Do you know what the future holds in 2014 for you? Are you now dreading the holiday season with more demands on the job, an unconcerned boss about your personal welfare, and new threats of pending layoffs? All of these things create stress and anxiety for working professionals as the holiday season approaches.
Sadly, our standard of living is eroding. Families cannot make ends meet despite working multiple jobs. Companies are demanding more. It is no surprise that folks are stressed out. According to the third annual Work Stress Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Everest College, more than eight in 10 employed Americans are stressed out by at least one thing about their jobs.
Additionally, the study showed poor pay and increased workloads were top sources of concern for many employees (1,019 surveyed by phone). The results produced a significant increase (73% to 83%) from last year’s survey, which found that more employees were stressed at work.
Another holiday season has come and gone. After the presents have been given out and the year comes to a close, many people will reminisce about the past year. Unfortunately, some people’s lives will be filled with many defeats, broken relationships, and unfulfilled dreams.
These many setbacks may be relatively minor in nature. Pastor Richard S. Brown of Knoxville notes, “For many people, the holidays season bring great pressure and stress…We stress that we can’t get everyone something for Christmas?” or they may be much more serious.
Depression can happen to anyone. Christian Maslach and Michael Leiter, authors of The Truth about Burn-out, explain how stress can burn out people and impact their mental state. In fact, many professionals are succeeding in the corporate environment while failing miserably at their own personal relationships. If you are human, you will experience some disappointments. It does not take a genius to understand how someone can get depressed. Some call it a “Pity Party.”
With the ongoing global crisis and individual financial struggles, more and more Americans need to find better coping tools for survival. 2014 and beyond are full of a lot of uncertainty. You can spend the holidays in despair or you can take control of some things to have a more successful life. This does not happen by chance.
For millions of individuals, a pity party is a regular affair. However, individuals must be persistent during the current economic crisis and a good outlook goes a long way. Your attitude will greatly impact how you retool your life so that you can be successful in the future.
Please discuss how you plan to deal with those uncertainties in 2014.
© 2013 by Daryl D. Green
Nu Leadership Revolution Blog 
I have found over the past year that my dog has become a stress reliever, and I have never been a dog person before this puppy came into our family. However, our family laughs many times a day watching her antics. I’m not suggesting everyone get a pet, but find something to laugh at or someone to laugh with each day. Find joy in each day.
Angela,
Welcome to our blog and thanks for your dynamic insight! You introduced one critical point that most busy professionals miss. You can often relieve stress without some complicated formula. Simplicity does count. Everyone has to find what works for them. You did!
Thanks again!
Dr. D. Green
According to Segal, exercising, eating right, and getting enough sleep are very important to maintaining stress in your life. Getting organized and prioritizing your time helps with relieving stress also.
I too have dogs, three. I love to come home and walk them at the park. No one else but me and the dogs. It gives me time to think about my day, what was good and bad about it and what I can do to make tomorrow better. Perhaps I can fix something I feel I did wrong or that I can improve on and it really relieves me worrying about work at home.
Jeanne, S. (2014, January). How to reduce and manage workplace and job stress. In Stress at Work. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.helpguide.org
Surveys show that more than eight in 10 employed Americans are stressed out by at least one thing about their jobs. Poor pay and increasing workloads were top sources of concern reported by American workers (Huffington Post, 2013). Workers are still weary and stressed out from years of a troubled economy that has brought about longer hours, layoffs and budget cuts.
Anxiety among employees is rooted into our working lives, and it is important to understand new and better ways of coping with the pressure. The first solution is to recognize what is actually stressing you out. Take care of yourself, get enough exercise, it is a great stress reliever, get enough sleep, eat right. Reduce job stress by prioritizing and getting organized. Your newfound ability to maintain a sense of self-control in stressful situations will often be well-received by coworkers, managers, and subordinates alike, which can lead to better relationships at work (Segal,Smith, 2014)). Break bad habits.Many of us make job stress worse with negative thoughts and behavior. If you can turn around these self-defeating habits, you’ll find employer-imposed stress easier to handle.
These are just a few examples of making your job less stressful and give you peace of mind that you can go home after a long day at work and not take it out on your family.
Segal, J., & Smith, M. (2014, January). How to reduce and manage job and workplace stress. In Stress at Work. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.helpguide.org
8 in 10 Americans are stressed about their jobs. (n.d.). In Work stress on the Rise. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com