Workplace Stress

[barkomatic]

Lately, I've been having a little trouble with this. The way I've been trying to combat stress is when I find myself in the middle of a stressful situation I immediately try to break it down and figure out if my emotional reaction to it is proportional to whatever is going on. So far, the answer has always been no and then I try to put it in perspective, calm down, and unclench my teeth. The problem is, I haven't really mastered the ability to put certain work events in perspective and calm down--and still care about my job. Sometimes I feel like if I'm not stressed then I don't care.

Does being stressed at your job mean you care about it? If you aren't stressed at your job does that mean you aren't engaged?

 

[Zombie Acorn]

I don't get stressed at jobs really, I usually just realize they need me to be there more than I need to and if they piss me off I can just leave and tell them to **** off.

 

[eawmp1]

Does being stressed at your job mean you care about it? If you aren't stressed at your job does that mean you aren't engaged?

Being dedicated and motivated to do your job to the upmost of your ability means you are engaged/care about it.

Being "stressed" is an unhealthy response to either an unhealthy/unsupportive work environment or an abnormal personal response to a healthy/supportive work environment. I suggest you consider some counselling to figure out which issue you have. If the former, consider a new job - your work enviromnet is not good for you. If the latter, you may have this issue with any situation and you need to work on you.

 

[mscriv]

You need to determine if your stress is "good stress or bad stress." By this I mean the kind of stress that pushes and motivates you or the kind that distracts and overwhelms you. When it comes to work or performance related stress one kind will aid you in that it can raise your effectiveness/productivity, but the other kind can decrease your effectiveness/productivity.

There's also a big difference in stress that is mental/emotional meaning thoughts/worry and stress that is physiological meaning it affects your body and daily functioning. This can also be either positive or negative in it's impact upon you.

The reasoning and mental analysis you are performing is a good cognitive coping skill. The overall goal is not to do away with stress in your life because that is impossible. The goal is to manage and overcome stress so that it becomes a tool for positive functioning.

One of the best tools I've found in managing any kind of stress, work included, is to truly understand control. By this I mean recognize and live out the fact that total control is an illusion. The only thing you have any measure of control over in life is yourself. So do what you can do and don't worry about what is beyond your control because there is nothing you can do about it anyway. In other words, don't waste your time and energy stressing about what you can't control. Instead focus on what is within your scope of influence and how you will respond to what is out of your control.

Sorry for the long post. I hope this is helpful to you or someone else.

 

[barkomatic]

Being dedicated and motivated to do your job to the upmost of your ability means you are engaged/care about it.

Being "stressed" is an unhealthy response to either an unhealthy/unsupportive work environment or an abnormal personal response to a healthy/supportive work environment. I suggest you consider some counselling to figure out which issue you have. If the former, consider a new job - your work enviromnet is not good for you. If the latter, you may have this issue with any situation and you need to work on you.

There are certainly aspects of my workplace that are not healthy or at least "weird" though its hard for me to discern whether in total its "unhealthy"--which is probably why you suggested counseling and I appreciate that. I'll consider it.

My guess is its a combination of a somewhat unhealthy workplace and my response.

 

[eawmp1]

There are certainly aspects of my workplace that are not healthy or at least "weird" though its hard for me to discern whether in total its "unhealthy"--which is probably why you suggested counseling and I appreciate that. I'll consider it.

My guess is its a combination of a somewhat unhealthy workplace and my response.

Good luck - NO job is ever worth you physical/mental health.