There are two job related stresses that has been affecting me the most, and these are decreasing work efficiency, especially of the people under me, and continuously increasing direct medical and insurance costs.
At this time of the year, people who are in the corporate world, tend to work really fast. Quickness seems to be the name of the given – the person who can provide the output first wins; the person who can solve the problems the quickest shines. But however fast everyone wants it to be, quality must always comes first and not quantity. And this is where my first source of job-related stress comes into view. It is pretty stressful for me if my colleagues will provide output which does not meet the quality standards that the company has set.
Meanwhile, the continuous increase of direct medical and insurance cost that I have to pay for as part of my working benefits, is also giving me an added and unwelcomed stress. Each time I will check my pay check, I couldn’t help but notice that a huge part of my salary is being spent on my insurances and other medical related costs. This is really stressful that my motivation to continue working lessens.
Upon reading the article, it has become apparent to me that the work-related stresses that I have been experiencing are quite common to a lot of workers, or should I say, corporate slaves like me. Like what has been mentioned in the article, these work-related stresses have indeed affected both my personal and professional life. I am unable to sleep and eat well. I would have stomach aches or headaches sometimes. I could not focus clearly on the tasks on hand. There are times wherein I develop a deep angst towards other people such as my co-workers. As what is insinuated in the article, work-related stress is really unhealthy as it will affect no just once work, but even his/her personal life, and I can attest to that.
There are some ways that I follow to reduce job stress. First, I try to go out or find some time to at least have dinner or some coffee with friends. I make sure that these se of friends that I go out with are not the same set of friends that I work with. I also make sure not to discuss or talk about work related topics when I go out with friends. It’s like when I leave the office, I leave all the works behind me… and right outside the office is a totally new and different me.
I also try to find other diversions to take my mind off from work. I go to the gym. It relaxes my mind and at the same time exercises my body. I drive around town to get some fresh air and unwind a bit.
Lastly, I make sure that I open up to somebody. It helps when I can voice out what I feel. I have a friend from work whom I normally talk with when I am stressed out. I would normally ask this friend to give me some positive thoughts to think about and be thankful for. It is like looking for more good reasons why I should stick around my job.
Through the article, I then realized that I am not the only one who is experiencing this kind of work related stress. There are many of us and the statistic continuously increases through time. What is good for me is that I have ways that help me reduce the impact of such work-related stresses. I have my own stress-relievers which have been quite effective for me. The least that I can do now is share these stress-reliever tips to my friends and colleagues so ha they, too, will know how to manage stress when they face one.