Stress is one of the leading cause of death and disability worldwide today…

How do you think about stress?

Do you know when you are experiencing stress? What effect does it have on your body?

Check out this page on understanding stress published by Helpguide.org .

There is a special page on stress and gender written by the folks over at Harvard Health Publications, one of my favorite resources for all things related to wellbeing and health…and Medical News Today has a great article on stress.

Job stress is apparently one of the leading causes of stress and can have the greatest effect on health of all the stressors out there.

According to the World Health Organization, the following factors play a major role in job related stress:

Work Content

• Job Content • Monotonous, under-stimulating, meaningless tasks • Lack of variety • Unpleasant tasks • Aversive tasks

• Workload and Work pace • Having too much or too little to do • Working under time pressures

• Working Hours • Strict and inflexible working schedules • Long and unsocial hours • Unpredictable working hours • Badly designed shift systems

• Participation and Control • Lack of participation in decision making • Lack of control (for example, over work methods,

• work pace, working hours and the work environment

Work Context

• Career Development, Status and Pay • Job insecurity • Lack of promotion prospects • Under-promotion or over-promotion • Work of ‘low social value’• Piece rate payments schemes • Unclear or unfair performance evaluation systems • Being over-skilled or under-skilled for the job

• Role in the Organization • Unclear role • Conflicting roles within the same job • Responsibility for people • Continuously dealing with other people and their problems

• Interpersonal Relationships • Inadequate, inconsiderate or unsupportive supervision • Poor relationships with co-workers • Bullying, harassment and violence • Isolated or solitary work • No agreed procedures for dealing with problems or complaints

• Organizational Culture • Poor communication • Poor leadership • Lack of clarity about organizational objectives and structure

• Home-Work Interface • Conflicting demands of work and home • Lack of support for domestic problems at work • Lack of support for work problems at home

Keep checking back for more information about stress and ideas for combatting stress in your life…

Remember to breathe!

Peace and love, Nurse Courtney

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