If you’re constantly reaching for the bottle of Tums, seeking a masseuse or popping Advil, it could be your job making you sick.
“If you have chronic stress, it can definitely affect you physically – you can have pain in the neck and back, tension headaches or high blood pressure,” said Barbara Malerba, intake supervisor at the LifeWatch Employee Assistance Program in Pawtucket. “We see a lot of (stress-related) gastrointestinal problems.”
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Malerba said many people who seek assistance at LifeWatch are dealing with work-related stress and problems induced by that stress.
Dr. Rendueles Villalba, an attending psychiatrist and director of the partial hospitalization program at Rhode Island Hospital, said he is seeing a greater percentage of patients specifically complaining of work-related stress that is affecting their physical and emotional health.
“Face work” is a concept that means when a person is in a social situation, there is often a demand for them to put on a certain “face” that’s congruent with their work demands. Villalba said that work “face” is often very different from the way a person acts in their personal life.
“That by itself can cause stress,” he said of acting one way at work and another at home.
“(Some types) of that acting can be stressful, and it creates physical demands that have shown to increase cortisol, a stress hormone.”
Increased levels of cortisol can have many types of negative impacts, Villalba said. It can increase blood pressure, lower immune responses and even promote weight gain.
“It’s a very complicated phenomenon, but I believe obesity is also related to our stress level. … I think a good portion of the obesity epidemic in America can be attributed to stress,” Villalba said.
In addition to weight gain, an increased level of cortisol can also make people more prone to catching cold. Anxiety and stress have also been associated to ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome – and there’s even some who think that stress inflames Crohn’s disease, Villalba said. High cortisol levels can also increase neuronal loss, and over time people could develop memory loss or a low-level dementia, he added.
“The irony here is if you work in a stressful situation, your work performance will decline over the years,” he said.
Both humans and primates have demonstrated a very general response to stress.
A person’s status in the workplace can also influence their likelihood of being stressed, Villalba said.
“There’s a sort of status shield … the higher you are in the hierarchy, the less face work you have to do,” Villalba said. “There are fewer people above you that you have to placate.”
A large body of research suggests that the higher level an employee is, the healthier they are because their stress is lower.
Several studies also suggest that there is a peak of cardiac events on Mondays.
“That is due to the fact that people are making a transition from their private world to their public world,” Villalba said. “There’s a sudden shift that causes stress and that stress causes a peak in cardiac events. It’s an acute problem related to stress.”
Malerba said ignoring stress and its physical effects can also wreak havoc on an employee’s personal life.
“If you’re always stressed out, you won’t be a good wife, husband or parent,” she said.
If you’re caught in a stressful situation at work, it’s best to try and take a few private moments and relax. Deep breathing exercises can alleviate some stress.
“Those deep breaths can help clear your mind and lower your heart rate,” Malerba said. “Ask yourself why you’re getting stressed. If it’s something out of your control, let it go.”
Outside the office, exercise is an excellent stress reliever. It can also alleviate depression and anxiety.
“There are other ways to deal with stress,” Malerba said. “A family support system, a hobby, being able to go home and do something totally different from what your job is can help manage stress.”
Seldom is a stressful workplace totally inescapable, Villalba said. Should someone be stuck in a chronically stressful environment, they should consider changing jobs.
“The more harmony a person is able to achieve between their outer and inner world, the healthier they will be,” Villalba said. “Hopefully they can find a job in which they can achieve that harmony. Most people don’t have to make radical career changes to make that balance.”
Employers often realize that stress has physical symptoms and can make an employee sick, Malerba said.
“And they know if you reduce stress, you’ll be a better employee,” she added.
To that end, employee-assistance programs like LifeWatch do counseling, make referrals and generally help an employee concentrate on their job while they’re at work.
“We try to handle all the issues that impact them,” she said.
LifeWatch does different training sessions for companies to help employees manage conflict, cope with change, deal with stress and focus on wellness.
“We try to help them be happy and productive,” Malerba said.
