Whether you are a chief executive officer, middle manager or cleaner, every job comes with its stresses. It could be deadlines, an annoying boss, the need to navigate traffic to be at work on time or juggling work with taking care of a sick relative.
These come in droves and it does not help that we spend a good part of our lives working because according to Andrew Naber, a psychologist, one third of our life is spent at work with the average person spending 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime.
These stresses challenge one’s ability to work, productivity as well as their mental health.Dr Benedict Akimana, a psychiatrist at Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, says workplace stress are the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the job requirements do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.“When employees exceed these limits, they face serious problems and are unable to solve them on their own. Conversely, when an employee is unable to meet work demands, work pressure problems arise that can lead to work stress,” he says.Ms Irene Atuhairwe, the country director of Seed Global Health, has been in the work circles and her job oftentimes required a lot of input. She shares some of the causes of work related stress.
Work load With only eight hours in the day, Ms Atuhairwe says sometimes one fails to accomplish everything within that time hence working over time, say beyond working hours, and on weekends.“This gets worse with tight deadlines and causes fatigue which contributes to stress. Additionally, multitasking may worsen the stress,” she shares.
Pay Some employers may delay employee payments while some employees may feel their pay is not commensurate to the work load.“With various responsibilities yet someone is relying on their salary to fulfil them, even a few days’ delay may cause stress. However, for some employees, the wait may go on for months which causes enormous stress for employees,” she says.Ms Atuhairwe adds that the Covid-19 pandemic also introduced the ‘work from home’ aspect, which many were not accustomed to, especially for the non-profit and NGO sector. It has changed the requirement to work from office with several organisations shifting to hybrid work.“
This shift limited human interaction and had some employees work odd hours, such as working late in the night. Unfortunately, for many Ugandans, work spaces are not engraved into our homes so employees could not separate their work lives from social lives,” she says.Personality differencesFor individuals who want to be in control and have systematic plans, Ms Atuhairwe says working in a place where one is not in control or situations where you would need to delegate may cause some stress, especially if you feel others may not handle.
Dr Akimana classifies these in external and internal causes or triggers. Externally, these include major life changes, work, relationship difficulties, financial problems, being too busy, and children and family.ConsequencesThe signs and symptoms of work stress are mental, emotional, physical and behavioural and these lead to several consequences which Dr Akimana shares:Physical ailments such as cardiovascular disease, ulcers, and headaches Remedies. Dr Akimana says it is crucial that people find time to take care of themselves.“
It could be doing something you love, rest during your leave days, rest when you feel overwhelmed, and take frequent though short breaks,” he says.PrioritiseMs Atuhairwe says it is important to have priority lists or to-do lists where you do one task at a time and complete it before getting onto another.
Share the load When the stress is mounting up, Dr Akimana advises that you speak to someone, never drowning in your pain alone. “A problem shared is a problem half solved. Seek out a counsellor, a colleague or supervisor to share about your difficulties,” he says.For those struggling with work life balance, set boundaries in regards to hours beyond which they do not do work related activities. “That will allow you defined time to spend with your loved ones. Utilise weekends, day offs, leave and other opportunities to spend with family and other loved ones.,” she says.
