Financial and career issues will always be at the forefront of most people's worries, but job-related anxiety is increasingly prevalent. According to a poll conducted by the New York Times in 2009, job anxiety is taking a real toll on mental and physical health and relationships. It can seriously hamper a career, interfering with job promotions. Counseling, medicines and making changes in lifestyle---and employment, in some circumstances---is generally effective in treating job-related anxiety disorders.
History
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when people first began en masse going to work for others as employees rather than working in self-employed crafts and farming, stress over jobs has become typical. Fulfilling the expectations of bosses, dealing with loss of control and difficulty in finding new employment have all created a sense of tension, dread and fear in many workers, according to Heidi Somaz in her book "Performance Under Pressure."
Symptoms
Anxiety disorders related to jobs will show various symptoms depending on the situation and the individual, according to "The Stress Management Handbook," by Lori Leyden-Rubenstein. Most therapists identify common markers for job-related anxiety including insomnia, "Sunday Night Anxiety," depression, increased "illnesses" used as excuses to avoid going to work, fits of rage against family members and strangers and increasingly violent thoughts about a boss or supervisor. Job anxiety sufferers also are more likely to develop new substance abuse addictions and additional anxiety disorders such as panic attacks, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
Physical Health Affects
Job anxiety is bad for your health. According to the American Heart Association, work related stress causes cardiovascular damage. Job anxiety also is an underlying cause for overeating and weight gain, which makes the cardio problem even worse. Alcoholism, nicotine, prescription drug and illicit drug abuses are also a problem and a serious threat to physical health.
Mental Health Affects
The American news media coined the term "going postal" in the early 1990s when several United States Postal Service employees went berserk on the job and committed horrific attacks on coworkers. On investigation, authorities found that job stress and anxiety had literally pushed these workers beyond their ability to cope or deal with their depression and anger. While not everyone will "go postal" due to job anxiety, the situation can spiral down into serious depression, rage and suicide if left untreated.
Treatment Options
Counseling has proven to be effective in helping job anxiety sufferers cope with stress at their jobs. Medications with gentle calming drugs such as Zoloft and Paxil can also help "take the edge off" anxiety while talking-therapy is taking root, according to the book "Stress Management" by Edward Charlesworth. The goal of talking-therapy is usually focused on helping the individual understand and react to their work environment in more positive ways, and to find new tools for coping. Even if you change jobs, that doesn't mean you won't experience job-related anxiety again. Change has to be made within you if the healing is to be permanent.
Career and Employment Changes
In some cases a change in circumstances on the job, or a change of careers entirely, is the only "final solution" to a deep-seeded job anxiety problem. You can learn to cope with stress for a short period while you prepare a rational "escape plan" such as a earning a new degree online and changing jobs altogether, or waiting for a transfer to another department or for a new boss to come on line. If your situation on the job is hopeless, if you learn through counseling that no amount of change within you will cure the stress, getting out may be the only option you have.
Employer Support
Help from employers themselves may be limited. Because of their small size, smaller firms may lack the resources and flexibility to respond to employee's personal needs. Large corporations may have the tools to be more accommodating, but may lack motivation to retain a single employee who is not "fitting in" with the corporate system. In either case, reaching out can still be a risk worth taking. Talking with a boss or a Human Resource officer can be enlightening for everyone and can indeed spark supportive responses from the company.
References
- "Managing the Causes of Work-related Stress: A Step-by-Step Approach Using the Management Standards"; Health and Safety Executive; 2007
- American Heart Association: Stress and Heart Disease
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Stress and Substance Abuse
- "Performing Under Pressure"; Heidi Somaz; 2003
- "The Stress Management Handbook"; Lori Leyden-Rubenstein; 1999
