It’s the holiday season, the busiest time of year for the fulfillment company you work for. You know it, your coworkers know it, and your boss especially knows it. Come the morning before Christmas and your boss assigns you to the most amount of packages to sort that you’ve seen since you’ve been with the company. You were already working overtime late into the night yesterday and barely got any sleep. You haven’t been able to spend time with friends and family and are not in a good mental state. Lacking rest and regretting unspent time with family, you drown out the noises of your coworker telling you to look out. But it is already too late, a forklift driver didn’t see you and ran into you, breaking your ankle.
Regardless of the job, this is the type of precursor to a debilitating injury at the job site. While each company may have different busy seasons, the result is the same and can ruin your lifestyle and the time you can spend with family and friends. This is why it is essential to know how to manage your stress not only from work, but also outside of it — this can save you precious time with your family that is instead spent filing a lawsuit against your employer.
If you do find yourself seeking compensation from your employer, a Phoenix workers compensation lawyer will help you navigate the entire legal process.
Work Stress & Physical Health
Maybe it’s busy season or maybe you have a new client needing more work than you have ever put in before: Stress can take a toll on your body physically. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported work stress to be a cause of:
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Workplace Injury
- Cancer, Ulcers, and Impaired Immune Function
Many of these effects are debilitating and even life-threatening. Understanding this allows us to be more weary of work stress and stimulate positive change.
Work Stress & Mental Health
It has long since been known that stress directly correlates with mental health problems. The most common mental health disorder resultant from stress is depression. Chronic stress leads to chronic depression, which contributes to a loss of appetite, sleep, and concentration — all things that can get you hurt at work especially if you are a physical laborer.
Something you see on the news or on social media is someone taking their life due to work stress. Suicide is not all that uncommon in high-stress work environments. Known as karojisatsu (“overwork suicide”) in Japan, this is the act of taking one’s life due to work stress. In 2023 alone, 2.9 thousand people in Japan committed suicide because of their “work situation.”
Common Injuries at Work
This combination of negative physical and mental health effects from work stress can cause and make you more susceptible to workplace injuries (from lack of sleep, attention, or depression for example). Here are the most common injuries that can take place at work and that you should be aware of:
- Fall or slip
- Overexertion
- Vehicle accidents
- Repetitive motion injuries
- Workplace violence
- Falls from heights
- Slip and fall
- Chemical exposure
- Electrical injury
How to Reduce Work Stress
Now that we know the negative effects of stress and common work injuries, what can you do to manage this stress?
Time management: You should be setting goals that are attainable and not extreme so as to put less pressure on yourself. Have a to-do list to stay organized and on track, and take a break once in a while to get your mind off of work.
Establish boundaries: Avoid bringing work home if you can help it and try to know your limits when taking on tasks you know will be too much work for you.
Stay active: Physical activity not only builds up muscle and can allow you to be more effective at your job (especially one with physical labor), but it also improves your mental health. Bonus points if you go outside (fresh air can help you refocus).
