Feeling job stress? Apparently you're not alone...
More than three-fourths of respondents to a recent survey said they feel job burnout, while more than 50 percent feel they are under a "great deal of stress." Sixteen percent of respondents blame their colleagues for their office woes, followed by unrealistic workload, tight deadlines, last-minute projects and meddling bosses.
The "office stress" study was conducted by CareerBuilder.com and included 2,500 online responses. More than 50% feel they are under a great deal of stress, more than 75% feel job burnout.
CareerBuilder.com’s tips for reducing stress:
- Organize and prioritize by taking care of the more difficult and important tasks early in the day.
- Manage expectations so that you can achieve your goals and deliver on promises to others.
- Set aside a period of time dedicated to responding to e-mail and voicemails.
- Lastly, take care of yourself. A healthier you is more productive and happier.
Which begs the question. What happened to leisure time and vacations? When’s the last time you had a real vacation, I mean time off you actually unplugged and ignored work? I remember reading articles years ago that said we were headed for a day and age where we had so much free time we wouldn’t know what to do with it. When I was growing up, trying to find stores open late in the evenings during the week was hard. Saturdays was taboo and the hours open for stores was different. Forget finding stores open on Sunday’s. I actually think there were laws forbidding stores to be open on Sunday. Remember that? Now, lots of stores are open 24x7, and they post signs on the stores weeks in advance when they are actually closing.
Out of curiosity, I want statistic hunting. The average employed person is now on the job an additional 163 hours, or the equivalent of one month a year compared to figures 30 years ago. Can you believe that? We’re working a month more per year than our parents did, with all of our technological advances. A recent survey shows that 38% of us work more than 50 hours per week. The economists really called this one didn’t they? What’s wrong with us? Do we not know how to have fun anymore?