Having a job is often accompanied by work stress. Anybody who has ever had a job can tell you that. Deadlines, high work pressure or other work related issues can cause higher stress levels.. Most people can handle a stressful workweek if this doesn’t happen too often. However, a lot of people suffer from chronic work stress these days. Chronic work stress often goes hand in hand with both mental and physical health problems. Chronic work stress is becoming quite a common problem in different work fields.

Do you experience work stress?

Work stress is quite easy to recognize. However, work stress is usually preceded by a few factors that elicit the problem. A high workload, unresolved conflicts at work or a lack of growing opportunities are quite common predecessors for chronic work stress.

Symptoms of chronic work stress are quite divers. Beginning symptoms are often seen in the form of returning headaches, stomachaches or sleeping problems. Most of the time, nothing is undertaken to counter the stress in this phase, which causes the symptoms to worsen. High blood pressure, a weakened immune system and insomnia are often the consequence. This symptoms are in turn related to health issues like depression, obesity and sleeping disorders. A burnout is usually the consequence.

Dealing with work stress

Chronic work stress is often something that can be prevented by dealing with it in the right way. First, it’s important to set clear boundaries for yourself in this digital age. A good example is setting the rule that you don’t work at home or outside office hours. This way you create a work free zone where you can recharge and relax. This is only effective if you can let all work related thoughts and actions go too.

If you suffer from returning work stress, it’s important to keep track of this. Map the situations that cause you to experience stress. Also write down the accompanying feelings and reactions. This can help you to raise awareness of the stressful situations and to find connections between stressors and your reaction. Talk about this with your supervisor so you can work towards a solution with him or her. Your superior should also be motivated to find a solution because a sick employee will only raise his or her stress levels too.

NiceDay: Map the situations that cause you to experience stress in your Daily Planner. Write down the accompanying thoughts, feelings and reactions. Talk to your professional about this and see if you can work towards a solution.