KEY POINTS:
Many people are suffering from an overload of background stressors that are having an impact on their working lives. There's simply too much going on.
That's the view of Dr John McEwan who says the pace of life, along with social and growing economic pressures, are lowering people's resilience to meet the demands of work when the pressure builds.
"Most people are going into busy jobs with busy lives," he says.
Dr McEwan is an ACC-registered counsellor in stress-related disorders and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. He specialises in the fields of stress, depression and burnout.
He says he is regularly seeing patients who are doing two or three major roles at work, when in the recent past one person would have done each job.
"The pressure on people to keep on working, taking on more, is high," he says. "But the satisfaction and the time to [enjoy] the fruit of your labours is less."
And it was never meant to be this way.
"It is one of the biggest jokes of the 1970s," he says. "Back then people said the challenge we'll have in the year 2000 would be how we'll use all our leisure time."
Dr McEwan is referring to the pundits and commentators of 30 years ago who made predictions that the software and computers of today would do so much work for us that everyone would have more free time than they would know what to do with. There were genuine concerns that many people would be bored, not knowing what to do with all their leisure time.
"It is amazing to see how it is the exact opposite to what was predicted," he says. "And I don't even think the technology we have today has made us any more efficient.
"Some of the computers are even the cause of the stress. Hand-held computers such as the BlackBerry intrude on people's free time. Rather than technology being a good tool, we have almost allowed it to enslave us."
He says because technology is all-pervasive, workers have to be more self-disciplined and ruthless when it comes to time management.
"People need to take charge and give themselves time to recharge their batteries," says Dr McEwan.
And for those who take on too much work or find it difficult to cope then Dr McEwan can list the things that may happen to them.
He says the signs of stress include short-term memory failure, irritability over even minor things, being unable to concentrate and an inability to see and think laterally.
"These are the obvious ones," he says. "And then there are people who have busy minds - the mind that won't stop, there's muscle tension, irritable bowl syndrome, skin problems, high blood pressure, chest pains. These are all signs the body gives you to let you know that something is not right. When you get signs such as these, it is your body saying 'stop'."
Dr McEwan is quite clear that when workplace stress starts getting out of hand the employer must step in to help those affected.
"The first thing an employer can do is educate their staff in accordance with the 2003 Health and Safety Amendment Act," he says. "Staff should be helped to understand what stress does so they can spot it before they fall over.
"Because if a staff member goes off ill and has to go to their GP - and then to someone like me for help - then the employer may be without that person for [weeks]."
Firms can lose an "incredible" amount of productivity as a result. People suffering from work overload and unrealistic time pressures should tell their boss straight away and not to struggle on at a cost to their health.
"People need to tell their company the symptoms they are experiencing, explain the cause is pure overload, that there is nothing else in their life causing the issues and they want it addressed," says Dr McEwan.
"And if the firm doesn't respond in accordance with employment law then the firm will be in trouble."
However, Dr McEwan says staff faced with what he calls a "mongrel" employer should get work elsewhere, perhaps with a rival firm.
"Good employees are still in short supply and, if a firm wants to burn out its best people, then their staff will be snapped up by the opposition. I see lots of examples of bad firms destroying their best people. The good people leave and the firm folds as a result."
Garth Castle, author of Bite Size Chunks to Success - Controlling Stress and founder of Down to Basics Training, says people can choose to be proactive and constructive when it comes to stress at work or reactive and destructive. He says that if your boss yells at you then you can decide how to respond to that.
"You can react badly or take it on board and avoid getting emotional about it," he says. "It comes down to how you choose to respond."
However, he also says it is essential that people know their stress boundaries or trigger points.
"If you know where your boundaries are then you'll know when you have to do something about the stress levels," says Castle.
People should only focus on things they have control of and "let go" of things they cannot change - such as an uncaring boss who keeps loading them with impossible deadlines.
"There are [solutions]. Get a mentor, develop new time management skills and continuously review them."
Like McEwan, Castle also says staff under stress should tell their boss or someone in authority at the company.
Take ownership [of the stress situation] by providing [your manager] with a realistic solution that you have identified," says Castle.
"If you have large workloads then develop and schedule recovery rituals throughout the day."
Castle says the secret is not how you manage your time - but how you manage your energy. And that can include your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy.
When people lack energy then everything can appear worse than it actually is. Castle recommends recovery rituals should be done every one to two hours. These can involve going for a walk, doing stretches at your desk, drinking water, eating healthy food and not doing one job for too long.
Dr McEwan says bodies are designed to respond to demands but there is a limit for all of us that, when reached, will cause a breakdown.
"The challenge for the employer and employee is to work together to ensure that work pressures do not create this hazardous situation," he says.
HOW TO BEAT STRESS
- Boost endorphins. These chemicals lift serotonin levels in the brain, assisting thinking processes, raising energy levels and fighting depressive tendencies. These seven activities are proven to help.
- Exercise. Do 40 minutes daily to pump maximum levels of serotonin. Walk each morning or at lunch. Explore evening weight training at the gym.
- Show affection. Loving others (pets or people) will recharge the system. Draw strength from loving relationships.
- Laugh. Make time for laughter each day. Go to a funny movie.
- Tears. Tears help the body rebalance; use them if they're there.
- Creative activities. These will help you get the "yes" factor back.
- Celebrate. Rejoice in anything; it helps you be positive and active.
- Worship. Anything that expresses your beliefs is a great reviver. Go somewhere awesome and let the power of that place get inside you - it really works.
- Dr John McEwan
