How to beat work related stress

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Survey: Three-in-Four Workers Suffer Stress on the Job

10 Ways to Beat It

By Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for

CareerBuilder.com

Workers are feeling frazzled at work, thanks to a culture of heavy

workloads, longer schedules, less time spent at home and fewer

vacation days. More than half of workers said they work under a

great deal of stress, and 77 percent said they feel burnout on the

job, according to a nationwide survey by CareerBuilder.com.

What's the culprit? Workers most often blame colleagues for their

office anxiety, with 16 percent citing difficult co-workers as their

primary cause of stress at work. Other top workplace stressors

included:

Unrealistic workload (15 percent)

Tight deadlines (11 percent)

Last-minute projects (10 percent)

Overbearing or interfering boss (9 percent)

High-pressure work environments are taking their toll on workers'

morale. Twenty-three percent of workers say they frequently or

constantly feel burnout at work. This can be detrimental to both

workers, whose health and career progress may suffer, and employers,

who pick up the tab in higher insurance costs and lost productivity.

Your job performance isn't the only thing hurting. Stress and

burnout can affect your immune system and has been linked to

migraines, digestive disorders, skin diseases, high blood pressure

and heart disease. It causes emotional distress as well.

Here are some signs you're cracking under work's pressure:

Your co-workers are walking on eggshells around you.

You come in late and want to leave earlier.

Apathy has replaced enthusiasm.

You've lost camaraderie with co-workers.

You're feeling physically sick.

If you recognize these signs or feel overwhelmed by work, here are

some ways to ease the pain:

Organize and prioritize.

Tackle the more difficult and important tasks first each day to

ensure you have time to complete them. Before you leave work, take a

few minutes to clean up your workspace and create the next day's to-

do list.

Manage expectations.

Set reasonable short-term and long-term goals for yourself. When

promising work to others, underpromise and overdeliver to prevent

deadline crunches.

Put down the " Crackberry. "

Set aside a certain period each day devoted to returning e-mails and

voicemail messages. That way, you won't be constantly interrupted.

Don't neglect your health.

Getting plenty of sleep, drinking water, eating nutritiously and

getting exercise will help you feel in control and do wonders for

your mood.

Identify the culprit.

What's causing the most stress in your life? Deadlines at work?

Trying to fulfill both work and household responsibilities?

Pinpointing the source of your stress is the first step to

combatting it.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Recognize what you can and cannot change. You're already tense.

You'll make yourself crazier rushing for that 5:35 p.m. train --

simply catch the next train and save yourself some grief.

Lose those unrealistic expectations.

You're not Superman or Wonder Woman -- so don't try to be. Setting

unrealistic goals only dooms you to failure, which fuels your stress

levels. Try splitting a larger, seemingly insurmountable goal into

smaller, more reachable targets.

Have some downtime.

Regularly scheduled breaks give you a chance to rejuvenate

physically, emotionally and mentally. So take a moment to get up and

stretch, stare out the window or go for a short walk.

Delegate.

Don't try to be a hero. Effective managers delegate and don't

micromanage. At home, hire someone to help with household chores or

get your spouse and children to pitch in.

Eliminate distractions.

If you're under an extreme deadline, close your office door and let

your phone calls go to voicemail to deter interruptions. You're more

likely to finish a project on time and be less harried if you focus

all your attention on completing the task.