Camaraderie A Key To Coping With Job Stress

Title:
Camaraderie: A Key To Coping With Job Stress

Word Count:
590

Summary:
Everyone knows that work stress can take a heavy toll on health. Studies have revealed that stress at work increases the risk for depression, heart attack and other health worries. Research shows that employees who are friendly with each other are better able to cope with work stress more effectively than those who do not relate well with their co-workers.


Keywords:
stress, anxiety, depression


Article Body:
Elle and Monique are both new in their workplace. At 26, it is only Elle's second job and first time to work in one of the most progressive call centers in the city. Monique, on the other hand, is turning 37 and though being a web content writer is not totally new to her, having once worked as a copywriter in an advertising agency, she still finds the writing job quite overwhelming.
Both women started on the same day and after only three days, both have already realized how the work can be so stressful and mentally-draining. While adjusting in a new work environment can already cause stress and anxiety, having a kind of work that requires round-the-clock creativity and demands mental calisthenics could lead to exasperation and burnout.
It has been almost five months now and both women are still working in the same company. Just when they thought they wouldn't last another day of coping with the demands of their writing job, time has slipped away that they have adjusted to their new environment and have learned to enjoy their job as well. Their secret? Camaraderie.
Although not all company bosses welcome close relationships at work, research shows that employees who are friendly with each other are better able to cope with work stress more effectively than those who do not relate well with their co-workers.
Everyone knows that work stress can take a heavy toll on health. Studies have revealed that stress at work increases the risk for depression, heart attack, and other health worries. Recent reports, however, shows that the solution to work stress may be found in the adjacent cubicle. According to an article published in the American Journal of Public Health, those who get social support at work are far less likely to suffer serious depression problems.
In 2002, more than 24,000 Canadian workers have been the subject of a research study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center and discovered that five percent of the workers suffered from serious bouts of depression. It was noted that men who endured high job strain were two times more likely to succumb to depression than men with minimal job stress. Women who had little decision-making authority had twice the depression risk compared to women with more power.

Earlier research on job stress were consistent with the findings, but the Rochester scientists detected a surprising trend. The study suggested that those who said they felt generally supported by their colleagues and could lean on co-workers in a time of crisis were spared the rigors of job stress. Men and women who felt little social support at work were two to three times more likely to suffer major bouts of depression.
“It’s more than just friendship,’’ said the lead author of the study, Emma Robertson Blackmore, who is also Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester. “Your family and friends give you support, but because they’re not in your work environment they don’t have the level of understanding that your work colleagues do.’’ Work friends, she noted, “get where you’re coming from.’’
The data are especially significant to employers and managers who sometimes view fraternizing by colleagues as a distraction that interferes with productivity. Dr. Blackmore, however, noted that because work friendships lower job stress and risk for major depression, employees who get along and support each other are likely to be more productive. According to the journal report, depression at work reduces employee productivity, increases disability and absences, and may lead to premature retirement.

BONUS : Title:
Campus Stress: How Students Can Overcome The Pressure Cooker Of College

Word Count:
670

Summary:
Studies show that college students learn less, and retain less, when they're under stress. With ever-mounting pressure on today's collegians to perform well academically, while signing on to a full slate of activities socially, stress has become a raging campus epidemic. The resulting anxiety can cause students to develop learning deficiencies, miss assignments, cut classes, underachieve, or drop out altogether.

And it hurts everyone: students, parents, faculty members, a...


Keywords:
student stress, college stress, college pressure, student anxiety, school stress, stress relief


Article Body:
Studies show that college students learn less, and retain less, when they're under stress. With ever-mounting pressure on today's collegians to perform well academically, while signing on to a full slate of activities socially, stress has become a raging campus epidemic. The resulting anxiety can cause students to develop learning deficiencies, miss assignments, cut classes, underachieve, or drop out altogether.

And it hurts everyone: students, parents, faculty members, and universities. To help stressed out campus dwellers get their lives back under control, here are several student-centric stress-reducing strategies, excerpted from my new book "400 Ways to Stop Stress Now...and Forever!"

Work before play.

Leisure is better enjoyed when it follows a period of good hard work. But putting off work to have your fun first is another story. Rather than relieving stress, it can be a source of it. Because now you made a conscious decision to fall behind. And the prospect of neglected work to make up can erode your fun. Don't let others lure you away from your appointed tasks, either. (Dereliction loves company.) Students are especially vulnerable to this. In the work/play cycle the effort should always come first, before the reward. Why make yourself crazy?

Study in shorter, more frequent intervals.

Whether it's schoolwork or a career training program...overnight cramming and marathon study sessions are less productive and the material more easily forgotten. Never let it get to that point. Study as you go along—in shorter, more frequent intervals. It will keep the information fresh in your mind so you won't waste time relearning it. Review sessions will be faster and less tedious—thus, less likely to be put off. And you'll be assured of understanding the material long after the final exam. Which is entirely the point, isn't it? Study as you go. You'll study less...and retain more. Why make yourself crazy?

Don't let others waste your time.

Some people have no stress empathy. They see that you're totally crazed (or do they?), yet needlessly interrupt you, get in your way, engage you in small talk, and otherwise make a nuisance of themselves. These are often people you room with, or are close to, and don't want to offend. Be polite, be diplomatic, but firmly convey the message you're way too busy to schmooze. Seek commiseration: "You won't believe how swamped I am." Or look at your watch and exclaim: "Yikes! You'll have to excuse me..." If these don't work, simply ask them to help you with your work. That's right. Ask for help. It will usually get rid of them, or even better, they just might pitch in. In any case, use your ingenuity and always have a good evasive tactic at the ready. Why make yourself crazy?

Don't be driven to Internet distraction.

The Web can soak up precious time so insidiously you're often not even aware of it. How easily a simple online task can end up taking an hour or more! Be smart. Devise your plan of attack before going on. And stick with it. Don't be lured away by enticing links or allow yourself to drift about aimlessly. Log on, get what you want and get off. Make the Internet the efficient, timesaving tool it was meant to be, and save your surfing for your leisure hours. Why make yourself crazy?

Do what needs to be done first...first.

This should be automatic, but for many reasons, we’ll put off more important and pressing things to take care of lesser priorities first. Not only does it leave that bigger thing hanging over us, it often deprives us of the time and energy we’ll need to accomplish the important task. Every day, take a few moments to consider what project would make most sense to get out of the way first. Then meet it head on, without becoming sidetracked, without trying to squeeze something else in between. Then go on to the next most critical...and watch the stress ease away. Why make yourself crazy?