Job Stressing You Out? You're Not Alone

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Consider it the great equalizer. Black or white, straight or gay, young or old, male or female, if you have a job, odds are it's stressing you the @%#! out.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which examined a host of studies on the phenomenon, found one-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives; three-fourths of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago, and problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than any other life stressor.

Why? The reasons are many and can run the gamut from having a boss who is a putz to not seeing a clear path for advancement. Or maybe you are a trailblazer in your company and now are finding it difficult to be the only Black, Latino or LGBT employee in the office.

Perhaps you're just in the wrong job.

Ellen Galinsky, president and cofounder of Families and Work Institute and a past contributor to DiversityInc.com, released a study earlier this year, the "2008 National Study of Employers." In it, Galinsky found that employees in more effective and flexible workplaces were more likely to have greater engagement in their jobs, a higher level of job satisfaction, stronger intentions to remain with their employers and less negative spillover from job to home.

"The stress factors are typically the opposite of what makes an effective workplace," says Galinsky. "In the most recent study that we did with Catalyst, we talked about having bosses and coworkers that help you succeed, having a trust in those people, and feeling comfortable in being yourself."

According to data from the Mayo Clinic, here are some of the leading signs of job stress:

·         Do you find yourself being more cynical, critical and sarcastic at work?

·         Do you drag yourself into work and have trouble getting started once you arrive?

·         Have you become more irritable and less patient with coworkers, customers or clients?

·         Do you feel that you face insurmountable barriers at work?

·         Do you feel that you lack the energy to be consistently productive?

·         Do you no longer feel satisfaction from your achievements?

·         Do you have a hard time laughing at yourself?

·         Are you tired of your coworkers asking if you're OK?

·         Do you feel disillusioned about your job?

·         Are you self-medicating--using food, drugs or alcohol--to feel better or to simply not feel?

·         Have your sleep habits or appetite changed?

·         Are you troubled by headaches, neck pain or lower back pain?

Not to be lost in the equation is the additional stress that employees from traditionally underrepresented groups may face in the workplace because of their ethnic background or orientation. The idea of job stress among Latino executives so intrigued Maria Rodriguez-Calcagno that she cosponsored a study while at the University of Tennessee that specifically looked at job stress among Latino executives. Her study, which explored job stress among a random sample of 219 Latino professionals who possessed MBAs at the manager level or above, found that Latino professionals who participated reported higher levels of job stress than non-Latino employees. She found that a lack of organizational support often contributed more to the variability of job stress. She also believes cultural and communication barriers may play a significant role.

"Latinos often tend to let issues build rather than expressing themselves in the moment, which leads to increased stress," she says. "You have to communicate with supervisors and your peers about expectations. Are the expectations too high? Are they not clear because of cultural issues? If I come from a culture where certain behaviors are expected and that's not what I receive in the workplace, that can lead to undue stress."

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has cited job stress as a major threat to the health of workers. The organization suggests several strategies for employers and employees to implement to reduce workplace stress. They include:

• Look to balance your workload with your own capabilities
• Ask that your role and responsibilities be clearly defined
• Request to participate in decisions and actions that affect your job
• Look for additional opportunities for social interaction among your fellow employees
• Attempt to establish a work schedule that is compatible with your personal responsibilities outside of the workplace

Galinsky also believes seeking out mentors can help alleviate stress. "Find people who you think have done well within the system and ask them what they did to succeed, and ask if you could have a little mentoring," she says.

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