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San Diego Union Tribune -
United States
February 12, 2006
Workers
faced with surging workloads and expectations
Time and again, career coach Nancy Helgeson meets people pleading
for help in taking control of their work demands.
“Certainly for managers, how to say 'no' is one of the biggest
issues they face,” says Helgeson, a
San Diego
psychotherapist. “They know they need to draw boundaries in their jobs, but
they're not sure how to do that.”
Some of the workers faced with surging workloads and expectations
that they can't meet have figured a way to resolve the demands: They look for
other jobs.
A recent survey by the Pittsburgh-based business consulting firm
Key Group found that 18 percent of workers plan to switch jobs this year
specifically to bring a better work-life balance to their lives. “Balance
really is a bottom-line issue,” says Key Group Chief Executive Joanne Sujansky.
Her company's survey of 1,727 workers ages 18 to 64 revealed an almost desperate
feeling among many. While the respondents worked in a variety of positions, a
majority identified themselves as middle management, office and administrative
or professional. The surprise is that so many workers feel overwhelmed
that they think finding another job is the best solution. With the
U.S. unemployment rate at 4.7 percent – its lowest level in more than
four years – employers may find it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain
talented employees.
“I see this as an early warning of a huge turnover issue soon to
face the
U.S.,” Sujansky says. “Many companies simply don't have a culture that
emphasizes work-life balance. There's a prevailing attitude among employers that
employees are there to work and their personal life, or lack thereof, is
irrelevant. Let me bluntly say that if you think this way, it will harm your
company.” Whether the workload has increased from staff cutbacks,
increased expectations or workers simply sensing they need to be more
productive, Helgeson sees the resulting stress as a growing problem. “You
hear that companies say they have to compete in the global marketplace and that
they have competitors breathing down their necks,” she says. “That translates
directly to the workers who are expected to do more. “But the demands of
companies are always going to be consuming. It's up to individual workers to
take a stand and put boundaries on how much of their lives they will devote to
the job. The companies won't do it for you.”
Virginia Byrd, an Encinitas career counselor, has been pushing
companies to provide more work-life balance for more than a decade; she says
that companies endorse work-life balance in cycles. “When the economy has
been good for quite a while, companies seem interested in helping their
workers,” she says. “But as soon as things tighten up, you see them backing away
from that.” Even when some companies offer programs to make workers more
comfortable, they undermine those programs with subtle pressures not to use
them. “A key issue is whether people feel comfortable enough in their jobs
even to ask for these programs,” Byrd says. “Unfortunately, some corporate
cultures send the wrong message, and the programs are wasted.”
Helgeson is encouraged by Gen X workers, who she says have staked
out their personal time better than preceding generations. “They're the
ones who are much more likely to say that they have to leave at
5 p.m. for an aerobics class and mean it,” she says. “They just come with
a different value system. To them, work and their careers is important, but they
also know their personal time is important, too. They just seem more willing to
draw a line between them and hold to that than many baby boomers.”
Sujansky cautions employers that instead of workers today feeling
lucky they have jobs, an impending labor shortage means the best workers will
find other work opportunities that match their expectations more closely.
“My theory is that in difficult times, people rethink their priorities,” she
says. “They focus on what really matters to them. And you know, working long
hours for a job that is unfulfilling isn't going to make the cut.”
Sujansky urges employers to pay attention to this cry from their employees and
to find ways to make them feel that they don't have to sacrifice their personal
lives for their jobs.
Do that, she says, and you probably won't find many looking to move
on.
Fast
Company - USA
November 2005
By: Drew Armstrong
Is Your Boss Killing You?
New research
suggests that employees who see their bosses as unfair may be at significantly
greater risk for heart disease. Here's how to fight back.
If you've
ever felt your heart skip a beat after being screamed at by your boss, it may be
more than just your imagination.
A study of
6,000 British male office workers over a four-year period, published recently in
the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that employees who felt their
supervisors treated them fairly had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease,
which is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. Put another
way, caustic, abrasive, and overbearing bosses just might be taking years off
their employees' lives.
Sure, we
all feel on-the-job stress at one point or another, but even the most harried
among us rarely address it as a potentially serious health problem. A recent
study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, however, found that
high stress levels or depression because of work run parallel to traditional
risk factors like high cholesterol and smoking. For cardiologists, who don't
typically get mixed up in psychology, the study points to growing evidence that
the head can have a lot to do with the heart. Consider a "killer boss" right at
the top of the list of causes.
But not
all hope is lost. According to doctors and other stress experts, lowering your
health risks is as much about managing the rigors of your job as it is being
blessed with a fair-and-just boss. You can't change your boss's stripes, but you
can learn to handle the pressure and anxiety he or she induces.
Recognizing the problem, some hospitals have already developed programs to help
people in high-stress jobs lead healthier lives. For example, the University of
Michigan's Cardiovascular Executive Health Program works with executives to
address diet, exercise -- and stress reduction. "A lot of executives have
lifestyles that are conducive to developing heart disease," says Dr. Melvyn
Rubenfire, director of preventative cardiology at Michigan. "They have high
stress, they're traveling a lot, they're eating on the road."
The
Michigan program conducts a thorough physical examination and makes
recommendations about fitness and nutrition, but Rubenfire also places high
importance on dealing with stress in the workplace. And even with all the
sophisticated tests the program runs, some of the recommendations it makes on
stress reduction are remarkably simple -- applicable to managers and employees
alike. "You get them to understand that you can relax just by closing your
eyes," Rubenfire says. "The program helps them understand" that they don't need
trips to a spa or a mountaintop resort to relax.
Rubenfire
advises patients to employ simple techniques, like looking at pictures of their
families, visualizing a beautiful vacation spot, or even trying to imagine a
problematic situation as comical rather than stressful. "What we try to teach
people is to recognize [stressful situations] before they happen," he says.
"They don't wait until the crisis, but because they know what it means to be
relaxed, they can feel the subtle changes before they get to too high a level of
stress."
Rubenfire
is not surprised by the study's findings on reduced risk of heart disease for
workers who felt they had fair bosses. "It's not that justice at work is the
key, it's how that interacts with job satisfaction," he says. "It's important in
making you happy at work." With Americans continuing to work some of the longest
hours in the industrialized world, too many unhappy hours can take a toll.
Psychologist and executive coach Michael H. Kahn has studied the way workers
manage stress and how it affects the way they do their jobs. He says he sees
many companies -- and employees -- failing to understand that managing stress
every day leads to a happier, healthier, more productive working environment.
Managers would do well to take note. When companies don’t find ways for workers
to reduce the small stresses of the workplace as they occur, he says,
productivity falls.
And most
of us don't really know how to keep this buildup from boiling over. "People
work, work, work, and then on the weekends or once a month, they do something to
relieve their stress," Kahn says. Workers are better off building small,
five-minute breaks into their day, and learning how to anticipate and react to
stressful situations.
"Even
though it adds time on to the work day, you're going back with better energies,"
Kahn adds. "Think of what happens at a sporting event -- they take time outs,
they have quarters, halves. All of that allows the players to take a mental and
physical break so that when they come back, they're reenergized. But if you look
at what goes on in business, it's rare."
In part
because of domineering bosses, many workers have come to feel like they need to
stay at their desks, instead of stepping away for a few minutes to refocus. Kahn
says this leads workers to “keep trying to override those messages that you need
to take a break. As the day progresses, it takes more energy to override those
messages, and productivity goes down.”
So, the
next time the big cheese calls you in for that meeting you’ve been dreading, or
when worrying about tomorrow’s deadline is keeping you from finishing today’s
project, slip in five extra minutes to step back, take a deep breath, and relax.
Your heart -- and very likely your employer -- will end up thanking you.
http://www.in-forum.com
In-Forum
(subscription) - Fargo,ND,USA
By Teri Finneman, The Forum
October 22, 2005
Take this job and love it: Stress hard to
track
When Sherm
Syverson couldn’t cope with the stress of being a funeral director, he found a
less stressful job – working as a paramedic.
The more-regular hours, quicker pace and employee
support system make it easier for the
Moorhead man to handle his job’s intensity. “I really took
funeral directing home with me every night. I’m probably more sensitive than a
lot of people. I took it to heart,” Syverson said of why he made a career
change. Syverson’s difficulty dealing with work stress is fairly typical. One
out of three workers considers their job always or often stressful, the 2004
General Social Survey shows.
Syverson still works part time for Korsmo Funeral
Service in
Moorhead because he loves the work. But constantly being on
call and surrounded by grief began to take too much of a toll to continue
working full time.
“The hardest
ambulance call I’ve ever done or been on …. was still easier than the easiest
funeral I ever did,” he said.
The
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 3,820 lost work
days due to anxiety, stress or neurotic disorders in 2003, the most recent data
available. However, it’s unclear how accurate that figure is, said Norma Malcolm
of the BLS Chicago office. “It (work-related stress) is a hard one to track,
especially because … they’re not going to admit it (to employers),” she said.
Dr. Daniel Hunt of Innovis Health said medical employees tend to go to work no
matter what so co-workers don’t have to bear the additional burden. “I think
from my experience in medicine, not too many people take off unless they are
deathly ill,” said the
Fargo
emergency medicine doctor while waiting for an ambulance to arrive at the
hospital.
People go into the medical field knowing the stresses
involved, and many actually thrive on it, he added.
“The stresses that we have here are the ones that
probably drew us to the profession in the first place,” Hunt said. Employees who
can’t adapt to the stresses that come along with their jobs are costly for
businesses, according to the World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. More
than 13 million workdays worldwide are lost each year from stress, anxiety and
depression, the organization reports. Work overload, lack of recognition, poor
relations with supervisors, low participation in decisions and poor
communication are among the main stressors.
Fargo
MeritCare psychologist Dr. Jon Ulven said work-related stress is a “very
significant” psychological issue for many of his patients.
One of the reasons for increased stress is the job
insecurity that employees feel due to the amount of turnover, he said. “The days
of working for a company for 25 to 30 years and retiring with a gold watch are
over,” Ulven said. Shift work, longer hours, too many responsibilities and
technology are other factors that add to workplace anxiety. Pagers, e-mail and
cell phones were supposed to help save time and make life easier but have
instead resulted in people thinking they can get more done, Ulven said. “It puts
a lot of pressure on folks,” he said. Workers constantly dealing with stress
should think about how well the job fits them, he said.
They should also be aware of stress-related symptoms
like feeling overwhelmed, muscle tension, sleep disturbance, changes in
appetite, reduced energy, irritability and headaches. If a job is stressful,
employees should determine what time of the day they work best to do more
difficult or mundane tasks at that time, Ulven said. “Try and capitalize on your
energy during the course of the day,” he said. Employees need to have some sense
of control in a workplace, and they need to develop positive and healthy work
relationships, Ulven said. Outside of work, a healthy diet and consistent sleep
schedule are critical to maintain balance. Workers also need to establish
boundaries between the job and their personal lives.
People tend to give up time with friends or do fewer
social activities when they’re stressed, said Denise Hellekson, a
Village
Family
Service
Center counselor/trainer in
Fargo.
“That’s actually what puts energy back in. It
refreshes us so we’re able to meet the demands,” she said. Stress in moderate
levels can be motivating and can make life exciting and challenging, Hellekson
said. But people need to evaluate their situation to be aware if they’re under
too much stress. “The sooner people are more in touch and aware of those things,
they can start looking at, ‘What do I need to do?’ ” she said.
Susan Anderson-Dissette has multiple ways of coping
with the stress of being manager of membership administrative systems for Blue
Cross Blue Shield. The
Fargo woman said counting to 10 or taking a deep breath
helps, as well as being aware of what is causing the stress. “I know that stress
affects my job, but I try very hard not to let stress control my ability to do
my job well,” Anderson-Dissette said. “I feel less stress knowing that I’ve done
a good job and have satisfaction in my work than to let my job control me by
having stress guide me,” she added.
Globe and Mail -
Canada
By VIRGINIA GALT
October 8, 2005
WORKPLACE REPORTER
Stressed out at work? The enemy may be you
Gaining
greater control over where and when one works can help reduce burnout, VIRGINIA
GALT writes
Chartered accountant Lynn Wilson cherishes the option of being able to volunteer
in her sons' classrooms 10 days a year in exchange for two weeks of unpaid
leave.
"On a scale of one to 10?
It's 11," says Ms. Wilson, the director of leadership and organizational
effectiveness at Toronto-based Ernst & Young.
As far as the firm is concerned, "it's no big deal" if a
colleague wants time to volunteer, train for a marathon, care for an elderly
parent or go to a child's cross-country meet, Ms. Wilson says. The time can
easily be made up later.
Even so, like others who
work in high-demand professions, accountants tend to drive themselves harder
than they have to, Ms. Wilson says. And therein lies the problem.
While more and more
organizations are offering flexibility to employees to accommodate their needs
for work/life balance, employees, themselves, too often fail to take advantage.
Most research on
work-life conflict blames employers for work overload -- and certainly
organizational cultures are "behind many of our problems," Carleton University
professor Linda Duxbury and University of Western Ontario professor Chris
Higgins write in a recent issue of UWO's Ivey Business Journal.
But sometimes, they
add, we are our own worst enemies.
- "We allow work to
impinge on our family.
- "We willingly
allow the organization into our home through the Internet and personal
computers.
- "We willingly take
work home, skip family meals to work late, travel on weekends and so on," they
write.
- It's something Ms.
Wilson, who views herself as a "culture change agent" at her firm, has
noticed.
- And before they
burn out under this self-imposed pressure, she urges colleagues to talk to
their managers.
- "Sit down with
your boss and find out what the real expectations are, rather than what you
think you have to do."
- And be flexible,
she advised in a telephone conference earlier this week on how to meet the
multiple demands of work, home and community life without fear, guilt or
anxiety.
- Often the answer
lies in gaining greater control over where you work and when you work, rather
than opting for a formal part-time arrangement, she says.
- Working too few
scheduled hours can sometimes be as stressful for a conscientious employee as
too many hours on the job if the reduced-hours arrangement is too rigid to
allow for "unexpected opportunities," Ms. Wilson adds.
Just under 10 per
cent of Ernst & Young's Canadian employees have officially cut back to part-time
hours. But nearly all 3,200 employees at the firm, right up to the partnership
level, informally take advantage of the option to vary their hours to
accommodate outside commitments, or work from home on occasion.
"It's the type of
environment where everybody feels very, very busy. Flexible work arrangements
help everybody be more productive and do better-quality work," she says.
During this week's
teleconference for human resource professionals, organized by the Toronto-based
Work-Life Harmony Enterprises, Ms. Wilson stressed that the most flexible
policies in the world will not help employees who do not take advantage of them.
She relates the case
of a senior manager at her firm who quit in frustration after five years because
she simply "couldn't balance" -- only to find that the problems did not go away
after she left because of the pressures she was putting on herself.
The manager has
since rejoined the firm on a reduced work arrangement and actually feels more
productive than she did previously, Ms. Wilson adds.
Over the past two
decades, professors Duxbury and Higgins have identified a number of
organizational cultures that make it difficult for employees to balance their
work and family demands.
"The first is the culture
of hours -- the belief that one has to work long hours to succeed -- which is
pervasive in our business environment," they write.
"In a disconnected
culture, progressive work-family policies are in place, but people don't feel
they can take advantage of them because management doesn't encourage their use .
. .
"The culture of money
occurs when budgets -- not people -- count. Many public companies have this
mindset because they are always working frantically to make each quarter's
numbers exceed stock analysts' expectations. The result is that employees are
pushed to achieve short-term targets at the expense of personal and family
demands."
In a series of
reports, the research partners have made countless recommendations calling on
governments to limit work hours and on employers to implement more
family-friendly policies.
These initiatives
would help, the professors write, but changes are more likely to occur if
employees examine their own work habits and start advocating for themselves.
Sometimes, they write, we should just say no to excessive work demands.
- "Yes, we have
found the enemy -- it is us," they write.
- "Leave your
BlackBerry in the car; don't take it into your home.
- "Turn off the
wireless network in the evening; don't turn it on until the next morning.
- "Find time to
relax, as this is, by far, the best coping mechanism.
- "Play golf without
a cellphone or a BlackBerry in your golf bag.
- "Talk to your
spouse without feeling like you have hundreds of other priorities (and all you
want to do is get at them).
- "Plan downtime and
shoot any enemy (including yourself) that tries to take it away."
Flexibility tips
Flexible work
arrangements -- the ability to set your own hours or work from home on occasion
-- go a long way toward easing feelings of overload, chartered accounting firm
Ernst & Young has found in a survey of its staff.
In a document
distributed to all firm members and employees, E&Y offers some workplace
flexibility tips and techniques.
For individuals
- Clarify and
prioritize your goals and responsibilities inside and outside of work.
- Discuss your
priorities and concerns with leaders and colleagues, and explore creative
approaches to align your personal goals with team goals.
- Anticipate
professional and personal demands, communicate with team members and plan
accordingly.
- Work
collaboratively with colleagues to help them meet their needs, both inside and
outside of work, and ensure client coverage.
- Plan ahead for
vacation -- use it, don't lose it.
- Assess work
practices and offer creative improvements concerning how, when and where work
gets done.
- Realize that
exceptional effort may be required for periods of time to meet client needs
and evaluate your own flexibility over the longer term, rather than on a daily
basis.
For team leaders
- Understand and
respect each individual's need for flexibility; encourage others to raise
their flexibility concerns.
- Encourage team
members to schedule vacations and personal commitments on their calendars
along with business commitments.
- Support
individuals who desire flexible work arrangements where a viable business case
is established and client needs can be met.
- Consider the
possible impact on the team when setting deadlines.
- Strive to satisfy
the client, but address "unreasonable client demands."
- Recognize people
for the results they deliver rather than face time or physical presence.
- Encourage people
to take time off after an exceptionally busy period.
Source: Ernst &
Young
Daily Mail - UK - UK
September 26, 2005
Stress can cause heart
attacks
Stress is as likely to cause a heart attack as being overweight, smoking or
having high cholesterol, according to a new US study.
Anxiety, hostility and
depression take a significant toll on the heart, scientists at Harvard Medical
School found. They said the release of stress hormones causes inflammation that
promotes heart disease at every stage.
Professor Edward Suarez
of Duke University told Newsweek magazine: "Hostile and depressed people respond
to the world in a chemically different way. Fifty per cent of people who have
heart attacks do not have high cholesterol."
Experts reviewed
anecdotal evidence from health care workers and found that early childhood
trauma can provoke heart-related health problems later in life.
The Health for Life
study also pinpointed research which identified "broken-heart syndrome". Dr Ilan
Wittstein at Johns Hopkins University found that patients' hearts suddenly
weakened after experiencing major shocks such as a sudden death or a car
accident.
But while symptoms
mimic those of heart-attack patients, these patients showed no sign of artery
blockage and were usually fine within 72 hours. The study found that depression
at least doubles the risk of a heart attack and warned that doctors need to pay
more attention to their patients' mental health.
By contrast, scientists
also found that friendship, optimism and laughter appear to protect the heart
and have healing effects.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
ic Wales - United Kingdom
Sepember 12, 2005
By David Williamson
How to
cope with anxiety, stress and depression
A £5M programme to help workers in
Wales who are suffering from stress, anxiety and depression to stay in
their jobs will be announced today. The Healthy Minds at Work campaign is
designed to protect individuals and the economy - one in five people in
Wales is likely to experience these problems at some time during their
working lives. The Assembly Government scheme brings together public, private
and voluntary sector organisations and is supported by European Union funding.
The organisers believe the biggest barriers to the employment of
individuals with mental health issues are those caused by discrimination and
stigmatisation, rather than the actual effect of their conditions. A primary
goal of the programme will be to assist employers to prevent and manage mental
distress and promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. It will also
identify employers who wish to become beacons of good practice - promoting the
economic and social value of their actions.
The campaign will develop self-help awareness for employees,
provide training for individuals and groups, offer support via a new contact and
support centre, and carry out research to discover best practice. Pat McCarthy,
has been seconded from Unison Cymru to become the head of policy and development
for Healthy Minds at Work, said, "Many people with mental health problems feel
isolation - and depression is a very isolating illness. They can experience a
loss of confidence or low self-esteem. "If someone has a physical injury, work
colleagues usually show concern and support. But that often isn't the case for
people with psychological conditions.
"The symptoms are frequently invisible, and it is only when they
worsen that they become more evident. Anyone can experience these problems,
regardless of age, gender, disability, income, education or ethnicity. "Typical
symptoms include sleeplessness and greater consumption of alcohol and tobacco.
The symptoms are as varied as they are different. "Individual solutions
are required, tailored to help individuals overcome depression."
Mike Clarke, of Remploy Interwork, which is a partner organisation
in the project, said, "More than half a million people in
Wales are experiencing anxiety, stress and depression. As a result
thousands sign on to incapacity benefits each year, yet with the right support
many could be helped to stay in their jobs. "This project will help individuals
to deal with their experiences at an early stage so they can remain in work.
Employers will also benefit from advice and best practice on how to deal with
these issues. "When many people leave work and go onto incapacity benefit due to
mental health conditions it often means that they never return to the workplace.
Assisting people to remain economically active can greatly benefit them, their
families and their local communities."
Economic development minister Andrew Davies said, "Stress, anxiety
and depression are a growing problem in the modern workplace. "It is vital we
tackle these problems if organisations and their staff are to fully realise
their potential."
PersonnelToday.com -
UK
Author:
Quentin Reade
June
6,
2005
Overwork and stress stop UK employees
learning new skills
There is huge
demand for learning new skills among the British workforce, but a range of
obstacles - topped by overwork and stress - prevent many employees from taking
up training.
According to
a poll of 1,000 people published by the TUC today, just under one in three (29%)
said they don't have time for training because they have to look after children
or have other caring responsibilities.
The same
proportion (29%) said their current job has such long hours or is so stressful
that they do not have the time or energy to take up a course.
Women are
more than twice as likely as men to say they have caring responsibilities that
stop them taking up training. Just under one in three women (29%) say help with
childcare would encourage them to take up training (only one in six men - 16%
cite this), while one in three women (33%), compared to one in five men (22%),
say that more support from a spouse or partner would help.
Other
findings:
-
Nearly four out of five
(77%) back paid time off from work, one in three (32%) would take time off
even if it meant losing pay, and more than two in five (42%) say less overtime
(paid or unpaid) would help them take up more training.
-
More than half the
workforce (52%) say that they would like their employer to provide more
training, and two in five (42%) say they would like to take up training
outside work that would help them get a better job.
Views vary
considerably across the age range:
-
The older the worker the
more satisfied he/she is with the training they get (81% of 55-64 year olds
are satisfied compared to 73% of 16-24 year olds).
-
Younger people are keener
to learn (70% of 16-24 year olds want to train compared to 39% of 45-54 year
olds and just 19% of 55-64 year olds).
http://archives.moneyplans.net
Money Plans - Mumbai,India
Source : Moneyplans.net
Archives
June 4, 2005
Six Tips for Relieving
Stress Today
Are you so
overworked, totally stressed, or worried that you are heading for a heart
attack? If you've had a heart attack, or don't want to have your first one, then
perhaps Brad Henson's new breakthrough strategies, secrets and tips to creating
a longer, fuller, more meaningful life is exactly what you're looking for.
The following
easy-to-use "Six Tips for Relieving Stress Today" are excepts from his book
"Heart Attack Survivor - a field guide" and will help you deal with the time
robbers(c) and stress monkers'(c) in your life.
Have you ever seen the sign above a coworker's desk that reads, "A Rush on your
part does not necessitate a rush on mine"? How many times have you been totally
immersed on a work or home project, only to be interrupted by a boss, co-worker,
or family member--- wanting you to drop everything you are doing to help them
get their project completed.
How many times have you had people walk into your cubicle, or office
unannounced, or ring you up on the phone, or email you a note...to "just take a
moment of your time" to answer that really simple question? More times than you
want to remember?
Once your concentration has been broken, it may take great effort, lots of
stress, and many minutes, if not hours to get back "in the zone"...that you were
so abruptly shaken from to get back on track. What right do they have to think
that their problem is greater than yours? If it is your boss, or supervisor,
they may have all the rights and privileges of the job title to ask for your
assistance. If it is your wife, or significant other, you may consider this
person as important as your boss and may voluntarily render yourself to their
needs. When it comes to everyone else you should be able to politely say "don't
bother me with your ridiculous issues and feel really good about it.
I call these types of people Stress Mongers(c), or Time Robbers(c). Don't get
sucked into their own agenda's if it does not benefit you directly. Remember, "a
rush on their part does not necessitate a rush on yours", and can, and will add
stress and poor feelings toward the offender if you allow them to come into your
life unannounced.
How do you stop them from this dastardly act of disrespect? There are a number
of things you can do. I offer up these suggestive remedies in two parts:
Telephone interruptions, Email interruptions. These are only a few of the
literally hundreds of ways to stop people from robbing you of your time, and
adding stress to your life. You may add your own tips and tricks to this list in
the days, weeks, and years to come, to help you deal with these Stress Mongers(c),
or Time Robbers(c).
Telephone interruptions
1.When you are working on a project, and don't want to be side tracked, take the
phone off the hook. If you are like most people, and have an answering machine
or service through your telephone provider, the caller will leave a message and
you can answer and return the calls on YOUR schedule. It is OK not to be at
everyone's beckoned call 24 hours a day.
2.Most phone systems have a method for leaving an "out of office" message. Do
it. Say something like "I am in conference at the moment and unable to get to
the phone---but will return your call as soon as I am free". Most people will
understand your dilemma, and wish they had thought of using this technique
themselves.
3.When the phone rings and it is someone who asks that really dumb, stupid
question, you can just say I am with a client or can't talk right now. Say you
will get back to them at your earliest convenience and then say "goodbye".
Chances are, you are just a "habit" they formed along time ago to call to answer
their questions. What might happen is they will go down the list of numbers they
have until they find a willing victim. Either way, you are off the hook.
4.If you learn to rate the call on a scale of 1 to 4, then it becomes easy to
determine what call is really important and which one can be put on the back
burner and dealt with at a later time. It's up to you which number is lest
important and which is most important. What IS important here is what you
control.
Email interruptions
If you are in the workforce, you are bombarded by emails, junk mail, jokes, or
trivia mail that comes in to your mailbox from people you don't even know. Here
are two tips that will help you combat these intruders into your life.
5.Allocate specific times per day to read your mail. It's amazing how many
minutes of "reading" email cuts into your project time.
6.If you have a calendar function (as Microsoft Exchange or Outlook does), set
up a meeting for reading your mail and abide by it. It may take some discipline
to learn to only read the mail during that time slot but you will find you
productivity increasing 10 fold, and your stress dropping substantially by
following this simple guideline.
Heart Attack Survivor - a field guide is available for $19.95 plus $3.00
shipping and handling (CA residents add 7.25% sales tax) from Crow Publishing,
2510 G - Las Posas Road, Camarillo, CA. 93010.
Brad's BIO
Brad Henson is a survivor of the "corporate wars" for the last 17 years. After
having a heart attack at age 35, he is alive today to teach people how to live a
Stress-free Outrageously Happy and Fulfilled Life.
Author Brad Henson is available for interviews and shows.
We will send free review copies to members of the working press.
Please send us an email it to press@heartattacksurvivor.com or by calling
(805)-484-8003
Is your personality killing you? Mine almost did! Are YOU "overworked, totally
stressed, or worried that you are heading for a heart attack"? "Heart Attack
Survivor - a field guide" is the answer.
Click=> http://www.heartattacksurvivor.com
Synopsis
A book about how to live free from the stress, fear, anger, negative
feelings, and unresolved lifestyle challenges that contribute to heart
Copyright 2004 (c) Brad Henson, All rights Reserved.
- from the book "Heart Attack Survivor - field guide
ISBN:
0971278806
Copyright © 2004 - 05
http://www.motherearthnews.com
Mother Earth News - USA
Dr. Tom Ferguson
May 27, 2005
Medical Self-Care:
The
Contented Workaholic
After
her freshman year at college, Marilyn Machlowitz returned home to take on not
one, not two, but three summer jobs. "You know what you are?" her father
commented. "A workaholic." That was the first time Marilyn heard the term ...but
it wasn't to be the last. She went on to do her doctoral dissertation on the
subject and, subsequently, to write a book called Workaholics: Living With Them,
Working With Then. (Addison-Wesley, 1980).
One of
the first surprises turned up by Ms. Machlowitz's research was the discovery
that, as a group, the workaholics she interviewed were "remarkably satisfied
with their lives". Indeed, according to one study cited in the book, 70% of
those who rated their job satisfaction as "good" were equally happy with the
rest of their lives ...while only 14% of those unhappy with their work felt more
pleased when off the job. "Satisfactions with work and with life," Machlowitz
concludes, "are more apt to be intertwined than mutually exclusive."
According to Machlowitz, four basic elements in workaholics' lives determine
whether the individuals are contented or unhappy: [1] the manner in which their
families accept their work habits, [2] the amount of autonomy and variety that
exists in their work, [3] the degree to which their personal skills and work
styles match those required by their jobs, and [4) their general state of
health.
The
workaholics who were satisfied with these four aspects of their lives generally
felt good about themselves as well. But those who'd had difficulties with one or
more elements were risking what might be termed the three occupational hazards
of the intensely self-driven worker ...burnout, family problems, and heart
disease.
FROM
BROWNOUT TO BURNOUT
Psychologist Herbert J. Freudenberger is a specialist in burnout. He calls it
"the consequence of a work situation where the person feels he's banging his
head against the wall day after day, year after year". Burnout is likely to
occur when nonstop labor and devotion fail to produce the expected satisfactions
or rewards.
A
full-fledged burnout resembles the condition traditionally known as a nervous
breakdown. However, for a lot of workaholics the emotional damage falls short of
total burnout, even though they may from time to time—or even quite
frequently-experience the early stages of this problem. Medical anthropologist
John-Henry Pfifferling has adopted the term "brownout" to describe this type of
low-level exhaustion. (See the sidebar, "Brownout/Burnout Inventory", to
determine whether you're risking one of these occupational hazards.)
FAMILIES
PAY THE PRICE
One of
the most striking findings of Marilyn Machlowitz's study was that, on a
day-to-day basis, it's not the workaholics who pay the biggest price for their
busy lifestyles ...rather, it's the people who live with them, who suffer most.
Because the dedicated doers love their jobs so much, they tend to spend less
time at home than most people. As a consequence, their families often feel that
the workaholics don't want to be with the folks at home.
Machlowitz offers some constructive suggestions for families of labor addicts:
Write
yourself into the workaholic's appointment calendar to take advantage of his or
her tendency to schedule everything. (Make dates for breakfast as well as lunch
and dinner.)
Arrange
social plans that are difficult to cancel ...for example, buy a season ticket
for a theater, symphony, or sports series. (And try to negotiate an agreement
that, if your hard worker breaks such a date, he or she must pay some previously
set penalty.)
Insist
on vacations, plan them well in advance, and ask for a predetermined limit to
the number of phone calls the workaholic can make to his or her place of
business ...or better yet-travel to a spot with no telephone access at ail
IT WORKS
BOTH WAYS
In the
same vein, workaholics need to realize that their families may sometimes feel as
though they play second fiddle to the person's job. So, in addition to limiting
the time spent on work, an eager laborer should do everything possible to
familiarize the rest of the family with his or her employment world. Small
children might be encouraged to visit the workplace on weekends. Older offspring
might even enjoy spending some time at the job "helping out".
Furthermore, chronic workers should be sure to show interest and concern in
domestic affairs by pitching in when they are at home. They should take an
active part in housework ...without having to be asked (or expecting any medals
for doing their fair share). Workaholics can demonstrate that families count by
arranging to spend time doing some of the things those loved ones enjoy. Who
knows? The hard worker may like the new experience of accompanying his or her
spouse to the opera ...or surprising a soccer-crazy daughter by dropping in on
some of her practices, as well as showing up at her big game.
HEART
DISEASE
Being a
workaholic may or may not increase a person's risk of contracting coronary heart
disease. According to cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, much
depends on whether the individual is a "Type A" or "Type B" personality. The
hallmarks of the former class are excessive competitive drive and intense time
urgency ...characteristics common to the problem workaholic. Type B individuals,
on the other hand, may also be hardworking, but are more easygoing ...they
exhibit no excessive competitiveness or overwhelming sense of time pressure.
Friedman
and Rosenman accumulated an impressive body of evidence indicating that Type A
people are as much as seven times more likely to develop coronary heart disease
as are their Type B counterparts. To reduce their disease risk, compulsively
self-driven individuals should learn to slow down and enjoy life. The
cardiologists recommend such exercises as sitting and doing nothing
...establishing (or reestablishing) connections with art, nature, friends,
family, and tradition ...and—in general—savoring life rather than racing through
it.
Vacations can also provide workaholics with valuable opportunities to gain
perspective on their lives and realize how much of their so-called leisure time
is actually spent working ...although many problem workaholics find it difficult
to let themselves be "lazy" enough to take—or enjoy—a holiday. To cite one such
instance, reformed workaholic Michael Phillips was able to make a decision to
reshape his life and leave his high-pressure career as a banking executive only
after an understanding friend sent him away on a cruise ship.
"I'd
never been able to sit still," Phillips recalls. "Once I was on board that ship
and realized that there was literally nothing to do, I just about had a nervous
breakdown. I even tried to get a helicopter to come pick me up. Finally, I was
faced with a choice between cracking up and simply sitting in a deck chair and
watching the ocean for several days." That enforced leisure gave Phillips the
opportunity to think through his life and undertake some constructive changes.
LUCKY
WORKAHOLICS
In many
ways, satisfied workaholics are lucky people. Not only do they tend to love
their careers, but the "cure" for their characteristic problems which involves
learning to relax, take vacations, and spend more quality time with their
families and friends—can be rich with opportunity as well. Those workaholics who
are able to make needed changes in their lives before serious physical or
emotional problems arise can quietly agree with Winston Churchill's observation:
"Those whose work and pleasure are one are Fortune's favorite children."
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Tom Ferguson's quarterly journal, Medical Self-Care, is available for $15
per year from Medical Self-Care, Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 717, Inverness, California
94937. A sample issue (No. 1,1, by the way, was devoted entirely to health on
the job) costs .1;4.00. Dr. Ferguson's book, also titled Medical SelfCare, is
available from Mother's Bookshelf, P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, North Carolina
28791 ...for $'8.95 plus 9.5¢ shipping and handling.
BROWNOUT/BURNOUT INVENTORY
When you
give yourself this quiz, think back over the past six months. Consider your
workplace . . your family . . and the social situations you've encountered. Have
you been noticing changes for the worse in yourself or in the world around you?
Allow about 30 seconds to think over each question. To answer it, assign a
number from 1 (for little or no change) to 5 (for a great deal of change).
[1] Do
you tire more easily than before and feel fatigued rather than energetic?
[2] Are
people annoying you more often by telling you, "You don't look so good lately"?
[3] Are
you working harder and harder but accomplishing less and less?
(4] Are
you increasingly cynics and disenchanted?
[5] Are
you more often invaded by a sadness you're not able to explain?
[6] Do
you consistently find yourself forgetting more appointments, deadlines, and/or
personal possessions?
[7] Are
you increasingly irritable ...more short-tempered ...more disappointed in the
people around you?
[8] Are
you seeing your close friends and family members less frequently?
[9] Are
you so busy that you do even routine things—like making phone calls, reading
reports, or sending Christmas cardsless and less?
[10] Are
you suffering more physical complaints ...such as aches, pains, headaches, or
lingering colds?
[11] Do
you feel more disoriented than you used to when the activity of a day comes to a
halt?
[12] Is
joy more elusive?
[13] Are
you less able to laugh at a joke about yourself?
[14]
Does sex more frequently seem like more trouble than it's worth?
[15] Do
you have less to say to people?
Don't
let a high total score on your answers alarm you, but do pay attention to it.
Burnout isn't irreversible, no matter how far along it is, but remember: A high
number signifies that you ought to start being kinder to yourself ...and the
sooner you do so, the better your—and your family's life will likely be.
15-25
You're doing fine. 26-35 There are things you should be watching. 36-50 You are
in a state of brownout. 51-65 You are burning out. over 65 You're in a dangerous
state that's threatening to your physical and mental well being.
(adapted
by permission from Burn Out: The Melancholia of High Achievement by Herbert J.
Freudenberger with Geraldine Richelson, Anchor Press, 1980)
http://www.newhousenews.com
Newhouse News Service (NNS) –
USA
May 20,
2005
BY LISA
IRIZARRY
Control Freaks Cause Major Stress for Those
Who Cross Their Paths
Even now, years later, Don
Blohowiak sounds a little nervous when he talks about his former boss. "I worked
for a control freak once, and she died at 46," he recalled. "You'd get e-mails
from her at 3 in the morning -- and they weren't on auto-send." As a middle
manager, Blohowiak was the liaison between the employees in his department and
the boss. "They'd literally tremble when they had to deal with her," he said.
"They'd have their head handed to them, and I'd have to build their self-esteem
back up when they returned to our department." Blohowiak's boss was a classic
"control freak."
"She was happy to disembowel you if you popped off or gave an unsubstantiated
opinion," said Blohowiak of
Princeton
Junction, N.J., now a workplace consultant. "The basic rule for control freaks
is that they don't trust other people to do what needs to be done. They won't
eat, play, maybe even shower, until things are right." Control freaks are all
around us -- in every facet of life. They are good at what they do and see no
reason to change their behavior. Which means they can be a major source of
stress for those who cross their path, experts say.
So how do you control a control artist? Very carefully, say experts.
It's important to know not just what makes them tick, but also how they got this
way. Trying to understand a control freak's background will help make the
overbearing behavior not feel personal. "The problem of control is that the
(controlling) person is trying to erase a real person and replace them with
their idea of what they should be," said Patricia Evans, a California
interpersonal communications specialist and author of "Controlling People: How
to Recognize, Understand and Deal With People Who Try to Control You" (Adams
Media Corp., $12.95 paperback). "They don't say they're controlling people, they
say they're making things the way they should be," she says. "They don't even
know they're doing it."
Evans says the controller is typically someone whose feelings, emotions and
intuitions were suppressed while growing up and who is filling this void by
telling other people what they should think, feel or do. "They were taught
things like crying is something bad, so they feel assaulted by reality," Evans
says. "They shape you into this dream person you could never be, even if
you wanted to be. It's a reflection of what they need in their own mind."
Those who control inappropriately believe it's their gift to show others what it
means to be perfect and how to get there, says Les Parrott, author of "The
Control Freak" (Tyndale House Publishers, $11.99 paperback). But there are ways
to handle these super-controllers to at least get them to back off a bit. Just
don't expect an easy or quick fix. "They're downright obnoxious and want their
way and insist on it," said Parrott, a self-described control freak who also is
a psychology teacher at Seattle
Pacific
University. People who want to exert control over everything can
make those around them feel inadequate, insecure, nervous, angry, anxious and
physically sick, says Parrott. Their message is: "I don't trust you to be able
to do it right; I don't respect your judgment; I don't think you are competent;
I don't value your insight."
"I often say everybody is somebody's control freak some of the time because most
of us care about one issue in our life (more than someone else does), like our
kitchen, our car or our desk," Parrott says. "But we're talking about that
particular person who across-the-board makes things difficult for people around
them." "The only difference between a pit bull and a control freak is the pit
bull lets go," Blohowiak adds. "They suffer from what psychologists call the
`perfection infection,' and it usually permeates all of their life. They want
the perfect lawn, perfect children, an immaculate automobile. ... And it doesn't
matter your age or stage; there are controlling children in preschool and
control freaks at the senior center." Gender doesn't matter either, he says.
"It rises to the level of a disorder," says
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., psychologist Patricia A. Farrell.
"They're highly resistant to any therapy, and there is no medication for the
personality disorder." To seek help themselves, she says, "the control freak has
to be convinced the price is too great not to, and that doesn't happen very
often." "They perversely get reinforced for their abhorrent behavior because
they can deliver," Blohowiak adds. "You often see them escalate through the
ranks at work, and parents reward perfect performance by their children." "I'm
the first to admit I have controlling tendencies," Parrott writes in the first
chapter of his book. "I can be prescriptive, opinionated, impatient and
tenacious. I don't have difficulty asserting myself and making my needs known.
In my drive to get the job done, I can be insensitive to other people's
feelings." He adds, "Most of the time I keep these tendencies in check, but if
I'm under pressure and overscheduled, my dictatorial side is likely to leak
out."
In a phone interview, Parrott talked about how control is good but needs to be
kept in check. "We want to be in control of certain things -- how we handle our
money, how we handle our emotions. ... I want my airline pilot to be in
control," Parrott says. "But when it bleeds into areas where it's not required,
that drives us all nuts. "Their theme song is `I Did It My Way,' whether they're
telling you how to arrange the furniture or what to order on the menu," says
Parrott, whose Web site is RealRelationships.com. "And whether you live with,
work with one or you're married to one, or have a child that's one, they're
someone riddled with anxiety." He notes that control freaks relax -- slightly --
only when they feel there is order on their own terms.
Blohowiak says he "took baby steps" in helping his staff deal with his late
boss. "The control freak is someone trying to accomplish something. We want to
help the control freak meet their objectives, while cutting us a little slack,
like not breathing down our necks and watching everything we do. "I got the
staff to see her as a human being, and they knew I supported them," he said,
adding that they actually got to the point where they could laugh off some of
her actions. He suggests that, in an office setting, a micro-managing person can
be handled by saying something like, "These are the top things I'm working on
... these I consider the top five. Do you agree with that?" That has the effect
of letting a controlling person know you're keeping very busy, that they need
not worry about you for a while, and that they're still wielding control in
deciding if they agree with the projects you consider priorities.
If possible, give the control freak a dose of his or her own medicine, Farrell
says. Put them in a situation in which another extreme controller has an
opportunity to stress them out. Get the control freak in your life to see what
they put other people through. "You don't want to confront them heavy duty
because you need to make them relax," Parrott suggested. If the person is
someone you're married to, for example, and wants to give you pointers on what
to cook or how to cook it, let them know they're on turf they really have no
business on, Parrott suggests. "Tell them, `I don't come into your office and
tell you what to do."' Maybe they will see the light.
Blohowiak says the most valuable lesson he learned about his overly controlling
boss came after her death. "I always took a lesson from that," he adds. "You can
die from trying to make your world perfect."
TAKING CHARGE OF THE PROBLEM
Remember that no one can control you. Although they can seduce, cajole, threaten
and tempt you, they cannot actually make you do something against your will.
Don't count on other soldiers in your battle to control the control freak --
some people are too fearful of them, and some people like people who have a firm
grip. Control freaks often are given job promotions because they can get the job
done and make some people do their best work. Children who strive for perfection
also are rewarded by their parents.
Try to find humor in their behavior. Let the control freak know you understand
the mission and you're dedicated to helping complete it. Check in with them
regularly on your progress on their assignments. If you inundate them with
information, they might leave you alone. Information is power and power is
control. If possible, put them in a situation in which they are in the hands of
another control freak. A taste of their own medicine might curb their own
controlling nature.
Try to win their trust and confidence. Some control freaks have a small inner
circle of people they actually trust and respect. Don't try to have an outright
confrontation with your controller. That will likely add to your stress. They're
determined to get their way. Try to see them as human beings who have a hard
time controlling their controlling ways. Source: "The Control Freak" by
Les Parrott and change-in-the-workplace expert Don Blohowiak of Princeton
Junction, N.J.
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONTROL FREAK
Described by most people as picky and critical, as well as controlling.
Loves order and established routines. Don't even think about touching things on
his or her desk. Watch out if his or her plans have to be rearranged.
Always needs to be right.
Tells you who you are and what you think.
Implies that you're wrong or inadequate when you don't agree.
Feels attacked when questioned.
Doesn't seem to really see or hear you.
Would rather give orders than take them.
Hangs onto a project forever because he or she wants it to be perfect.
His or her controlling ways make other people feel anxious, if not alienated.
Snoops around where he or she doesn't belong.
Feels most comfortable when in charge.
Winning an argument is more important than finding the best solution.
Not getting what he or she wants is met with anger, pouting or the silent
treatment.
Sources: "The Control Freak" by Les Parrott and "Controlling People: How to
Recognize, Understand, and Deal With People Who Try to Control You" by Patricia
Evans.
HOW TO KEEP FROM BECOMING A CONTROL FREAK
Reduce your level of anxiety. Something like a soothing bath or relaxing massage
can help take the edge off. Don't live by the adage "If you want something done
right, do it yourself." Learn to delegate and trust that other people can do
some things. If it makes you feel better, have someone else do projects that
don't require perfection, then prevent yourself from correcting or putting your
stamp on it. You'll be surprised how nice it feels not to be in charge all the
time.
Defer to others whenever you can. Control freaks are notorious for stepping over
other people's ideas and opinions. Actually listen to them, they could be
helpful.
Do one thing at a time. Multitasking is a favorite pastime of most control
freaks. It feels good to get more done in less time -- it makes them feel more
in control, less anxious. The problem is that multitasking takes a toll on
relationships by causing a breakdown in communication with family members and
co-workers by making them just one more thing to take care of.
Know where you can and can't exert influence.
Learn to be led without letting yourself become a doormat. For example, pick up
a new hobby you know little or nothing about and put yourself in someone else's
hands to teach you.
Source: "The Control Freak" by Les Parrott
SOME NOTABLE CONTROL FREAKS
Walt Disney: When the perfectionist saw he couldn't stop seedy motels, bars and
strip clubs from popping up near Disneyland, he reportedly threw a temper
tantrum and vowed to create another Magic Kingdom in which he could control the
environment -- thus, the more utopian Disney World was built.
Bill Gates: At his home looking over the Seattle skyline, there are no visible
electrical outlets because the Microsoft Corp. mogul doesn't like "clutter." He
had a cedar tree on his property moved just 6 inches because he didn't feel it
was in the right place. His master bathtub can be filled to the right
temperature and depth as he drives home from work.
Richard Williams: After watching a tennis match on television and hearing that
the player had made $40,000 in four hours, Richard Williams, father of tennis
superstars Serena and Venus Williams, told his now ex-wife, Oracene, "We need to
make two more kids." He became their demanding coach and mentor, surrounding
them with such hand-written signs as "Venus, you must learn to listen" until
they got things just right.
George Steinbrenner: The New York Yankees owner is known for his free spending
and for his frequent interference with the general manager and manager of the
baseball team. Steinbrenner fired and rehired Billy Martin as manager -- five
times. Baseball experts believe the Yankees laid the groundwork for their recent
dynasty when he was barred from meddling in the early '90s.
Howard Hughes: A billionaire inventor, his many other hats included ace pilot,
aviation pioneer, Las Vegas kingpin, filmmaker, playboy and political insider.
He described himself in one interview by saying, "I am by nature a
perfectionist, and I seem to have trouble allowing anything to go through in a
half-perfect condition. So if I made any mistake it was in working too hard and
in doing too much of it with my own hands." In the years before his death in
1976, he became a recluse.
©2005 Newhouse News Service
http://my.webmd.com
WebMD - USA
WebMD Medical
News
By Jennifer Warner
Reviewed By Brunilda
Nazario, MD
May 20, 2005
Long-Term Stress May
Shrink the Brain
Living under too much stress may harm your brain as well as your
body. Previous studies have already shown that
stress hormones, such as cortisol, can increase the risk of heart disease and
other ailments,stress hormones, such as cortisol, can increase the risk of heart disease
and other ailments, but a new study shows that stress hormones
may also shrink the brain. Researchers found that older adults with high levels
of cortisol performed poorly on memory tests and had a smaller hippocampus, the
part of the brain responsible for learning and memory.
"Stress has become more commonplace and accepted in our everyday
lives," says researcher Sonia J. Lupien, PhD, of
McGill
University in
Montreal, in a news release. "Many studies show the negative impact of
stress on physical health such as blood pressure, heart disease, etc., but few
address the effects on mental health. Our studies look directly at the long-term
effects of stress, or stress hormones, on brain function."
Stress
Shrinks the Older Mind
In a series of studies, researchers looked at the effects of
long-term exposure to stress hormones on the brain function of older adults,
young adults, and children. The results appear in a recent issue of the journal
Psychoneuroendocrinology.
In the first study, researchers measured levels of cortisol in a group of older
adults over a period of three to six years. They found that older adults with
continuously high levels of cortisol performed worse on memory tests than older
adults with moderate or low cortisol levels. In addition, older adults with
long-term exposure to high cortisol levels also had, on average, a 14% smaller
hippocampus.
"This study clearly shows the negative
effects of long-term stress,negative
effects of long-term stress," says Lupien. "This explains why
some older adults show poor brain function while others perform very well."
Too
Stressed to Think?
In tests with young adults, researchers found that short, temporary
increases in cortisol negatively affected the children's thinking and memory
skills. But these impairments were only temporary. Finally, another study with
young children and teenagers from different socioeconomic classes showed that
children with lower socioeconomic status had higher average stress hormone
levels than the other children.
"Similar to our findings with the older adults, stress was an
important modulator of brain function in children as well," says Lupien. "All
these studies show that people of all ages are sensitive to stress, and we need
to acknowledge the importance of this factor on our mental health."
The Globe and Mail
newspaper
May 11, 2005
By JUDITH TIMSON
Love it or hate it, more
work is here to stay: A 60-hour week is the new
standard
On a
gorgeous spring weekend, while I was happily driving to the store to get bags of
topsoil for the garden, and later sipping tea in the sunshine, the thought of
work never quite left my mind. Does that make me normal, or driven?
These
days, I'd say normal. Our work culture is so demanding that the modern brain now
functions like one of those all-news channels with the headline crawl running
endlessly at the bottom of the screen: "Bomb blast in Iraq kills 32, Michael
Jackson still weird . . ."
Except
our brains are filled with work-related imperatives: "Answer troublingly vague
e-mail from J, clarify direction of very risky project, figure out next phase of
funding, finish third major report and, oh yes, write letter to boss saying
'Sorry, can't work this hard any more . . .' "
Many
people I know feel overwhelmed by their work. Whether they are managers at a
large company that is increasingly squeezing its employees or they are
self-employed, more people are working longer and longer hours.  The
more educated you are and the more senior you are, the harder you work,
Statistics Canada points out. And working evenings and at least part of the
weekend is now viewed as part of the package.
In
fact, in my random and admittedly unscientific survey of people -- including a
pediatrician, an academic whose specialty is work-life matters, and a
self-employed executive coach -- I was hard-pressed to find anyone who claimed
they were working less than a 60-hour week.
Toronto
area pediatrician Dr. John Freedman estimates he works 60-80 hours per week,
which includes being on call one in every four weekends, a monthly hospital
emergency shift, and his teaching duties.
Carleton
University professor Linda Duxbury clocks in at about 55 to 60 hours a week,
including four evenings of work at home. She says her weekend work is limited to
the Sunday nights during term when she prepares her lectures, and she takes at
least three weeks in the summer to vacation outside the country with her family,
during which she does no work at all. Which is the kind of admirable sanity you
would expect from even a hard-driving work-life specialist.
And
executive coach and management consultant Patrick O'Neill also averages a 60-
hour week that includes nights and many weekends because that's when his clients
are available.
Is a
60-hour work week the new standard? At the turn of the century, according to
Statistics Canada, the average Canadian worked 60 hours before labour unions and
social pressure helped moderate the pace and improve working conditions. For a
while, futurists predicted a 32-hour work week but today that notion is
laughable. One
recent study says one-third of Americans feels overworked. Part of the reason
they do, according to Overwork In America, released by the New York-based
Families and Work Institute, is that they are forced to work on more than one
task at a time, and they don't have enough time to reflect on what they are
doing.
But
these studies hardly raise an eyebrow any more because 12-hour days are a
commonplace and even work-related e-mails sent at 3 a.m. are no longer a
novelty. Business phone calls on a weekend don't need to be routinely
accompanied by an apology for breaking into someone's supposed leisure time, and
cellphones ring with non-urgent business matters at any old hour.
We
are a society that seemingly always has work on its collective mind. Even if
we're not physically on the job, our brains are buzzing. Whether that buzz is
beneficial or troublesome depends, to a great extent, on how much control people
feel they have over the way they work and whether they enjoy and value what they
do.
As
Patrick O'Neill, head of the Toronto-based company Extraordinary Conversations
said, "Two things drive the number of hours I work. The first is demand. The
second determinant is choice. I love what I do."
Most
of the people I talked to said they did not feel victimized by their hours, but
that is certainly not true of employees in large companies whose work load is
just too much for them, but who are afraid to complain or say no to extra work.
Working longer hours for the same pay is, after all, the same as taking a pay
cut, and understandably makes employees resentful.
In
contrast, the people who had control over what they did spoke in positive terms
about their work hours, saying they were doing it for love or because they
wanted to "create something new," or even because they were admitted A types.
Even
the incursion of technology into non-work hours has an upside: for every person
who feels hounded by her e-mails, there is someone who finds herself awake at 4
a.m. and is grateful she can be quietly productive at that hour.
Curiously, none of the people I talked to listed making money as the number one
motivation for working long hours. In fact, joked Dr. Freedman, "they say [that]
to be a good pediatrician you need to like children and hate money."
So
maybe it all comes down to a Hobbesian choice: working hard and loving it or
working hard and not loving it.
Not
working quite so hard doesn't seem to be an option any more.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
By WALLACE IMMEN
May 4, 2005
Ease
the stress when crunch time strikes
At the end of tax
season last year, Scott Barkley decided that he'd had enough.
So, after just three
years with a public accounting firm, Mr. Barkley quit last May to get a less
seasonal position as a financial examiner for the Canadian Investor Protection
Fund in Toronto.
Every year, he felt his stress load build in the marathon rush
from New Year's until the end of the April tax deadline to meet the needs of his
clients at public accounting firm KPMG LLP.
In recurring crunch
times, he never knew how long a job would take nor what inevitable snags he
would face. "Maybe you'll be able to be at home in the evening or maybe you'll
be in the office doing all-nighters." Because of that, he couldn't plan social
activities or rely on time with his wife, Alexa, also an accountant. "Until the
first week in May, I couldn't even sleep because of the uncertainty. I kept
going over and over my clients' problems in my mind," Mr. Barkley recalls.
Accountants aren't
the only ones who suffer from problems of seasonal stress. Most professions have
recurring crunch times -- whether it's to meet regular deadlines for projects,
prepare product launches or compile regulatory filings -- that produce many of
the same stresses suffered by accountants in their annual tax frenzy. But there
are plenty of ways to better prepare for and cope with recurring crunch times in
your career, says workplace health expert Dr. David Posen, an Oakville,
Ont.-based stress management consultant and author of the Little Book of
Stress Relief:
If there is one thing
that accountants would change about their careers, it would be to get a better
balance between work and personal life during their peak work times around the
ends of financial quarters and through tax time, a new survey of the Chartered
Accountants of Ontario found.
A full 41 per cent
of 1,694 respondents to the survey sent to the organization's 34,148 members
said their work load in peak periods was excessive and 2 per cent said they find
it unmanageable. When
asked whether the situation was changing, 83 per cent said they have had to take
on more responsibilities in recent years, 40 per cent said they faced tighter
deadlines and 39 per cent were working longer hours than ever.
But Dr. Posen says
that can actually be counterproductive. "Our bodies like routine," he says.
"Unfortunately, the demands of a lot of professions find themselves working
longer than is ideal." That's 40 to 50 hours a week, he adds. Especially in
high-concentration jobs, like accounting, law or preparing a big business
proposal that requires spending days or weeks in blitz mode, our bodies and
minds start to lose efficiency, and short-term memory becomes affected. Work
"over 10 hours a day and, frankly, most people start getting diminishing returns
for their time because they get tired and they aren't working productively," Dr.
Posen says.
The temptation to
work long into the night to stay on a schedule or finish up a project can be
counter-productive because "when it is mental work rather than physical labour,
we can fool ourselves into thinking we are being productive when, in fact, we
are dragging and taking much longer to do things," Dr. Posen says.
"You've really got
to question how productive you are deciding to work a Sunday after working six
days in a row."
So what to do
differently?
Dr. Posen suggests that,
after a crunch has ended, you sit down and write up resolutions for how you will
handle it another way next time around --and review those resolutions befo |
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