Life is so simple isn't it. We have all the information we can imagine at our finger tips. Yet what has really changed? Have we learned how to treat our co-workers with respect? Have we learned the practice of having difficult conversations when they are needed or do we just avoid them? Do we understand what it is like to show up and be present for people? So much has changed in the world, yet much stays the same. I feel more connected to people and technology than ever. Yet I feel that I not really better equipped to handle the pressures of the world we live in.
Not only do I to deal with the realities of work pressures, I must try to make sense out of the misery that surrounds us. Car , travelling 200 km/hour slams into side of van, killing three. Young teenage girl, new to our city and country disappears from her school, without a trace. Are our own children save? It never ends does it? On top of the daily stresses of work, we must deal with the economic down turn, threatened cuts to mandated services, employee layoffs to name a few.
According the the Heart and Stroke Foundation, if we don't deal with stress in our lives, it can kill us. Dr. Baker, a Heart and Stroke researcher feels that job stress comes down to two definitions: either there are too many demands with too little control over your work or there is too much effort compared to the rewards you get back. He goes on to give us some tips:
- Keep an open dialogue with our manager or employer.
- Get support from your co-workers
- Make use of employee health plans
- Talk to your partner or friends outside of the office to gain additional support
- Look for rewards in your work
Over the next few weeks I will think and write about how I manage stress (or not).. I welcome your opinions as well on this topic. Maybe together we can figure out some healthy strategies that work.....if not, maybe we can at least recommend a good wine we should buy.
Until later
