Stress affects work, relationships, motivation

Nearly three quarters of Americans said money and work were the leading cause of stress, and 48 percent believe their stress increased during the past five years, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association.

With an increasingly connected and wired society moving at the speed of light it’s no wonder people are stressed at work and home. And it’s not just employees feeling the pain. Companies are grappling with the decreased productivity, high turnover rates and “presenteism” – where employees show up for work but are tuned out and inefficient – which is caused by stress.

“We are living in a society where the increasing cost of living forces families to have a dual income,´ said Ken Alford, a licensed professional counselor and psychotherapist in Longmont. “But along with that there’s a constant desire of wanting more and more of the good life – more things, nice cars, nice houses, trips and traveling. It motivates people to work more.”

The pressure to work more – whether to simply make ends meet or to buy “the good life” – puts a great deal of stress on working adults and their families. Add to that an economic downturn, the never-ending housing crisis and steadily increasing unemployment, and the average American worker is truly being squeezed.

At work the simple art of listening is being lost, leading to stressful interactions and misunderstandings with coworkers and employers, Alford said. “Most people in the workplace simply aren’t connecting as much, resulting in more conflicts because people can’t take the time to really communicate.”

This may sound strange. With e-mail, the Internet and cell phones it’s easier than ever to talk to anyone, anywhere at any time, but it’s a double-edged sword. Technological advances help workers communicate on projects, but since they’re designed for speed and efficiency these new tools don’t help people develop interpersonal relationships.

Neil Cline, a licensed professional counselor with Integrated Counseling Services, which has offices in Westminster and Broomfield, said people are not balancing their work and life. “In our culture we tend to use a lot of caffeine and not take time out for ourselves. We need to step away from the work we are doing and take a few breaths of fresh air.”

Cline said men, in particular, tend not to talk about stress. “They feel like they should take it on the chin and deal with it. Many men think, ‘I’ll make the best of it, and I will be rewarded for it.'”

He said acknowledging stress is important. If ignored over time, people can develop a trauma-like response from persistently being at a high level of “fight or flight” arousal. Cline recommends simple breathing techniques to alleviate stress in the moment and to incorporate personal or spiritual pursuits outside of work to prevent burnout and ensure productivity even in times of high stress.

During the past 35 years, Alford said he’s seen how work-related stress carries over into family life and into the bedroom.

“Increasingly, couples are tired,” he said. “And they’re tired sooner in their relationship. They think they’ve lost their romance, and they assume the marriage is on the rocks, but what’s happening is that people are under a lot of pressure to work hard.”

The APA survey supports Alford’s anecdotal evidence. Thirty-one percent of employed adults had difficulty managing work and family responsibilities, and 35 percent cited their jobs interfering with family or personal time as a significant source of stress.

Yet most companies aren’t even aware their employees are stressed. A study by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide and World at Work, an international association of human resource professionals, found that employees cited stress as the top reason why they left their jobs. Employers, however, cited base pay as the primary reason. Stress levels did not even rank as one of the top five causes.

The good news is that when employees are satisfied with the level of stress at work, 86 percent are more likely to stay with the company, and 88 percent more likely to recommend it as place to work. Companies that recognize the value of a “psychologically healthy work force,” as the APA terms it, can help shave attrition and new hire costs by implementing programs to help employees reduce stress.

Having a connection to an employee-assistance program or network is useful, Cline said, because most of the time employees are reluctant to talk about their personal situation for fear of reprisal.

“They don’t want the company looking at them as a weak link in the chain,” he said. But if employers did know about their employees’ stress levels they could help affect change in the workplace. “They can begin the healing process to create healthy change,” he said.

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