.

In terms of reducing potential stress at work it is important that you work with your manager and that the organization as a whole is sympathetic to the concerns of their employees. Common stressors such as too much work, too little work, lack of reward could be voiced to your manager. By starting a dialogue with your manager a solution could be implemented to address you concerns. If you were concerned about job security then this should be communicated to the upper management so that they can ensure that downward communication within the organization was better and that they were responding to the stressors that affected their workforce. Managing a persons stress in the workplace is as much the responsibility of the employers and management as it is the individual.

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