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Work is a vital part of life for the majority of us. Along with providing a steady stream of income, work provides us with confidence, in both ourselves and our abilities. Especially for those of us who remain in a particular industry for a lengthy period of time, we may also come to see work as a cornerstone of our identity as well as a source of pride.
Of course, numerous downsides to work exist as well. Whether you work in an office, a sales floor, or from home as a freelancer, work-related problems can affect our physical, emotional, and mental health over the long term. Common work-related issues that can drastically affect our daily lives include job dissatisfaction, workplace injury, an overwhelming workload, working the night shift, discrimination, and stress-related to job instability.
While typically considered an individual issue, workplace wellbeing is fascinatingly complex and can even impact a company’s bottom line as well as society as a whole. According to RealMassive, “a region’s economic growth relies heavily on the quality of workers an employer can recruit and their quality of life.” It’s becoming increasingly clear that unsafe, stressful, or toxic work environments have no place in the modern workforce.
To keep yourself and your community healthier, perhaps it’s time to change your circumstances and better advocate for yourself. It would be a mistake to overlook the threat of workplace stress, so start by setting appropriate workplace boundaries and cultivating healthier habits.
The Prevalence of Workplace Stress
Work-related stress is a common issue around the globe and is caused by numerous factors. Tight deadlines, cantankerous co-workers, lack of managerial support, and long commutes can all result in copious amounts of workplace stress. Unfortunately, workplace stress often comes home with us, and it’s costly on both an individual and societal level.
In fact, a British Labour Force Survey (LFS) found that 12.8 million working days are lost on an annual basis due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. The LFS further reports that workload is the most prevalent cause of job-related stress and anxiety, and certain jobs are more stressful than others: Workers in the fields of public administration, human health and social work, and education report higher than average rates of workplace stress.
Long-standing workplace stress adversely affects your health in numerous ways, spanning far beyond stress and anxiety, especially if you’re unhappy or unfulfilled by your job. For example, a bad job frequently leads to sleep problems, including insomnia, as well as the development of poor eating habits and a compromised immune system. Thus, those who are unhappy with their job and/or frequently stressed out are more prone to illness, especially during cold and flu season.
Staying Healthy at Home and on the Job
The good news is that managing workplace stress can be as simple as taking more time for yourself in the morning and eating a healthful diet. While positive self-care is a necessary escape from our modern, bustling society, however, having comprehensive health coverage is critical in the event of an emergency or a serious long-term condition.
Many of us receive employer-provided health insurance. Residents of the EU typically also receive a European health insurance card, allowing you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare across the EU. But what about those workers who are under contract or work in a freelance capacity?
Healthcare inequality is a growing problem that affects myriad workers around the world. Some uninsured workers are able to combat health inequality by taking good care of themselves and turning to nonprofit hospitals for their healthcare needs. Often, those needs are related to workplace stress and/or job insecurity.
It’s important to note that your work environment can significantly impact your health well beyond the effects of stress and exhaustion. For example, your office may have poor indoor air quality and ventilation, causing you to develop a respiratory illness. Chronic exposure to common air pollutants can even cause structural changes to the brain, impairing cognitive function. So whether your work involves construction of a high-rise or near-constant office meetings, it’s important to be aware of the surrounding air quality, and try to limit your time in the company of pollutants.
Burning the Candle at Both Ends: The Issue of Overworking
Living a comfortable lifestyle with enough disposable income to treat yourself every once in a while is an important element within the modern workforce. Unfortunately, however, many workers just manage to make ends meet on a single salary. If you’re struggling financially or have done so in the past, you may have taken on a second job or additional freelance projects in an effort to increase your cash flow. The downside is that overworking yourself may drastically impact your physical and mental health.
Freelancers are especially prone to overworking themselves, as work may be more sporadic. And sometimes, the lines between work and daily life can become blurred, whether you’re a rideshare driver, freelance content writer, or another type of gig worker. Further, your active work hours may not be logged in the same manner as when working a traditional job, if at all.
Thus, keeping better track of the hours you spend on the clock can make a huge difference, allowing you to see just how much of your time is spent working. You can track your hours and time spent on specific tasks via the use of an online time card calculator, or use the old-school pen-and-paper method. Either way, tracking your hours helps paints a picture of the ways in which you may be unnecessarily overworking yourself and may also help streamline your overall workflow.
When You Decide to Leave an Unhealthy Work Environment
It’s an unpleasant reality, but the unfortunate truth is that poor air quality and an overwhelming workload are rather tame entries in the scope of unhealthy work environments. Workplace discrimination may also exist in various forms, often resulting in long-term trauma. And it can happen anywhere — An estimated 5 million employees experience sexual harassment at work on an annual basis, for instance.
Yet the majority of those instances go unreported, for a number of reasons. Victims often fear retaliation or loss of their job if they report harassment claims, so most suffer in silence. Whether reported or not, experiencing sexual harassment at work can be incredibly demoralizing and stressful. It’s also likely to affect your mental wellbeing over the long-term. Many of those who experience workplace harassment or discrimination only find peace of mind after leaving their toxic work environment behind for good.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, modern life is about balance. And it can seem like a juggling act, as you work to stay healthy and happy while also making a decent living. Even if you’ve managed to achieve the oft-elusive work-life balance, however, you may discover that your workplace is negatively impacting your health. If that’s the case, it’s imperative that you take charge of your health and happiness, setting boundaries as necessary.
Maintaining the work-life balance is getting harder these days. And on this balance lies our health.