Work-related stress: what it is, what are the symptoms and what to do to cope with it
Pressure, agitation, performance anxiety are just some of the unpleasant sensations that can manifest themselves in the daily life of a worker. Sometimes it is thought that these discomforts arise from physical causes, but in many cases the culprit is simply stress.
Deadlines, delays, pressure from bosses, disagreements with colleagues can in fact lead to what is called work-related stress or, simply, work stress. Let's see together what it is, what the symptoms are and what to do to deal with it and overcome it.
What is work related stress?
Work-related stress is experienced by those people who feel the demands of the working world are higher than their ability to cope with them, with consequences in the psychophysical and social sphere.
In Europe, this condition seems to affect at least one in four workers and one of the most negative consequences for companies is absenteeism which causes delays in the daily performance of tasks and obviously huge economic losses.
But the real and big problem are people with work-related stress who are physically and mentally ill. Very often they prefer to resort to denial or psychotropic drugs in order not to admit that the problem must be faced and solved.
A study by the Bocconi University of Milan has shown that for women there is also a further problem: stress is caused by the difficulty of reconciling professional commitment with family life in 50% of cases. Remember that being a mother is also a full-time job ...
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What are the symptoms of work related stress?
To assess the symptoms well, we can focus on four areas:
Work-related: absenteeism, injuries, illnesses, disciplinary problems, conflicts, relationship difficulties, low quality of work performance.
Behavioral: indecision, insecurity, impatience, isolation, lack of self-esteem, increased consumption of alcohol and / or cigarettes and / or coffee, impulsiveness.
Psychological: poor concentration and attention, chronic fatigue, feeling of having an empty head, anxiety, anguish, depressive states, crying fits, pessimism, bad mood, self-pity, anxiety attacks or panic attacks.
Psychosomatic (physical): eating, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, sexual, dermatological or sleep behavior.
Anyone suffering from work-related stress will surely have experienced more of these symptoms. However, we must be careful to remember that they are due to inadequate and poorly managed working conditions. People under work-related stress come to think that they are wrong and inadequate and that they have to leave their jobs because they are incapacitated. By reading these lines you have understood that this is not the case.
Is work related stress a disease? How the law protects us
Work-related stress is not a disease, but it can lead to illness and should therefore not be underestimated. Since 2009 it has become mandatory for companies to assess work-related stress and since 2010 it has been effective. All employers had to assess the health of their employees through the specialists in charge; this is to highlight the fundamental rights of the worker and guarantee them a professional and healthy place that is not a source of stress, consequently, of damage to the subject himself.
Precise and useful guidelines have been drawn up to follow in order to understand how to overcome this "evil" that afflicts many companies and companies. The subjects in charge of this control can be doctors or occupational psychologists who are experts in this sector. Obviously, this law allows workers to be protected, but also managers and company owners to lose fewer resources, as an employee who does not work at his best is an economic loss.
Work-related stress: what to do to cope with it?
Those who believe they have psychophysical disorders related to what they experience in their workplace, should reflect on the following points:
- Is it really the workplace that makes me nervous? Or do I discharge the tension that I accumulate in my private life in that area? If so, the problem would not be related to work, but rather to personal issues.
- What are the elements that make me most nervous? What distresses me? Who or what makes me anxious? Reflecting on these points allows you to focus on the problem and perhaps gives you the strength to talk about it with your boss or with fellow colleagues who can help you overcome the difficulty.
- When I leave the office, am I able to leave the problems there? Often when you work in difficult conditions, where there is a lot of tension, leaving these negative emotions outside the front door becomes complex. A tip could be to take a deep breath when getting into the car or before crossing the threshold of the house to eliminate all the emotions that you have loaded yourself with during the day: it must become your daily mental training and like any good training it must be repeated. for a while before it works.
- In the event that your job is a source of excessive stress, I advise you to be able to speak to a psychologist to cope with the emotional burdens that are too heavy for you. In the most overt cases, workers get to experience real panic attacks even at the mere thought of the professional context.
Those suffering from work-related stress must begin to think that they are not inadequate, but that the situation can be resolved. We just have to learn not to be afraid to ask for help. Finally, do not forget to also take care of your diet to feel less stressed: try these foods indicated against fatigue ...
