How to fight job stress?

There is growing evidence to suggest a positive correlation between job-related stress and a higher risk of coronary heart disease. It is important to understand how stress affects the body's functions and how factors that lead to greater workplace stress should be tackled.

We all know how a bad day at the office leaves us feeling drained, frustrated or depressed. While scientists have known ‘workplace stress’ could affect heart functions, the exact mechanism has remained unclear.

Stress is a leading cause of breakdown in the body’s normal self-regulating systems. Important organs of the body like the heart, stomach and intestines work under the influence of the autonomic nervous system. They function in an involuntary and feedback pattern. However, research has shown stress, due to any cause, especially resulting from workplace-related factors, causes major behavioral changes. These behavioral patterns often verge towards risky behavior like poor exercise, faulty diet, substance addiction like alcohol, drugs or smoking or suicidal tendencies. These habits contribute to the blocks in the endocrine system that sets off the chain reaction that ultimately impacts the vital organs. In fact, ‘at risk’ lifestyle habits are the main cause in two-thirds of heart attacks occurring each year.

Now, we need to focus specifically towards workplace stress simply because employees as a segment of the population are in the most productive years of their lives. It would include entrepreneurs too. Loss of work hours due to disease-induced lay off or for treatment can have devastating economic consequences. Psychological fall out like low morale and fear of alienation lower the body’s immune response resulting in poor state of health.

What then is the solution? Employers must recognize stress as an important factor that could influence physical and emotional well being of the employees. The organizational culture should be transparent and collaborative. Adequate employee-centric measures can minimize stress. Communication channels should be open and seniors should be mentors to those lower in the rung.

Employees too can overcome the problem of work-related stress by adopting simple strategies. Some of these are:

Ø Prioritizing and scheduling their job activities
Ø Delegating responsibilities
Ø Communicating with the superiors
Ø Eating a well-balanced diet. Nutrition research has shown significant benefits of eating a diet rich in minerals and anti-oxidants that are superb benefactors for the feedback system. Food from the major nutrient groups as well as trace minerals and plenty of fiber are essential for healthy living.
Ø Getting enough exercise
Ø Limiting alcohol and smoking
Ø Bonding with family and friends

We cannot escape stress in this highly competitive environment. We can, however, minimize its presence through well-coordinated strategies. Living a healthy, productive life is not so stressful, should it?