The number of
stress-related disability claims by American employees has doubled
according to the Employee Assistance Professionals Association in
Arlington, Virginia. Seventy-five to ninety percent of physician
visits are related to stress and, according to the American
Institute of Stress, the cost to industry has been estimated at $200
billion-$300 billion a year.
[5] Steven L. Sauter, chief of the Applied Psychology and
Ergonomics Branch of the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health in Cincinnati, Ohio states that recent studies show that
“the workplace has become the single greatest source of stress”.
[6] Michael Feuerstein, professor of clinical psychology at the
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences at Bethesda
Naval Hospital states, “We’re seeing a greater increase in
work-related neuroskeletal disorders from a combination of stress
and ergonomic stressors.”
[7]
It is clear that problems caused by stress have become a major
concern to both employers and employees. Symptoms of stress are
manifested both physiologically and psychologically. Persistent
stress can result in
cardiovascular disease,
sexual health problems, a weaker
immune system and frequent headaches, stiff muscles, or
backache. It can also result in poor
coping skills, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, exhaustion,
and difficulty concentrating. Stress may also perpetuate or lead to
binge eating,
smoking, and
alcohol consumption.
One example of the effects of work-related stress is exhibited in
the life of Barbara Agoglia as recounted in Forbes.
[8] Ms. Agoglia was a director in American Express’ small
business unit. After working more than fifty hours each week, as
well as driving a ninety minute commute each day, she was on the
brink of burnout. The “breaking point” came when her son started
school and she didn’t have the time to wait with him at his bus
stop. She compared her life to “the hamster-on-the-wheel” and felt
that her only option was to quit her job.[www.msn.com] Another
example is demonstrated by a Harvard University president, Neil
Rudenstine, leaving his position for two months in order to have a
time of “rest and recovery.”
[9] According to James Campbell Quick, a professor of
organizational behavior at the University of Texas-Arlington, “The
average tenure of presidents at land-grant universities in the past
ten years has dropped from approximately seven to three-and-a-half
years.”
[10] The feeling that simply working hard is not enough anymore
is acknowledged by many other American workers. “To get ahead, a
seventy-hour work week is the new standard. What little time is left
is often divvied up among relationships, kids, and sleep.”
[11] This increase in work hours over the past two decades means
that less time will be spent with family, friends, and community as
well as pursing activities that one enjoys and taking the time to
grow personally and spiritually.
Texas Quick, an expert witness at trials of companies who were
accused of overworking their employees, states that “when people get
worked beyond their capacity, companies pay the price.”
[13] Although some employers feel that workers should reduce
their own stress by simplifying their lives and making a better
effort to care for their health, most experts feel that the chief
responsibility for reducing stress should be management. According
to Esther M. Orioli, president of Essi Systems, a stress management
consulting firm, “Traditional stress-management programs placed the
responsibility of reducing stress on the individual rather than on
the organization-where it belongs. No matter how healthy individual
employees are when they start out, if they work in a dysfunctional
system, they’ll burn out.”
[14]
We know the complexity of the interactions, intersections and
overlaps between the domains of work life and home life with the
private domain of the self. So, we need find out some good ways to
alleviate some of this conflict.
