The Mental Load
The Mental Load is more than just “being busy”
Christmas can be a challenging time of year for some of our clients, so we thought it may be helpful to share some resources.
For 24 hour telephone support, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14
Mensline: 24/7 support for men: 1300 78 99 78
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 457
Headspace- 1800 650 890 (for young people aged between 12 and 25)
SANE offer support via phone and website from 10am-10pm, head to SANE.org
If you prefer to talk face-to-face, try to speak with a trust friend or family member, or book an appointment with your GP, who will also be able to link you in with services.
We have quite a number of blogs dedicated to self-care on our website, which you may also enjoy reading, and there are many apps (free!) aimed to help with stress management (Calm, Happify, and Headspace are amongst the most popular).
The workplace environment is rapidly and constantly changing. With online platforms, digital tools and smart devices make work more portable and professional lives more accessible than ever. Whilst these devices are intended to simplify things, they also make professional and personal lives more stressful. It has become all too easy for work to be a 24/7 pursuit. The number of Australian workers stressed because of technology has increased by 27 per cent since 2016, according to the latest workplace survey from Reventure, 2017.
With organisations increasingly putting a strong emphasis on employee productivity, many workers are faced with long hours, unrealistic workloads and looming deadlines. The pressure to be ever-available and ultra-responsive could be having an adverse effect on the health and productivity of employees.
According to statistics provided by health insurance provider Medibank, 3.2 days are lost every year per worker due to stress-related absenteeism. The total cost on the economy weighs in at a staggering $14.81 billion per year, with more than $10 billion being a direct cost to employers. These statistics highlight the importance of maintaining mental wellbeing in the workplace.
Stress affects everyone differently, but there are common symptoms:
So here are some tips that can assist in the reduction of work stress:
Keeping to a healthy sleep routine, reducing use of electronics before bed and simply an earlier bedtime are all recommended as a means of ensuring adequate sleep.
Allocating structured time periods to deal with tasks requiring communication and collaboration, would enable one to better manage and control interruptions, while setting aside the rest of the day to concentrate on the task at hand.
Without clear boundaries, the temptation to continue working is more difficult to contain. Reducing the temptation to overwork requires the identification of factors contributing to the need to put in long hours. These can include:
Once identified, these factors can be changed. This may include scheduling work and rest times, having a discussion with management about reasonable workloads and expectations and controlling technology access.
Whilst taking breaks is important, taking the right types of breaks is also significant. Some suggestion include: Going outside where practical since fresh air has been found to increase energy levels; Resting eyes from all of the screens; Doing some brief stretching exercises; Eating the right food and drinking plenty of water.
There’s no escaping the fact that work is a stressful place. Yet it’s when that stress becomes a constant presence in our lives that we need to start worrying about it. Too much exposure to stress makes us worse at our jobs. It puts us at risk and can have serious consequences to our physical health.
If you would like some support with better managing work stresses, why not give us a call today? Our team of highly skilled and well-experienced psychologists are here to help.
References
Author Unknown (2019). Burnout: A Growing Mental Health Crisis Employers Are Regrettably Dismissing. Corporate Wellness Magazine. July 17, 2019
McMillen, Lindsay (2017). Industry Insights. Reventure. https://www.convergeinternational.com.au/docs/default-source/research/a-future-that-works—industry-insights.pdf?sfvrsn=fc34b56e_2
Medibank (2019). Are our jobs making us more stressed than ever? 21/1/2019
Smallwood, J. and Schooler, J (2015). The Science of Mind Wandering: Empirically Navigating the Stream of Consciousness. Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 66:487-518.