Bachelor Of Occupational Safety and Health

FAHH 3053
OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

CHAPTER 5
Work-Life Balance and Stressors
 Introduction
What is work and life balance?
- management/prioritisation
- flexibility
- control
- interests/career goals

• Each individuals have unique responsibilities; what

happens if these are compromised with multiple
roles?
 Why is it so Important?
• Basically, stress “forces us to
deviate from normal
functioning”.
• A small amount of stress can
be a useful tool, which helps
us become motivated and
efficient.
• But severe occupational stress
impacts negatively both
personally and professionally.
 Excessive
Burnout and
Work-life balance eating, smoking
+ emotional
has gained and alcohol
distress.
increasing consumption.
prominence in
recent years.

WORK-LIFE
Working hours BALANCE
emerges as one
of the issues of
great concern. • Rotation between
nights and days.
• Difficulty focusing on
even the simplest thing.
 State of emotional, mental,
and physical exhaustion
caused by excessive and
prolonged stress.

Sources of burn out:

1. Work related BURN OUT
2. Life style
3. Unique Personality traits
Effects:
•reduces productivity
•helpless,
•hopeless
•recentful
 Increase in physical problems and
Increase in negative illnesses.
thoughts and feelings.

FIVE EARLY DANGER

Exhaustion. SIGNS OF BURN OUT

More
problems
Significant increase in with
bad habits. relationships.
 •career advancement
Excessive stress • better job opportunities and
and tension in the retirement
workplace
Reasons Why
Staff Leave
Their Jobs

Long working hours to find a better work life

and unstable rosters. balance
 Communication
• Recent studies show most
stress results from poor
communication.
 Communication

• Studies have indicated that nurses experience the

highest levels of workplace stress!

• In addition, evidence suggests that nurses suffer higher

rates of mortality, psychiatric admissions and physical
illness than workers outside the healthcare environment!
SOURCES OF BURNOUT

1. Work related
2. Life style
3. Unique Personality traits
 1. Work related causes of burnout
✓Feeling like you have little or no control over your work.

✓Lack of recognition or rewards for good work.

✓Unclear, inconsistent or overly demanding job expectations.

✓Doing work that’s monotonous or unchallenging.

✓ Not able to see results of work.

✓Working in a high-pressure environment

 Work Related
• Demands of the workplace exceed individual
resources – way of life for many physicians
– workload too heavy
– family and personal life suffered
– patients’ expectations too high
– on call too often
– could not take holidays
 2. Lifestyle causes of burnout
✓Working too much, without enough time for relaxing and
socializing

✓Being expected to do too many things to too many

people.

✓Taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help

from others

✓Not getting enough sleep

✓Lack of close, supportive relationships

 3. Personality traits can contribute to
burnout
• Perfectionistic tendencies; nothing is ever good
enough
• Pessimistic view of yourself and the world
• Type A personality
Psychiatric Illnesses –
Anxiety, Impaired job performance and
Depression, Professional Problems
Suicide

SERIOUS Physical Illnesses

CONSEQUENCES

Difficulty with Relationships –

home and work Changing jobs, reducing
work hours
 Preventing Burnout
• General Strategy
• Specific Strategies
– Work related
– Personal
 General Strategy

The number one cause of stress leading to

burnout:
THE PERCEPTION THAT WE HAVE
NO CHOICE, NO CONTROL.
The number one skill in dealing with stress:

CHALLENGE YOUR PERCEPTION

 Balance
Identify how Yourself
you RESPOND
to your specific
work stressors. FIVE STEPS TOWARD
MANAGING WORK
STRESS

Set goals to
respond Avoid over Negotiate to
more thinking. Solution
effectively.
 MAKING CHOICES

Recognize that you have choices

Focus on what you can control.
Set priorities - self, family, work.
Accept that you will not be perfect.
“Good enough is good enough.”
 Home
and Family
Work

The Five Balls

Friends Relationships

Self Care
 GET
SUPPORT

RECOVERY
STRATEGIES
REEVALUATE GOALS
AND PRIORITIES
 USE SUPPORT SYSTEMS

• Have at least one good friend

• People who are good for you
• Pets
 SET PRIORITIES

• Include yourself and

your family in your
list of priorities
 SELF CARE
• Take care of yourself first
• Make time for yourself
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Sleep
 RELAXATION TECHNIQUES
• Many methods available
• Spiritual relaxation, meditation
 Creating a positive Conduct work
Create a work work life balance”
life balance life balance
thinking” survey
policy

Strategies For Work Life

Balance For Employers

Increase Increase
employee awareness of
employees to
sense of access flexible
control and working
choice. arrangements
 Flexible working hours to all
employees including
managers and supervisors.

Improving safety
wellbeing and Retention and
respect for all Attraction Strategy
employees in
workplace
Flexible leave
arrangements
 Nurture a positive view of
yourself
Make connections
Keep things in
Avoid seeing change as perspective
insurmountable
problems.
BUILDING Take care of
RESILIENCE yourself.
Accept that change
is a part of living.
Look for opportunities for
self-discovery
Move toward your
goals. Maintain a
hopeful outlook
Take decisive actions.
 Control Work Environment
• Working hours, breaks, start time, stop
time, days per week.
• Power nap.
• Change your environment at least once.
• Personalize office or workspace, enjoy
working in it.
 BALANCING WORK AT HOME
• Don’t take your work home
• Give family your undivided attention