Coping with Stress at the Workplace

Extracted from MOM OSH Alert, dated 19 March 2007

Challenges in the workplace can be seen in a positive light, motivating us to complete a task or solve a problem and with its resolution, a general sense of satisfaction helps us look forward to new responsibilities. But when these challenges become overwhelming then stress can become unbearable.
Workplace stress results from the inability of an employee to wield sufficient control over the demands of the job. Source of stress in the workplace can come from one or many events and affect both the employer and other employees.

Stress affects people in different ways: some become anxious or defensive while others become aggressive or excited. Some symptoms of stress are:-

• Fast heartbeats • Tense muscles • Headaches, stomach aches and diarrhea
• Being anxious and bad tempered all the time
• Acting in a defensive or aggressive manner • Feeling tired and having trouble concentrating
• Eating disorders-loss of appetite or overeating • Sleeplessness (insomnia)
• Migraine • Stomach ulcers • Skin rashes

If left untreated the above may even lead to diseases like high blood pressure, heart attack, depression, nervous breakdown or mental illness and worsening of asthma attacks.

Click HERE to find out how you could “Manage Stress Before It Manages You“, a booklet published by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) of Singapore.