Stress at Work: What is stressing us out?
Written by Alexandria Yarborough, PharmD
Do you feel like you never have a day off?
If so, you are not alone. That is exactly how I feel and it has become a common theme among so many others in our generation.
When I am at work, I am constantly dealing with patients and their ailments while trying to achieve unobtainable corporate metrics. The phone is constantly ringing, there is a consistent line of customers, and I only get one 30-minute lunch break during my 10-hour shift.
On my days off, I am trying to catch up with laundry, pay bills, and fit in any necessary errands. The daily workloads are stressful enough on normal days but when a stressful situation arises, they tend to make me feel as if I can’t catch my breath.
For example, an unexpected bill will appear just as I’ve saved enough money for a trip, or I’ll get an upset patient with misdirected anger that will require a manager conference. I feel as if it's “always something”!
Does this sound like your day-to-day life, too? If you are a fellow millennial or older member of Gen Z, it’s a pretty good bet that it does.
Stress is a normal response to life’s everyday challenges. In fact, the body is designed to experience stress and react to it. When you experience changes or stressors, your body produces physical and mental responses. That’s why stress contributes directly to our mental and physical health, affecting our overall quality of life.
When used positively, stress can lead to growth, action, and change. But long-term stress such as job strain can lessen your quality of life. Our bodies have a built-in “fight-or-flight response,” which helps us survive stressful situations. This however is meant to be a temporary solution, not an ongoing one.
When someone has long-term or chronic stress, continued activation of the stress response causes wear and tear on the body. This additive stress results in ongoing inflammation, decreased immune response, and an increase in digestive issues, heart disease, weight gain, and stroke.
What Happens When We’re Stressed
As the pharmacist in charge, when a customer asks to speak to the manager, I can feel an instantaneous change in my body. My shoulders get tight, my heart rate increases, and I feel the slight pounding of a headache coming on. Most times, the customer only asks a simple question, but I still never know if I am able to be on the receiving end of a verbal altercation.
Why do I have these feelings each time I hear the request? Well, it’s a stress response from past encounters that my body is preparing for. My body is expecting to feel the same way it has in the past when conversations haven’t gone well. These physical symptoms are a result of cortisol being released in my bloodstream.
The relationship between psychosocial stress and cortisol is well documented in clinical research. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is released by your adrenal glands, the endocrine glands on top of your kidneys. It helps influence your metabolism, suppresses your immune system, regulates blood sugar/blood pressure, helps with the sleep-wake cycle and balances your body's response to stress.
Too much cortisol can lead to issues from weight gain to cardiovascular disease. When you think about it, if you are constantly stressed, your body is constantly releasing cortisol in response.
The Effects of COVID-19
The COVID-19 public health emergency officially ended on May 11, 2023, and while the return to “normal” has been celebrated by many, results of the Stress in America™ survey indicate Americans did not escape unscathed.
In fact, American Psychological Association psychologists say the results show that our society is experiencing the psychological impacts of collective trauma. Plus, widespread stress has not been limited to the COVID-19 pandemic. Global conflict, racial injustice, economic downfalls, inflation, and natural disasters are all constantly at the forefront of our minds. And as if those global concerns aren’t enough stress alone, we are simultaneously confronted by personal stresses such as those at work, among family, and within our community.
The data shows that the long-term stress sustained since the pandemic began has had a significant impact on well-being, shown by an increase in chronic illnesses—especially among millennials aged 35 and 44, which increased from 48% reported in 2019 to 58% in 2023. Millennials also experienced the highest increase in mental health diagnoses—from 31% reported in 2019 to 45% in 2023.
Occupational Stress
Concerning personal stress, work seems to be a primary source of stress. Surveys have shown that 40% of Americans consider their workplace “very or extremely stressful”.
In the United States, it’s estimated that 5–8% of annual healthcare costs are attributable to work-related stressors. One reason may be tied to the fact that studies show a correlation between high work stress and worse self-reported mental and physical health, including depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
In order to avoid the long-term effects of stress, it must be managed effectively. But the reality that many of us might not realize is that coping with long-term stress requires a different set of skills than simply adjusting to temporary stressors.
How to Manage Stress from Work
There are no standardized approaches or manuals that exist for stress management. However, learning how to manage stress from work starts both at your workplace and at home. Some companies have programs in place but many do not. In order for you to be successful and to reduce your risk of stress-related illness, you must implement your own healthy ways of coping.
There are many ways you can manage stress. They include:
Taking deep breaths, stretch, or meditate
Avoiding drugs and alcohol
Recognizing when you need more help is key. If problems continue or if you have thoughts of self-harm, talk to a psychologist or professional counselor.
Meditation
One way to cope with stress at work and home is through meditation–an ancient mindfulness practice originating from Buddhist and Hindu cultures that involves bringing increased awareness to thoughts and feelings.
Studies on the effects of meditation have explored its potential to improve mood and decrease stress, reporting benefits such as enhanced emotional regulation, attention, self-awareness, decreased depression, anxiety, pain, psychological stress, blood pressure, and inflammation, as well as improved immune function and brain activity.
What makes it so effective? Meditation can help get the body out of a constant fight-or-flight mode. (Remember as mentioned earlier, keeping this system switched on long term causes wear and tear on the body.)
Early mindfulness studies in pain patients also showed promising outcomes on pain symptoms, mood disturbance, anxiety, depression, and statistically significant improvements in physical and mental health-related quality of life.
As busy as we are, it’s important to remember that practicing short, guided mindfulness meditation sessions has the power to improve our overall well-being, positive outlook, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and job strain.
Meditating at Home
Controlling stress at work starts at home. Whereas most work stressors are out of your control, practicing mindfulness at home is instrumental in helping you tackle those unforeseen obstacles without the resulting stressful response. This practice can also be useful for those who work from home by dedicating a quiet area and amount of time to practice before starting your workday.
In order to meditate at home, try to find a quiet area that is comfortable to you. You can sit on the floor, in a chair, or on your bed. There is no wrong way to meditate. It is your practice.
Meditation works best with regular sessions. There's no rule about how long a meditation session should last; 5 minutes is a good starting point. There is no correct time of day to meditate either. Many people enjoy starting their day with meditation whereas it might be helpful for others to meditate at night to let go of the day's stressors.
Being mindful is an important part of meditation as it might help you focus on the present moment. By doing this, you might feel more connected with your body and less concerned with the thoughts in your head.
When you're comfortable and centered, you can start meditating. With your eyes closed, simply breathe in while saying "breathe in" and “breathe out” in your head as you do. For the next few minutes or so, your aim is to focus on this circular breath and the simple words in your head as much as possible.
It's important to remember that a wandering mind is a natural part of meditating. It's not a failure, just part of learning – and even people with lots of experience will still have wandering minds. The challenge is to notice when we get distracted by a thought and consciously bring our minds back to focus on the breath. A brief thought about paying a bill could spiral into worries about money or work and take your mind off the meditation.
Having a totally blank mind is not the goal of meditation. There is no right or wrong way to meditate – the important thing is that you have taken time to invest in your mental health.
A meditation room inside a Sam’s Club. More companies are prioritizing their employees mental health by creating such spaces for employees to take advantage of during break time in their workday.
Mindfulness at work
Companies have started to realize the value of meditation and mindfulness. For example, at Sam’s Clubs across the country, quiet rooms have been added in numerous locations. These employee-only rooms are decorated with comfy couches, minimalist decor, and dim lighting. Many have added white noise machines to block out the hustle outside the doors.
Employees are encouraged to stop in during their breaks or lunchtime in order to have some mindful alone time. Many associates scroll on their phones (on silent mode), read a book, or just close their eyes and rest. Sam’s Club is leading the way in valuing the mental health of their associates, and I believe many other companies are increasingly taking note of this inclusive action.
While it may not be feasible to meditate while at your work in your job setting, you can take lessons learned from your meditations at home with you on the job. Try these practices in your workplace:
Focus on your breathing for 30 seconds. Small resets throughout the day can make a huge difference.
Take your breaks! Rest is productive so make sure to take the breaks that are offered!
Experiment with practicing a silent mantra. “I am here. I am present” or “Everything is figureout-able” are great examples.
Partner with your HR department or manager to see what changes you can implement in the workplace to reduce stress
Practicing mindfulness can lead to an increased sense of job control by increasing the ability to handle work-related demands, ability to control attention, or control emotional responses to stressful situations.
Another way you can practice mindfulness at work is to take designated mental health breaks. These breaks can be to read a book for a few minutes, chat with a positive coworker, or even sit with yourself in silence before getting back to the demands of your job.
It seems like a simple task but focusing on yourself and your stress level throughout the day can really make a big difference in your overall health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, implementing meditation practices at home and mindfulness moments at work reduces negative outcomes associated with work stress.
Studies have shown that small steps such as focusing on your breathing, or taking a moment to recite a positive mantra can not only improve your day, but have a long- lasting impact on your overall health. Although these minor efforts are valuable, it’s important to also implement a consistent practice of reducing stress at home.
It’s important to note there is no expectation for everyone to practice meditation daily or at all if it doesn’t speak to you. If meditation is not for you, make sure to explore different methods of stress relief. Many millennials find playing sports, reading, video games, or watching feel-good TV shows contribute to reduced stress.
Take time to find a healthy outlet for stress that benefits you; you never know how focusing your energy and clearing your mind could save your life!
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