STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE

STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE

1. In today’s fast paced Air Force, it is very common to hear someone in an office saying “I’m so stressed out”. With the big drawdown of personnel in all the armed forces, the Air Force was no exception. We were forced to do more with less. So for this one reason, it is likely that you will find stress is prevalent in the workplace. Because different people respond differently

to the same type of stress, some people seem to cope better than others (1:4). When dealing with computers, the trick is finding a healthy balance between positive, motivating stress and stress overload, which can affect the body in different ways. Understanding stress an help you change that feeling into a positive challenge. Therefore, stress with computers can become

a thing of the past. 2. You will find computers in just about every office, regardless of the type of business it is. In today’s world, computers have become the way to do business, communicate with the world, or just having one for personal recreation. Office work in general is full of potential stress, from not enough light and noisey offices, to deadlines and demanding bosses. Additional sources of stress come directly from using the computer: monotonous keyboarding, hours of staring at the screen, and lack of physical movement (2:85). For these reasons, we need to bear in mind that stress management should be a combination of reducing the stress, relaxing, and rethinking

our expectations and self-demands, i.e., breaking the everyday routine, planning ahead, making wise use of breaks or lunches, eating right, and exercising every day to keep healthy (2:86) 3. Stress is an instantaneous physical reaction to a danger or demand: “muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, the heart speeds up, and extra adrinaline rushes through your system” (3:2). No matter what you occupation, everyone feels stress at one time or another. Stress is a fact of life (3:2). That is why control stress is to your advantage, versus it controlling you. Learning to control stress is to your benefit so that you feel, 1) calm, instead of nervous, 2) in control, instead of hassled, 3) alive, instead of burned out, 4) at peace, instead of angry, 5) refreshed/renewed, instead of frazzled (3:3). Physical and Psychological affects of stress may be prominent if stress exists in your life. Some ways for you to reduce stress include but are not limited to: exercise, deep breathing, hobbies (3:11-12). Personal stress relievers are getting enough sleep, talk worries and anger, and not substituting alcohol, tobacco and other drugs for relief of stress (3:12-13). There are many agencies that may be able to help if you can not control stress yourself.4. As I mentioned before, there are various ways to reduce stress in the workplace by just adjusting you daily routine. Maintaining good health habits by exercising regularly, eating right, getting enough sleep are just a start. Using your time wisely by not trying to do everything all at once, don’t procrastinate, but pace yourself. You will see that you get a lot more done, and with fewer headaches. You can improve your work environment by doing a few simple things like adjusting your chair so that you sit properly and don’t forget to take breaks. Last but not least, learn to relax. Do not let stress run your life, learn to recognize the signs, maintain a perspective on your life and work, and seek professional help if the need arises. You can control stress and lead a healthy enjoyable life (4:15). 5. Stress will always be prevalent in the workplace as long as there is a human factor involved. But realizing how stress affects the body and publicizing positive ways to reduce

stress high levels, stress should be lessened. It is an individuals responsibility to understand and take the appropriate action, for themselves, to ensure that they are healthy Air Force members. Education about stress is most effective if every supervisor takes action and ensures that his

subordinates understand about stress and take measures to prevent stress in the workplace.