"Office Psychosomatics". What Triggers Stress And How To Level It

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Start

In the last post, we considered mobbing and harassment as phenomena of office life, which, according to foreign statistics, are subject to 3-4% of “newbies” and 30-50% of “experienced” employees. This article was conceived as a description of the most common psychosomatic illnesses and disorders that victims of mobbing and harassment have to deal with. However, bringing the reader to the result of many years of research, one cannot fail to mention the phenomenon of "office stress" as such. Frankly speaking, the “diseases” of our century, including neurotic disorders and depression, are directly related to the conditions of increased competition, in which we have to be 24/7. And the more solid the company, the higher the level of competitive selection - keeping in place - moving up the career ladder, and the more often nervous breakdowns, ulcers-heart attacks, apathy, phobias, etc. high-quality development of "human resources" and psychological and physical unloading of employees, are able to win in modern global competition. But, as usual, it all starts small. As already noted, it was the "boom" of somatic and mental disorders, and, as a consequence, the economic downturn of enterprises that led researchers to study the psychological climate in the team. This is how various interpretations of such phenomena as bullying, harassment, etc. appeared, however, it is important to understand that the beginning of all beginnings is definitely stress.

So what stressful for the average office worker:

1 - imitation of work … Yes, yes, no matter how ridiculous it may sound. Because it is a constant anxiety, fear of being caught in the process of "doing nothing"; lack of complete cycles necessary for the brain, etc.

2 - violation of circadian rhythms, emergency mode. Work in the evening and at night, work without proper rest, etc.

3 - absence or improper use of emotional and physical discharge, inactivity. The company where one of my clients works offered computer games to relax as an alternative to working at the computer. This approach, instead of the supposed unloading, only exacerbates the situation. While a mini gym with shower, table tennis, relaxation and meditation room could be more effective.

4 - excessive control … Time control (what time he left / came, how much time he had lunch, how long he was “idly” chatting with someone, etc.), resource control (how much coffee he drinks, how much paper, copier, printer is used, etc.), control of whether so that the employee is always busy only with work, no personal correspondence, the Internet, and so on.

5 - the Ringelman effect, work for others, the inability to delegate some of the responsibilities. When one person completes a task, he is responsible for each stage and tries to do it efficiently, in a timely manner, etc. If the same task is divided by stages into several people, then the feeling of time is lost, people delay the work, the quality decreases, and often the person in charge has to check, adjust, redo, etc. all the time.

6 - dissatisfaction with the authorities. Studies show that most of all, those employees who cannot directly express dissatisfaction with unreasonable demands, humiliation, etc., on the part of their superiors, are prone to diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract.

7 - fear of dismissal, fear of change, inability to plan for the near future, etc

8 - when in the workplace and in the work process there is more negative than positive

9 - surplus of paperwork and surplus of a computer

10 - over-planning

11 - distrust of employees, lack of friends. Partly, the situations of bullying and just situations where in the team everyone is for himself, where there is no place for joint games, communication, etc.

12 - gender imbalance. Just the other day, one client said that it was easier for her to work in a warehouse with loaders who accepted her as she is, than in an intellectual teaching team, where someone in the eyes and who for the eyes condemns everything, starting from her appearance and ending with the details of her personal life, her children, etc.

Now imagine a situation in which an employee is being bullied or harassed. Then each of these points is strengthened many times over (besides the fact that the job responsibilities themselves lead to a violation of natural processes, so in a situation of artificially created bullying, most of the work has to be redone, completed in a rush mode, constantly "keeping a face" and responding to the repeated anger of the bosses and etc. The entire base of the pyramid of elementary human needs, without which it is impossible to advance and transition to new, higher levels, is destroyed. There is no way to eat normally, sleep, rest, etc., you even have to spend your material resources to restore spoiled work. Feelings of security and there is no security either, except for the fear of dismissal, there is always a fear of violating the boundaries of your I and your body, etc. There is no way to satisfy the need for belonging to a certain group and the need for respect, recognition, etc. nothing is left but to fire stay, or remain in a competitive race, but sublimate your psychological problems through the body. Cardiovascular diseases, cardiovascular disorders, panic disorders are the most common requests addressed by modern successful young men, from 28 to 40 years old. Women are more likely to get eating disorders, IBS, gastritis, colitis, etc. However, let's go in order. What disorders are most often associated with the phenomenon of office stress:

Psychological disorders

- memory loss, distracted attention, frequent mistakes;

- the employee often and quickly gets tired, does not get pleasure from the work done;

- decreased sense of humor;

- symptoms of emotional burnout;

- inability to finish work on time;

- increased excitability, fast speech, overly harsh or aggressive reactions;

- sleep disturbances, nightmares, insomnia or, on the contrary, drowsiness.

Due to the fact that men are more likely than women to tolerate and suppress negative emotions, psychosomatic disorders and diseases are more common in them and more difficult to correct.

Psychosomatic disorders

- depression;

- various phobias, anxiety disorders;

- OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and PR (panic disorder);

- Appetite disorders, manifested both in the feeling of "malnutrition", or disturbances in the perception of the taste of food, and in a decrease in appetite. In cases of prolonged bullying in women's groups, anorexia and bulimia are most common;

- dizziness, vascular dystonia, vegetative crises, etc.;

- pains of various etiologies not associated with a specific disease, including headaches, back pains, etc.

Psychosomatic diseases

- cardiovascular diseases;

- migraine;

- allergic diseases;

- skin diseases (psoriasis, dermatitis), which are most common among employees whose work is associated with a large number of contacts with other people, and this category of employees is more likely to suffer from diabetes;

- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, both classic gastritis and various ulcers, and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), colitis, etc.;

- cycle disorders and gynecological diseases in women;

- diseases of the respiratory system, including asthma;

- alcoholism and other forms of addiction.

In the previous post, we talked about what first of all needs to be done in a situation of mobbing and harassment in order not to lead to psychosomatic pathology. And at the same time, if it has already manifested itself, then when contacting specialists, it is important to keep all receipts, documents, results of examinations and extracts, which may subsequently be evidence of a deterioration in the quality of life, and a reason to file a statement of claim in court.

When psychosomatic pathology came to the surface, unfortunately, it was no longer possible to cope with it on its own. First of all, it is necessary to undergo a thorough medical examination, establish a real diagnosis and begin treatment. In parallel, with a psychologist-psychotherapist, what specifically contributed to the manifestation of a particular pathology and find and implement suitable methods of correction so that the condition does not worsen and does not recur in the future.

In the case when stress only made itself felt, as well as as a prevention, pay attention to how much is present in your life

Humor and positive contacts.

Hobby (an irreplaceable resource for all occasions).

Music (exactly the one you like, not the one you “need”).

Movement (from jogging to charging).

Delicious natural food (no orthorexia, just a minimum of chemistry and maximum pleasure).

Help relieve stress in the workplace

Aromatherapy.

Changing the type of activity, including the "window effect" (go to the window and mentally be transported into the same "landscape")).

Putting things in order on the table (work area).

Thinking about what has already been done, not being obsessed with what has not been done.

Fantasies about the weekend (regardless of whether it comes true or not, it is important to mentally visit the "picture" of pleasure)).

And the most important skill that all of us need to master in this difficult time is the ability to say no and the ability to leave work at work.

For the manager, on the note, you can only write that the frequent manifestation of psychosomatic problems among employees indicates that the chosen leadership style, organizational rules, etc., require detailed analysis and correction. In the modern world, it is the health of employees that is an indicator of the success and productivity of an organization, or a symptom warning of an impending crisis.

With elements of O. Chaban's lecture "Stress in the office"