Surviving Job Stress: How to Overcome Workday Pressures

224 Pages·2002·1.1 MB·English

by  John Boghosian Arden

Surviving
HOW TO OVERCOME WORKDAY PRESSURES
BY
J B. A , P .D.
OHN RDEN H
Franklin Lakes, NJ
Copyright ©2002 by John B. Arden
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copy-
right Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in
part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission
from the publisher, The Career Press.
Surviving Job Stress
EDITED BY DIANNA WALSH
TYPESET BY JOHN J. O’SULLIVAN
Cover design by Lu Rossman/ Digi Dog Design
Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press
To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and
Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for
further information on books from Career Press.
The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687,
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
www.careerpress.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arden, John B.
Surviving job stress : how to overcome daily pressures / by John B. Arden.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56414-609-X (pbk.)
1. Job stress. I. Title.
HF5548.85 .A73 2002
158.7'2--dc21 2001058286
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my agent Ed Knappman for finding a good
home for this book at Career Press. And to the always pleasant and
hardworking people at Career Press including Stacey Farkas, Michael
Lewis, Kirsten Beucler, John J. O’Sullivan, and Karen Wolf. Also, to
Michael Skolnik for his helpful suggestions on the chapters dealing
with anxiety and depression. Finally, last but not least, my wife Vicki
for her editorial help, for the drawings used in this book, and patience
while I wrote and our two sons Paul and Gabriel.

Contents
Introduction: Stressed at Work?..........................................................9
The Changing Workplace...............................................................14
Chapter 1: What Is Stress?..................................................................17
Fight or Flight ..................................................................................17
Controlled and Uncontrolled Stress..............................................21
Chapter 2: Cold Sweat: Anxiety .........................................................27
Anxiety: What Is It?.........................................................................27
The Panic Spiral...............................................................................29
Defusing the Anxiety.......................................................................31
Medical, Drug, and Non-Stress Causes of Anxiety......................34
Chapter 3: Down in the Dumps: Depression....................................37
Climbing Out of the Quicksand .....................................................38
Depression and Thinking................................................................40
Get Active.........................................................................................42
Medical, Drug, and Non-Stress Causes of Depression ...............45
Chapter 4: You Are What You Eat...................................................49
Get Balanced....................................................................................49
Getting a Boost or a Crash? ...........................................................53
Salt.....................................................................................................54
Nicotine.............................................................................................55
Caffeine.............................................................................................55
Chapter 5: Taking the Edge Off?.......................................................61
Alcohol..............................................................................................62
Just a Little Toke?...........................................................................67
Chapter 6: Harassment........................................................................71
Sexual Harassment ..........................................................................71
The Tyrant........................................................................................76
Chapter 7: Human Conflict in the Workplace..................................79
Those “Other” People.....................................................................79
Social Shock Absorbers...................................................................84
Unraveling “Them”.........................................................................86
Gossip................................................................................................89
Chapter 8: Seeing Red.........................................................................91
Losing Control .................................................................................92
Neutralizing Anger..........................................................................93
Road Rage......................................................................................102
Chapter 9: Job Burnout.....................................................................105
Chapter 10: Medicines and Herbs....................................................109
Benzodiazepines.............................................................................109
Antidepressants..............................................................................110
Herbs...............................................................................................113
Chapter 11: Move and Feel Better ..................................................117
Stretching........................................................................................117
Moving ............................................................................................120
Chapter 12: Surviving Tech Stress....................................................123
Age and Tech Stress......................................................................124
Humanizing Tech Work................................................................129
Avoiding Impersonal Communication........................................131
Surviving High-Tech Surveillance................................................133
Transcending Tech Fear ...............................................................134
Telecommuting with Less Stress..................................................136
Juggling the Nanosecond..............................................................137
Chapter 13: Super Stress...................................................................141
Shock Absorbers............................................................................142
The Personality of the Supervisor................................................143
Balancing the Stress of Supervision.............................................146
Chapter 14: Should You Take Time Off?.......................................149
Avoiding the Black Hole...............................................................149
Disability and Workers’ Compensation ......................................153
Is It Time to Move On?.................................................................158
Chapter 15: Job Fishing.....................................................................163
The Big Net ....................................................................................163
The Interview .................................................................................165
Chapter 16: Making an Attitude Adjustment.................................171
Manage Your Time .......................................................................171
Stress Tolerance.............................................................................172
Chapter 17: Get Some Sleep ............................................................177
Sleep: What It Is and What It Is Not...........................................178
Insomnia..........................................................................................182
Factors That Induce Insomnia .....................................................184
Sleep Regimen ...............................................................................186
Treating Insomnia..........................................................................189
Chapter 18: Relax ..............................................................................197
Breathing ........................................................................................198
Hatha Yoga ....................................................................................199
The Progressive Relaxation Method...........................................200
Imagery ...........................................................................................200
Self-Hypnosis..................................................................................201
Autogenic Training........................................................................202
Body Scan .......................................................................................203
The Sigh of Relief..........................................................................204
Biofeedback....................................................................................204
Meditation and Prayer ..................................................................207
Appendix: Recommended Readings and Internet Resources......211
Index ....................................................................................................215
About the Author................................................................................223

Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Stressed at Work?
JOB STRESS. IF YOU PICKED up this book, you’re probably experiencing
it. Everyone has in some form at some time. Is it your problem? Is
your employer causing it? What can you do about it? This book will
help you identify the symptoms of job stress and, more importantly,
teach you how to survive it.
For most people, coping with job stress requires making psycho-
logical and behavioral changes. Whatever your particular problem
with your job, the way you deal with stress will have to change.
So, how do you know if you are one of the millions of people
suffering from job stress? You probably know you’re stressed, but
you may be confused by the symptoms. Or perhaps you don’t realize
how stressed you really are. Many people respond to stress without
understanding how it manifests itself and contributes to a wide spec-
trum of physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms. This book
focuses upon all three categories. Stress affects your body, your
thoughts, your emotions, and the way you interact with people. The
table on page 10 lists some of the symptoms usually associated with
stress.
If you fail to recognize the symptoms of job stress and take action,
your stress is likely to snowball. Consider Sara’s case, for example.
She was a valued employee. Her department’s supervisor relied on
her more than he relied on any of her co-workers, especially when
there was a deadline. He knew that if he delegated the important
work to her co-workers, he risked delays. When Sara was assigned a
task, she would complete it well before the deadline.
9