adminDr Mazvita Machinga
IN the past months, I have noticed a pattern of clients coming for counselling with disturbing stories of burnout, overwork and psychosomatic complains from workplace related stress. I call these clients “chronically stressed workers.” They persevere to work under severe pressure, tension and trauma.
While pressure at the workplace is unavoidable due to the demands of the contemporary work environment, when that pressure becomes excessive or otherwise unmanageable it leads to negative stress.
Affected clients detail struggling with health issues and damaged relationships, sticking with their jobs, without having any choice to leave the job or go somewhere else.
While others are armchair quarterbacks who spend time complaining and criticising, others do not even speak out because they don’t want to seem like troublemakers, hence, they bottle up all pain.
Their work environments are gradually killing them. Work related stress is devastating leading to problems such as poor health, stress reactions, reduced productivity, and inefficiency.
A prominent family doctor, David Posen, revealed three main causes of workplace stressors confirmed by clients that I have assisted. According to Posen, the big three work related stressors are: volume, velocity and ill-treatment.
In terms of volume, people are having to tackle tonnes and tonnes of work which then affects their health, their sleep patterns, their coping capabilities and their personal lives.
By velocity, Posen meant that workplace pace has gotten faster because of technology, increased expectations, unrealistic goals and deadlines.
Ill-treatment a biggest stressor comes in the form of unwarranted, chronic harassment, and all the politics people play in workplaces. As observed by Posen, one abusive person can create stress for dozens of people.
It is, however, the role of employers, managers, organisations and employees to lower stress levels all around. The following are some tips that help you lower stress levels at your work place.
As an employee you have a role to play:
1) Take responsibilities for your task, and not spend time on things you cannot control or change.
2) Set aside time to relax and refresh, take regular time-outs when at work.
3) Prioritise and set realistic goals.
4) Break large projects into manageable parts.
5) Stop being an armchair quarterback, just waiting to complain , criticise or condemn, take action by engaging constructively with your colleagues and superiors to effect positive changes.
6) Figure out healthy way to effectively communicate your frustration or concerns without suppressing. Manage ways stress affects you by adopting self-soothing and problem solving techniques.
7) Know when to extract yourself from a toxic environment before it injures you. Seek supportive counselling.
According to World Health Organization, a healthy working environment is one in which there is not only an absence of harmful conditions but an abundance of health-promoting ones. How do you rate your work environment? As employers, supervisors and organisations:
1) Take measures to ensure your workers are in a supportive and harmonious environment.
2) Keep goals realistic and attainable.
3) Listen, listen and listen. Move toward a learning conversation, sharing and understanding feelings, and handling difficult conversations productively.
4) Take responsibility of your contribution to a situation and help employees understand theirs.
5) Assign your employee a task which he/she is knowledgeable, skilled or qualified and that lies within the requirements of their job description.
6) Make the workplace free from harassment, demeaning, corruption and have protective and caring policies in place.
7) Respect and appreciation increases motivation and satisfaction as well as health and well-being.
8) Include continuous assessment of risks to health , the provision of appropriate information and training to promote healthy work environment.
Dr Mazvita Machinga Ph.D. is a qualified Psychotherapist in Mutare who offers professional counselling and psychotherapy. For more information on stress management strategies and coping with various other mental health issues contact [email protected] or call 0771 754 519.
Online Reporter