The goal of this report is to help you understand job stress. In part 1 of this paper we’ll define what job stress is, we’ll tell you what causes it and we’ll help you see exactly how it gets started and what keeps it going. In part 2, we’ll show you how to tackle job stress. We’ll teach you how to eliminate and avoid certain sources of job stress and we’ll show you how to cope with others. We’ll demonstrate easy relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing that you can use right at your desk at work. We’ll also show you how you can change your thinking and help you stop stress before it starts. Finally, you’ll learn about social support and problem-solv-ing techniques which are the ultimate weapons against stubborn forms of job stress that won’t go away without help.

James E. Porter is president of StressStop.com, a company that has been providing stress management training materials to corporations, hospitals, government agen-cies and military bases for over 20 years. Mr. Porter is the author and creator of many

of these materials which include workbooks, DVDs, CDs, dozens of arti-cles, and a weekly blog on stress management.

His work has been reported on in a wide variety of national media in-cluding Good Morning America, Ladies Home Journal, The Associated

Press, WCBS-TV News, and The NY Daily News as well as in medi-cal journals including The Journal of Family Practice, The Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, and The Journal of Biomed-ical Communications. He is a fellow of The American Institute of Stress. His book Stop Stress This Minute from WELCOA has sold over 10,000 copies. You can find more about managing stress at his website: www.StressStop.com

Introduction

About the Author

Job stress is often caused by conditions at work.Unsafe working conditions, ergonomic problems, poor communication, harassment, an unpleasant working environment, difficult bosses and lack of fairness all contribute to job stress. It’s obvious that these are conditions over which you as an employee have little or no control. So it would be inappropriate to claim that you could single-handedly control job-stress in companies where such conditions predomi-

nate.

However, this article is going to focus on the things you CAN control. It’s going to give you advice, that will lower your stress regardless of the working conditions you find yourself in. None-the-less we are going to assume that you are working in a typical working environment where conditions are no more or less stressful than one finds in most organizations today where the customer wants it yesterday, and your boss wanted it last week!

Still, if the stress in your organization is being created by uncaring policies and procedures handed down by upper management – in other words, if

you work in a toxic environment— you may need to put as much em-phasis on stress abatement programs (eliminating stressful working conditions) as on stress management training (learning coping skills). For where to begin to get organizations to consider stress abatement programs see the sidebar on page 4.

Job stress is pervasive.According to the American Institute of Stress, 78% of

American workers describe their job as stress-ful. 40% of American workers describe their

job as extremely stressful and 25% of American workers view their job as the

number one source of stress in their lives.

Some of the symptoms of

a workplace plagued by job

stress are: high rates of turn-

over, increased absenteeism,

increased number of accidents

and worker alienation.

Part 1: Understanding Job Stress

Before we talk any more about job stress, let’s take a minute to define the term stress itself. Canadian scientist, Hans Selye, (SELL-YEAH) who coined the term stress, defined it as the body’s response to demands placed on it. When you find yourself in a stressful situation your body re-

sponds to the demands of this situation, by releasing adrenaline and other hormones. As the result of this infusion of hormones into your bloodstream, you might feel your heart racing, your forehead perspiring, your hands becoming cold and clammy or your muscles becoming tense. Over 100 years ago, Harvard researcher, Walter Cannon, named this reaction to stress: the fight or flight response.

The fight or flight response is always described as an evolution-ary response to stress that allowed our prehistoric ancestors to summon up great reserves of energy in a matter of seconds to instantaneously deal with life-threatening situations. Nowadays, these life-threatening situations are rare, but we still summon up this SAME high-octane response in situations we perceive as threatening: When a coworker betrays us; When our boss criticiz-es our work; When a customer gets angry; When someone with less seniority is promoted over us.

Typically, these are situations where we can’t fight and we can’t flee. Thus all the energy built into this response goes unused. It’s a bit like driving your car at 60 miles an hour with one foot on the gas and the other foot on the brake.

Sources of job stress include: » bad bosses » in-adequate training » poor lighting » excessive overtime » hectic pace » deadline pressure » too many meetings » changes of policy » not working to a plan » conflicting assignments » reorganization » downsizing » a new boss.

Job stress is the #1 source of stress

Stress on the job used to be defined as a worker’s inability to cope with many of the demands we just mentioned like inadequate lighting or long hours. Or in some cases, it was attributed to sources of stress outside of work such as relationship problems, financial problems or substance

abuse. But now job stress is considered a source of stress in its own right. In other words, it’s not about coping, some of these demands place a physical strain on the body. According to Dr. Paul Rosch, M.D., president of The American Institute of Stress, job stress is the number one source of stress in the U.S.

(just ahead of financial stress).

Researchers who study job stress tell us that certain occu-pations are more stressful than others. ER nurses, stockbrokers, air-traffic controllers and in-ner-city school teachers are all examples of particularly stressful occupations. They also tell us that certain working environ-ments are more stressful than others. Police stations, prisons and post office sorting centers are all examples of particularly stressful working envi ronments. Researchers also tell us that different management styles can make a dramatic difference in the level of job stress experienced by employees. (compare FedEx vs. UPS)

So we no longer blame the worker for being unable to cope with stress that he or she may be powerless to control. That’s why job stress is now defined as: A mismatch between the capabili-ties of the worker and the require-ments of the job.

Sources of job stress:Job stress can come about for any number of reasons. It can be the result of:

1 Work overload and pace. Having too much to do and not enough time to do it. Unexpected changes in workflow, endless deadlines, or doing work you feel is unnecessary.

2 Your working environment.When it’s noisy, poorly lit, dangerous, or even full of distractions or constant interruptions.

3 Management and organizational policy.Reorganization, restrictive regulations, endless meetings, the threat of downsizing, change without warning and conflicting assignments, are all examples of this kind of job stress.

4 Relationships at work.A bad boss, a violent coworker or even a nasty client can make your day downright miserable.

5 Poor job fit.To over simplify this point: Librarians usually don’t make good firefighters and firefighters usually don’t make good librarians.

6 Lack of job satisfaction.When your work is inherently unsatisfying. When you feel stagnant and stuck. No new opportuni-ties for growth no added responsibilities or exciting projects that challenge you. It’s always the

same old, same old.

7 Insufficient training.When you get thrown into a position you’re not familiar with. If you haven’t been adequately trained ahead of time your new position is going to be stressful.

8 Unsafe conditions.The pace of work, the age of the equipment, the quality of the maintenance or even the setup of your work station or office – in regards to lighting, ergonomics, air quality, and noise level can

greatly increase the amount of stress you experience at work.

9 Unfairness.Whether it’s a promotion handed out to someone with less experience, perks given to someone less deserving, or a window side office promised to a subordinate, fairness in organizations big

and small is a surprisingly large source of stress.

10 No input into decision making.When you don’t have any input into decisions that affect what you do, it will leave you feeling like your life and your job are out of your control.

How To Maintain Work-Life Balance

Sometimes the troubles you experience in your person-al life can spill over into your work-life and vice-versa. These are the things that can PREVENT worklife

balance in either area.

Home-life issues that can affect us at work:

1 Substance abuse: “Substance abusers have greater difficulty getting along with co-workers and supervisors for reasons

that include stubbornness, irritability, procrastination, self-pity, and occasional arrogance.” John Arden, Ph.D., author of Surviving Job Stress.

2 Financial troubles: Disorganized finances, credit card debt, 2nd mortgag-es, and an uncertain economy can eat away at your

peace of mind. These problems don’t magically disappear when you walk in the door at work.

3 Health problems: Whether you’ve been diagnosed with a debilitating gastrointestinal disorder, are in chronic pain or simply

subject to recurrent colds, these ongoing health problems, (which are sometimes stress-related) can impact your effec-tiveness at work.

4 Personal relationship problems. If you’ve ever been through a divorce, or lived with an abusive partner, you know how

hard it is to keep your mind on work when your world is

being rocked by relationship

problems.

List Your StresssorsMake a list of all the stressful things that occur at work.* Make another list of all the stressful things that occur at home.* Compare the two lists and ask yourself: What work-stress is

spilling over into my home-life and vice versa? Most of the things on your lists are simply problems that need to be solved. By spending the time to indentify each problem you may set the wheels in motion for eventu-ally solving these problems too.

Divide your list of stressors into two catego-ries: stressful events and on-going conditions: A missed deadline is a stressful event. Always having more work than you can finish in a day is an ongoing condition. (Circle all the on-going conditions).

Stressful events. These events come and go. Think carefully about how you can prevent these events from happening again in the future.

Ongoing conditions are more difficult to fix, especially when they occur at work: You may need help from upper management, fellow workers or your immediate supervisor. If noth-ing can be done about the condition, decide whether you are prepared to live with this condition or not. If so, work on coping skills (see part 2 of this article). If not, think about brushing up your resume or getting out of a problematic relationship.

*Consider what’s happened to you over the last month or so. These two lists don’t have to include every single thing that has happened, but chances are if you remember something, it’s worth writing down. Thinking about your stress in this way, and making these lists, will separate you from the thousands of people who complain about their stress every day but who never take the time to do anything about it.

Work-life issues that can affect us at home:

1 Working long hours. Having to work late or put in overtime can be stressful and will clearly affect your home-life.

2 A difficult boss. The number one source of job stress is working with a difficult boss. Just like personal relation-ships at home affect us at work, so too the difficult relationships at work can affect our mood at

home.

3 No benefits plan. Benefits make a huge difference in terms of your happiness and job satisfaction. This can affect all the members of your family

as well.

4 No flextime or flexplace. Employers that allow us to work flexible schedules or occasionally work from home can greatly re-

duce the work-life balance issues of occasionally having to be two places at once, like when you have to be home with a sick child.

Learning how to deal with these cross-polli-nating problems can be a real balancing act. It’s not easy to contend with even one of

these sources of stress and somehow maintain your sense of equanimity and balance at either work or at home. All of the work-life balance problems from the top list not only cause stress, they can be caused by stress. Think about that for a second! Stress can cause us to: drink too much, spend too much, get sick and believe we don’t have the time to spend with our family and friends thus causing us to experience even MORE stress in ALL of these four areas.

That’s why stress management has to be addressed first, before you can begin to even think about main-taining worklife balance.

So how do we learn how to manage stress?

Here are five simple strategies that will help you personally take your OWN approach to significantly reducing and in some cases eliminating job stress.

1 Identify the problem.

2 Eliminate unnecessary stress.

3 Change your appraisal of the problem.

4 Manage the stress you feel about the problem.

5 Seek support.

Part 2: Tackling Job Stress

1. Identify the problem

People often experience lots of stress without ever taking the time to identify the exact source of the problem. For example, is it the traffic jam that’s causing you stress or the fact that you didn’t leave enough time to get to work? Is it your immediate supervisor that’s causing you stress or are you

overly sensitive to criticism? And is the problem of not having enough time to complete an assignment bad planning on your bosses’ part or bad negotiating on your part? This the level of scrutiny you need to give to every single problem you encounter at work.

Get to know what pushes your buttons. Take a few minutes to make a list of your top ten problems at work. Prioritize the list and identify exactly what is causing each problem.

2. Eliminate unnecessary stress

Let’s take another look at the list of job stressors you just created. Are there any stressors or “busy-work” on the list you could simply eliminate?

Step 1 is to ask the following five questions about any task:

1. Is it necessary to do this job at all? (sounds radical, but this applies to a lot of busywork.)2. Is it necessary to do this job so frequently?3. What would happen if the job weren’t done?4. Is there a simpler alternative?5. Could someone else do it

Step 2 is to take a problem solving approach to your sources of stress.

Sometimes we can solve problems at work without any help, other times we need the assistance of just one person to deal with major issues and make them go away. Keep your mind open to the idea that even major problems, will yield to simple and even easy-to-implement solutions. Part of this process involves just simply shifting your focus from being problem-oriented to being solution-oriented. The minute you start searching for solutions instead of wallowing in your problem, your stress will begin to subside.

3. Change your appraisal of the problem

Is the problem really as bad as you think it is? Your appraisal of the problem could BE the problem. Your mind runs an internal dialogue on everything you say or do. And this play by play commentary isn’t always very supportive and sometimes it’s downright mean. As a result of this overly-negative self-talk,

your thinking isn’t as accurate as it could be. You need to always question your appraisal or your interpre-tation in a stressful situation to see if the situation is really as bad as you think it is.

Here are some examples of OVERLY negative thinking and how you can begin to question it:

» Could you really have “the world’s worst boss?” » Is the task you’ve been given really going to take forever to do? » Is a certain co-worker you have trouble with always this way? » Whenever you say I can’t stand it when this or that happens, can you see that you

already HAVE withstood it? » When you hear yourself say that’s “the worst possible thing that could have hap-

pened” do you realize you wouldn’t be sitting here right now if this was true?

All these statements are irrational and when you hear yourself exaggerate your situation in this way you’ll ALWAYS add to your levels of stress. Learn how to talk back to this overly negative self-talk and by so doing, change your appraisal of the situation and lower your stress.

4. Manage the stress you feel about the problem.Every day, the residue of stressful events is left in your body like so many chalk marks on a black board. Maybe you feel stress and tension in your forehead? Maybe you feel it in your jaw? How about in your shoulders? In your back? In your belly? Now if you don’t have a way to blow off steam, guess what? You go into work day after day and get hit in all the same places. After enough days, you’re going to experi-ence chronic pain in these areas. But the techniques we’re going to demonstrate will help you erase this build-up of stress and give you a fresh start each day. It’s like taking an eraser to those chalk marks on the black board.

A. Deep breathingBreathing, unlike other autonomic functions of the body such as heartbeat and blood pressure, can be consciously controlled. Most of us only exercise conscious control of our breathing occasionally for example, when we’re holding our breath under water. Under normal circumstances, we take short, shal-low breaths, about 10 times a minute, 600 times an hour and 14,000 times a day without ever giving it a second thought. This shallow breathing mimics the kind of breathing we do when we are under stress. But you can relax the whole body by physically controlling the way that you breathe in and out, which we will demonstrate right now.

Hold your hand over your belly and breathe in deeply. Feel the air going right down to your waist. You should be able to see your hand rise as you breathe in and fall as you breathe out. Use your hand to push the last little bit of air out of your lungs as you breathe out. Now breathe in through your nose. Breathing in slowly – feeling your hand rise as the air goes down deep into your lungs and breathe out slowly feeling your hand fall. Breathe in again through your nose…and out through your partially closed mouth.

(Continue breathing this way for about a minute.)

This exercise takes less than two minutes.

Can you think of a situation at work where this would come in handy?

B. Progressive muscle relaxationProgressive muscle relaxation or PMR works on the principle that it is easier to relax a muscle after delib-erately tensing it. We are going to demonstrate that principle for you right now.

Close your eyes for a moment and focus on the muscles in and around your head. Clamp your jaw tight and scrunch the muscles in your face into the tightest frown you can make. Hold that tension for a few seconds and then…let it relax. Open your eyes. Feel the muscles in your face relaxing.Now focus on your shoulders and upper back. Arch your back and bring your shoulders up to your ears tensing all the muscles in your shoulders, neck and upper back for a few seconds. Hold it for a few sec-onds—and then release the tension noticing the relaxation that follows in the muscles of your upper back and neck.Now focus on your arms and abdomen. Clench your fists and tense your belly as if you were expecting to be poked in the stomach. Hold that tension for as long as you can and then let it go, allowing all the mus-cles in your abdomen to relax fully.Now focus on your legs and feet. Lift your feet off the floor and point your toes out straight tensing all the muscles in your legs and feet. Hold it for ten seconds and then relax…letting all the muscles in your whole body relax. Relax your head, your neck, your shoulders, your back, your arms and legs. Close your eyes for a moment. Breathe in deeply and appreciate this feeling of relaxation and warmth as it grows…all over your body.

Use this exercise when you come home from work as a way of tran-sitioning between the two places. It only takes about five minutes

and it will help you in the vitally important task of ending your workday and beginning your time with your family and

friends.

C. Stretching/YogaYoga, which means union, refers to the union of mind and body. Generally the practice combines stretch-ing with intermittent breathing. Today you’re going to try a couple of simple stretching exercises.

Reaching for Apples. Sitting in your chair, pretend that you are reaching for apples on a branch just beyond your grasp. First you reach with the right hand and then with the left. Extend each arm, one at a time, pretending to reach for those apples and really feel the stretch across your whole back. (Continue this for about a minute.)

Lemon Squeezer. Take a deep breath in…and breathe out. Now clasp your hands behind your back (palms up) and squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you were squeezing a lemon between them.Arms parallel over your head. Stand up or you can do this sitting in your chair. Take a deep breath in…and breathe out. Raise your arms up over your head and reach as high as you can. Now keeping your arms parallel lean first to the right and then to the left. Now bring your arms down to your side.

Touch your Toes. Stand up. Take a deep breath in…and breathe out. Keeping your legs straight lean over and try to touch your toes. If you can’t reach your toes, just let yourself hang there for a moment (if you start to feel faint you can always stand up) allowing the muscles in your legs, hips and back to stretch out just a little bit more. Now stand up straight. Take a deep breath in, hold it and breathe out. Sit back down and close your eyes for a moment and just enjoy the state of deep relaxation throughout your body.

This is a great series of exercises to do when you first wake up in the morning, before going to work. You only need about five minutes of time to do all of the above.

D. Aerobic ExerciseAny exercise that gets you winded is considered aerobic. Swimming, jogging, bicycling, and taking a brisk walk are all examples of aero-bic exercise. 20 to 30 minutes a day, three days a week is all you need to lower your stress and stay fit. Or 30 minutes of walking on most days is also recommended as a way to stay fit by the Surgeon General. Don’t forget to include a five to ten minute cool-down period after exercising. Think of this time as your reward for the dedication you’ve shown and enjoy the rush of endorphins you’ll most likely feel after any aerobic exer-cise period of 20 minutes or more.

5. Seek Support

Support can come in many forms. It can come in the form of a small group of like-minded individu-als who all have a particular goal or objective in common. Not only does a support group help you feel that you are not alone, it can help you muster the grass-roots support to bring your job-stress

issues to the attention of management.

If you don’t want to join or start a support group, you can still greatly increase your coping abilities by seeking the support of others on a one-to-one basis. Foster relationships with people at work and outside work. Develop a network of colleagues that you can confide in. Find a mentor, a confidant and/or a trust-ed friend – who you can bounce ideas off of. Keep in mind the importance of family, intimate relation-ships, religious and other community outreach programs than can offer you further support in times of crisis.

Support is a therapeutic and necessary weapon in your arsenal against job stress. Women understand this better than most men. Men, remember, there is no shame in admitting you have a problem. Especial-ly when you can talk with someone supportive who might help you find solutions to this problem.

Problem-solving: Your ultimate weapon against job-stressCreate a list of the top five stressors you encounter at work. You can choose your stressors from the list we’ve already made or create new ones. Number them in order of importance and come up with an ac-tion plan for solving at least the top three. As you devise your plan for tackling each stressor ask yourself the following questions which refer to our 5 basic stress management strategies:

» Can the stressor be eliminated entirely? » Can it be handed off to someone else? » How can I gain more control over the situation? » How can I control my reaction to it? » Who could I go to for advice about this problem?

Hopefully, this exercise will help you see that much of the stress in your life is really just a problem that needs to be solved. When you begin to see stress in this light you see it as a hurdle rather than a road-block. You experience it in a proactive way rather than a reactive way. You rise to the challenge rather than whither in the face of challenge.

Remember sometimes you may need help in order to manage job-stress. Support and support groups are particularly effective in helping you turn the tables on this kind of stress. The minute you seek the support of friends, colleagues and mentors it’s like turning on a switch in your mind. The advice, the consolation, and the confirmation that you are not alone, give you the courage you need to tackle your stressful problems head on.

REmemberJob stress used to be considered primarily the result of a workers inability to cope with stress. Now it is defined as a mismatch between the capabilities of the worker and the requirements of the job.

Job stress can be the result of: » Poor job fit » A difficult boss » Insufficient training » Health and safety hazards » Ergonomic problems » Unfairness in regards to perks, promotions and raises. » Too much responsibility not enough control » Too much to do and not enough time to do it » Changes in work flow » Reorganization » Too many meetings » Not working to a plan » An emphasis on quantity over quality » Interruptions » Inability to cope with stress

Remember personal problems can increase your stress at work » Financial problems » Relationship problems » Health problems » Substance abuse » And work problems can increase your stress at home » Working long hours » A difficult boss » No benefits plan » No flextime or flexplace

How to tackle Job Stress1. Identify the problem.2. Avoid unnecessary stress.3. Change your appraisal of the problem.4. Manage the stress you feel about the problem.

A. Deep BreathingB. Progressive muscle relaxationC. YogaD. Exercise

5. Seek support.

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The Last WordEveryone has stress at work. As we said earlier, job stress is considered the number one source of stress in America today. So you’re never going to find a place of employ-ment that is completely free of stress, nor would you even want to. When you really think about it, stress is what gets you up in the morning, it’s what pays the bills and it’s what gets you to work on time. So the question you ought to be asking is:

“How much stress is the right amount for me?”

As you consider what the answer to this question might be, remember our definition of job stress and think carefully about your own capabilities vs. requirements of your job. If these two elements are in balance: you will certainly have some stress on the job, but probably not more than you can comfortably handle. But if your capabilities are not in alignment with the requirements of the job then ask yourself: Would a little more training help? Would a different boss help? Are there ongoing stressful conditions at work that could be lowered? Could my coping abilities be improved?

For More Information on Stress Management visit:

www.StressStop.com

Give yourself a BREACB stands for Breathe, do deep breathing, close your eyes and take one deep breath.R stands for Reduce muscle tension, do PMR, do yoga.E stands for Exercise 3-4 times a week.A stands for Alter negative thinking.C stands for Connect, seek support, take a walk in the woods, look up at the stars at

night, listen to great music. Connect to something higher and greater than yourself.