Watch Out for These Consequences of Work Stress

Watch Out for These Consequences of Work Stress
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Consequence 1: Lower Productivity Rate

You know you put quality above everything else–even if it means clocking in until late at night, every night, just to nail down your original brand of excellence. Yet you notice that you’re always a wee bit weak, sick, or unmotivated. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to make your project turn out the way you want it to become. So, you put in longer, more dragging hours to “correct” the problem. You become more tired, sick, and unmotivated due to frustration. See the vicious cycle? When the quality of your work is starting to deteriorate, heed the warning signs as consequences of work stress and take a breather. To continue being stressed out is double jeopardy- you sacrifice both your productivity and your health.

Consequence 2: Poor Coworker Relations

You burst in the office door all puffed up, pale, and resentful – because you remember going out of that door just a few hours ago to go home and shower. Stressed out, you fail to greet your colleagues, flash a quick smile at the maintenance the way you used to, and the littlest annoyances during meetings and lunch breaks with coworkers irk you big time. Get on with this, and you will soon be branded an office monster. These poor office relations may result in coworkers also not delivering well to you and giving you favors on tasks like the way they used to – making you all the more irritated and angry and all the more justifying your colleagues’ decision to just back as far off from you as possible. Chalk this up to another one of the consequences of work stress.

Consequence 3: Personal Relationships at Risk

Everyone knows how work stress can get in the way with personal relationships with family and loved ones. Going home drained and stress-beaten can do serious damage to your friendships and marriages. While they may be able to provide you with immediate support and alleviation from stress, in the long run it is up to you to do something to eradicate that stress. If not, your loved ones may get frustrated that they cannot take away your stressors and eventually become stressed out themselves, which will most likely stress you out more. Everything that stress starts goes around in a deadly cycle that won’t stop all by itself.

S.O.S.

When you get down to the core of it all, the consequences of work stress risk potential losses which far outweigh the temporary loss that you fear when you stop working on a task. The best way to deal with this problem is to identify what exactly stresses you out and plan out a strategy to get rid of the stressors. Is it a demanding boss, a very lethargic and unproductive team, or a very big task that you think it is too much for you to handle? Work out solutions to target these problems. Or better yet, take a break. Luckily, employers are now starting to study and appreciate the importance of rests and vacations to increase the productivity of their employees. Use those vacation leave credits to escape somewhere peaceful, fun, and stress-free.

Image Credit:

FreeDigitalPhotos.net, Omini Rossi

This post is part of the series: Office Survival Tips

Here is a list of articles to help you find your way around office relations, good work ethics, work stress, and coworker habits you need to imbibe–and get rid of.

  1. 10 Great Strategies for Getting Along with Coworkers
  2. Workplace Don’ts: 10 Sure Ways to Annoy Coworkers
  3. Examples of Good Work Ethics
  4. Consequences of Work Stress
  5. How to Introduce Yourself as a New Employee