Surviving Job Stress - How to Overcome Workday Pressures

Surviving Job Stress - How to Overcome Workday Pressures

Author: JOHN B. ARDEN, PH.D.

JOB STRESS. IF YOU PICKED up this book, you’re probably experiencing
it. Everyone has in some form at some time. Is it your problem? Is
your employer causing it? What can you do about it? This book will
help you identify the symptoms of job stress and, more importantly,
teach you how to survive it.
For most people, coping with job stress requires making psychological
and behavioral changes. Whatever your particular problem
with your job, the way you deal with stress will have to change.
So, how do you know if you are one of the millions of people
suffering from job stress? You probably know you’re stressed, but
you may be confused by the symptoms. Or perhaps you don’t realize
how stressed you really are. Many people respond to stress without
understanding how it manifests itself and contributes to a wide spectrum
of physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms. This book
focuses upon all three categories. Stress affects your body, your
thoughts, your emotions, and the way you interact with people. The
table on page 10 lists some of the symptoms usually associated with
stress.
Several other structural aspects of work can contribute to job stress.
Some may be obvious, while some will surprise you. For example, we
all agree that too much work can contribute to stress, but too little
work can have the same effect.

The following is a list of work conditions and characteristics that
research shows trigger job stress:

• Lack of clear goals, objectives, and responsibilities.
• Lack of support from supervisors or co-workers.
• Much responsibility but little authority.
• Undefined expectations.
• Too many deadlines and time pressures.
• Lack of opportunity to voice complaints.
• Frequent, unnecessary, and unforeseeable obstacles.
• A position in which you have to perform beyond your ability.
• A supervisor who criticizes often and praises rarely.
• Supervisory responsibility.
• Intense and continual pressure.
• Age, sex, or racial discrimination.
• A constant threat of layoff.