Stress: If It’s Not One Thing It’s Your Mother

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What It’s About: The title above is a well known, sardonic riff on a maxim most of us have heard. On the macro stage: Omicron, Ukrainian war, more omicron, gas prices, overall inflation, climate craziness, etc. On the individual front, each of us also has some sort of personal shit show going on. And then there’s work: The great resignation, changing business models, volatile markets, exponential technology, returning to the workplace, and so on.

How is all this impacting you? Perhaps you’re noticing more emotional exhaustion; what researchers call depersonalization. You get annoyed with people more quickly. You immediately assume someone’s intentions are bad. You start feeling ineffective.

Some other questions to consider from a work perspective:

Have you become cynical or critical at work?

Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started?

Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers or clients?

Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?

Do you find it hard to concentrate?

Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?

Do you feel disillusioned about your job?

Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?

Have your sleep habits changed?

Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical complaints?

So What?: Focusing on work related stress, the primary root cause is connected to one or more of the following according to the Mayo Clinic:

“Lack of control. An inability to influence decisions that affect your job — such as your schedule, assignments or workload — could lead to job burnout. So could a lack of the resources you need to do your work.

Unclear job expectations. If you're unclear about the degree of authority you have or what your supervisor or others expect from you, you're not likely to feel comfortable at work.

Dysfunctional workplace dynamics. Perhaps you work with an office bully, or you feel undermined by colleagues or your boss micromanages your work. This can contribute to job stress.

Extremes of activity. When a job is monotonous or chaotic, you need constant energy to remain focused — which can lead to fatigue and job burnout.

Lack of social support. If you feel isolated at work and in your personal life, you might feel more stressed.

Work-life imbalance. If your work takes up so much of your time and effort that you don't have the energy to spend time with your family and friends, you might burn out quickly).”

Now What?: We of course have little control over macro events. And all of our individual issues are very unique to each of us. Some anti-stress strategies apply to all circumstances and researchers have some generic suggestions regarding the workplace:

“Evaluate your options. Discuss specific concerns with your supervisor. Maybe you can work together to change expectations or reach compromises or solutions. Try to set goals for what must get done and what can wait.

Seek support. Whether you reach out to coworkers, friends or loved ones, support and collaboration might help you cope. If you have access to an employee assistance program, take advantage of relevant services.

Try a relaxing activity. Explore programs that can help with stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi.

Get some exercise. Regular physical activity can help you to better deal with stress. It can also take your mind off work.

Get some sleep. Sleep restores well-being and helps protect your health.

Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of focusing on your breath flow and being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling at every moment, without interpretation or judgment. In a job setting, this practice involves facing situations with openness and patience, and without judgment.”

There is also strong data supporting completing regular gratitude journaling, proactive kindness, simply smiling as we greet people, and actions involving positively connecting with others.

Shawn Achor, the “Happiness Guru,” also emphasizes focusing on progress instead of perfection/success as the route to more joy (and hence less burnout stress). He notes: “We have long thought about potential as being a set of individual traits: Your creativity, your skills, your intelligence. But thanks to exciting new research combining neuroscience and psychology with Big Data, we now know that our potential is not limited by what we alone can achieve. Instead, it is determined by how we complement, contribute to, and benefit from the abilities and achievements of people around us.

When we – as individuals, leaders, and parents – chase only individual achievement, we leave vast sources of potential untapped. But once we put ‘others’ back into the equation, and work to make others better, we ignite a Virtuous Cycle of cascading successes that amplify our own.“

So the irony is, if you can focus on generously giving to others, the more joy, less burn-out. This includes small forward steps daily. This is hard when we can barely drag ourselves out of bed. However one small gesture to help others propels us forward. Start with your mother. 🤓

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: I know I’ve mentioned this a time or two before, but I do like the notion of tending to your garden. Plenty is out of our control, but there is always something we can keep orderly, and it can start with the yard. This works as a metaphor just as much as it reminds us to mow the lawn, however the idea is to keep our own world as simple and manageable as possible.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Stress: If It’s Not One Thing It’s Your Mother

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