Sunday Night Dread Is Real

The numbers are frightening. It’s concerning how many people acknowledge that work-place stress is the number one cause for distress in their lives. Even exceeding financial, family or health issues.*

• 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful
• 26 percent of workers said they were “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work”
• 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42% say their coworkers need such help
• Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial or family problems

It’s clear that many well-meaning, hard working men and women are dealing with high levels of stress on a daily basis. We know that this leads to burnout, emotional and physical distress in addition to impacting our relationships and other aspects of our lives. 

When work is becoming detrimental to our health and well-being, we clearly need to make changes.

Finding a new job, or quitting is not a solution for most of us. Learning new skills to manage and eliminate stress is quickly becoming a discussion in interviews and HR departments.

If you are employed, you are likely effected by work related stress. All of us have these issues from time to time. A new project or a looming deadline can sometimes be a temporary cause of stress.

But that’s not what I’m talking about today. I’m talking daily, chronic, dread-inducing stress that leaves you feeling burned out, tired and/or anxious. It is probably effecting your attitude, your sleep, and certainly leaving you with feelings of anxiety.

It’s time to make some changes so that you can put your well-being at the center (as the hub) of all your responsibilities. Taking a few actions now will help you reduce stress and begin changing the ever-escalating toll is takes on you.

Here are a few things you can do (on your own) or if you manage others, share these so everyone can begin to shift from stressed out to stress-free.

– Keep track of what causes your highest stress moments. For a week or two, keep a notebook or put it on a notes app so you can honestly see what’s pushing your stress buttons.

Note what your reaction was too. Did you hit the vending machine, yell at a co-worker, or go for a walk?

• Establish boundaries at work. If working through lunch means you’re going to be stressed out all afternoon, then it’s time to make a change. Use the lunch time to get out of the building and take in the sights.

• Establish boundaries at home. If checking and responding to work email after dinner means you’ll toss and turn all night set firm cut-off times and stick to them. Nothing creative happens in an over-taxed mind.

• Commit to carving out at least 15 minutes a day to a relaxation period. A short walk, meditation, listening to music, deep breathing, even a short nap will help you reset your stress levels.

Stress is real and it impacts our health, our relationships and our quality of life. I’m here to help.

Don’t let burnout rob you of your joy and well-being.

*Statistics from stress.org