The Damage Stress Can Cause

There are obvious injuries that come from physical stress. NIOSH reports cite the following long term health problems that can be caused or aggravated by workplace stress: hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, strokes, infectious diseases, immune system dysfunction, diabetes, asthma, musculoskeletal diseases, serious depression, suicidal behavior, domestic violence, alcoholism.

Reasons of Stress

Here's a partial list of situations NIOSH has identified as causing stress in the workplace:

§ Hiring policies

§ Plant closings (or threats to close)

§ Layoffs

§ Workplace relocations

§ Retraining

§ Work pace that is set too fast

§ Mandatory overtime with no regard for family situations

§ Heavy workloads

§ Infrequent rest breaks

§ Long hours

§ Shift work (causes sleep disorders)

§ Routine tasks that make no sense

§ Being ordered to produce poor work

§ Poor communication from supervisors

§ Lack of family friendly policies

§ Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as noise, crowding, air pollution, dealing with hostile clients or customers

§ Ergonomic problems (bad chairs, computer glare for 8 hours a day)

Work is one of the most important aspects of a worker's life. It's not just 8 or 10 hours a day. Work is food and shelter for the family, it can mean the ability to take a vacation or not. Work affects everything, and thus stress at work affects a worker's health and family.

A family friendly workplace policy would allow workers to be absent due to a sick child, to care for a sick or dying family member, attending school conferences, or taking a family member to the doctor. Not having to worry about being fired or disciplined decreases or eliminates the stress.

3. Read the list given below. Which of the following would be considered acceptable normal behavior during the stress?

1) You are usually sluggish¹ to anger but get angry about unimportant things.

2) You are full of energy and desire to work.

3) Men feel chest pain, firm jaws², upset stomach, breathlessness and even high blood pressure.

4) You manage your everyday tasks in a systematic method.

5) You often have migraine or a headache.

6) You sleep calmly at night.

7) Women feel back pain, leg pain, cramps³, uneven periods, sleeplessness or lack of proper sleep.

8) Every day you are very organised and disciplined.

sluggish¹ пасивний

firm jaws²стиснуті щелепи

cramps³судоми

Complete the following statements using the information from the text.

1) Work affects….

2) When stress becomes continuous…

3) The following long term health problems…

4) Stress is a….

5) A family friendly workplace….

6) Work is one of….

7) Stress can be caused…..

Choose from the text reasons which may cause stress in your life.

Make up sentences putting the words in the correct order beginning from the first word. Give the title to these sentences.

1) Work, most, one, worker's, of, aspects, the, important, of, a, is, life.

2) The following, workplace, are, signs, of, headaches, warning ,stress:, and, sleep, symptoms, disturbances.

3) Stress, conditions, mental, by, or, physical, can, be, or, a combination, caused, of, both.

4) Stress, describes, fears, a, term, that, reacts, how, medical, the, human, when, it, it, is, under, is, body, attack.

5) When, fears, the, body, it, under, is, responds, attack, it, automatically, human.

6) There are such, physical, stress, as, hypertension , come, heart disease, strokes diseases, diseases, infectious, that, from.

7) These, cause, in, the:, hiring policies, stress, plant closings, workplace, layoffs, Reasons, can.

Look at the pictures and

a) tell the group about the reasons of the stress and what people’s reactions on it are.