Rob Mier welcomes a good challenge in his workday. As director of sales and marketing for Cinecraft Productions Inc., a 62-year-old production company in Ohio City, Mier is used to the ups and downs of meeting deadlines and fulfilling clients needs. In fact, he thrives on a fast pace and a long to-do list.
Some days youre really busy, and some days youre sitting on your hands. Of course, we pray for the days when were really busy, the 44-year-old says. I like fast days. I like the day to move quickly, and I like to be challenged.
But even people such as Mier have their limits.
So when work pressures intensify and even small tasks seem unachievable, Mier has learned that he must step back and take a moment to regroup. In yoga and most meditation, theres a lot of focus on breathing. So [when I feel stressed], I might just take myself away from it for a minute and concentrate on something, he says. Or he might simply stand and stretch. You can do it almost anytime during the workday, and in almost anyplace.
Exercises such as these can mean the difference between a stressed-out, unproductive employee, and a more relaxed, healthy worker, experts say. And employers are becoming more involved in keeping their employees s and their companies s healthy.
They can no longer afford not to.
Mind-Body Connection
Stress is virtually an epidemic in todays corporate world. In fact, an estimated 1 million employees miss work on any given day because of stress-related complaints, according to the American Institute of Stress. More startling, U.S. companies lose a total of $300 billion annually, the institute estimates, due to stress-related absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, and medical, legal and insurance fees.
Dr. Gary DeNelsky, staff psychologist and director of the smoking-cessation program at The Cleveland Clinic, attributes high stress levels in the workplace to a number of factors: greater responsibility on fewer employees, lack of employer loyalty to employees and vice versa, and a faster-paced, competitive global environment.
Business today, in a global economy where were constantly trying to be leaner and meaner, puts more demand on us. The whole pace of the expectations of business has increased so much, it puts more stress on us, DeNelsky explains.
He adds that people need a certain amount of stress to thrive and remain competitive, or to overcome a personal challenge, for instance. Without stress, there is no personal growth, he says. Every time you try a new activity, job or relationship, there is almost guaranteed to be some stress.
How do we get confidence in ourselves in some new area? By trying something that could have led to failure and learning how to cope successfully with it. Furthermore, there is evidence that our nervous systems need s and our bodies thrive on s a certain level of stress. Only when the stress is too high for too long does damage occur.
In fact, stress is responsible for 75 percent to 90 percent of all visits to primary-care physicians, according to the American Institute of Stress.
Dr. Donald Higgie, a clinical psychiatrist who practices in Lakewood, sees truth in the statistics. The medical profession pretty much stays in business because of stress, he says. Stress is probably the most dangerous thing you can develop or experience, because it leads to high blood pressure; you can develop [adult-onset] diabetes; infections can come on when youre under stress because it affects your immune system.
Manage The Insanity!
No one is immune to stress. Although we cant avoid it, experts agree that we can learn to effectively manage it. Start with the basics: get plenty of sleep, eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. But thats just the beginning.
On a philosophical level, managing stress means learning how to be flexible and adapt, explains Dr. Alena Baquet-Simpson, Ohio medical director for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Cleveland, who defines stress as a response to change. More specifically, its how a person deals with change or any situation that makes him feel out of control.
Since stress is how we react to change, there is some control over it s they can take charge of their lives, she says. She adds that a new hire or other new person in the office, or a change in the work environment, can be perceived as stressful but can actually help employees broaden their thinking and change their routines. If people step back in preparation for whatever might come their way in the workplace, if they can be more flexible to changes ... I think they will feel better about themselves.
DeNelsky agrees, adding that another key component to stress management is setting attainable goals and not taking on too much at one time. We have to schedule our [days] to allow for things that are out of our control, he says. People often have superhuman expectations of what they can do. But you cant run a long-distance race at the pace of a 100-yard dash.
For instance, DeNelsky leaves for work each morning 10 minutes earlier than necessary so he can enjoy the commute and avoid the frustrations of rush-hour traffic. People need to enjoy the process of living, not just be directed on the goal, he says.
DeNelsky advocates trying to live a balanced lifestyle s balancing out what I call our kshoulds and our kwants, he says. Many people who are stressed out have very unbalanced lifestyles. You really have to try to get in some of those things you want to do in the whole process.
Balance is a concept with which Renee Grant is familiar. The 34-year-old counselor with Fairlawn Psychiatric Associates strives to balance raising her 2-year-old son with work, as well as restoring her 100-year-old home.
I cant very well be tired or stressed at work, she says. If I get too stressed, I get angry. Its something I work at on a day-to-day basis. Grant works at limiting her caffeine intake, eating small meals throughout the day and getting between seven and eight hours of sleep each night.
Spirituality and meditation are very important to me, she adds. I try not to rush. When I wake up a half-hour earlier in the morning before my son gets up, I find my day goes better.
Higgie, who specializes in hypnosis, advises using meditation s a form of self-hypnosis s to relieve tension and develop a positive attitude for dealing with daily pressures. You cant always take the cause away, but you can change the way you respond to it, he says.
He suggests meditating twice a day, adding that it sometimes involves simply relaxing for a few minutes s perhaps in a parked car during lunch hours or in a quiet office s and paying attention to how youre breathing. If you stick with it, it will be an excellent stress reducer, he says.
The Employers Role
Effective stress management is not necessarily the sole responsibility of the individual. The Cleveland Clinics DeNelsky points out that employers can play a significant role in managing workplace tension levels.
Employers need to recognize that their employees need a life outside of work, he says. The most productive people are ones that are healthy. The bottom line is recognizing your employees are human beings and that you really have to take care of them in the long run to get the best product from them.
And if thats not reason enough, consider this from the American Institute of Stress: Nine out of 10 job-stress suits are successful, with an average payout more than four times that for regular injury claims.
Dr. Bruce Sherman, medical director, clinical quality services, with Hummer Whole Health Management in Shaker Heights, agrees that employers need to better understand the link between stress and productivity. He refers to an increasing problem of presenteeism, meaning that you can be at work and not be very productive, Sherman says. As a result, if theres a high-stress environment where people are stressed and not productive, there can be an economic impact.
Employers can choose from a variety of stress-management programs to suit their situations and needs. But before implementing them, employers must first recognize that there is stress in the workplace and stress impacts production, Sherman says. Employers may not be able to lighten the work load or hire another person, but there may be ways to help organize work and address stress issues.
Anthems Cleveland office, for instance, encourages employees to participate in workplace-wellness programs. The company, which has a fitness center, has brought a massage therapist on-site for 10-minute chair massages and offers yoga classes during lunch hours.
Exercise and fitness help rejuvenate us and counteract the memory loss and loss of concentration that is caused by stress, explains Baquet-Simpson of Anthem, adding that having programs and facilities on-site helps employees commit to working out.
But if a worker has allowed a situation to take control, Baquet-Simpson advises that he step away from the problem or discuss it with a trusted friend. She adds that an employee should seek professional counseling if stress is seriously affecting his job performance.
For individuals as well as corporations, the answer to stress management is finding the right balance, experts say. Its fine for people such as Mier to enjoy a fast-paced environment, DeNelsky says, as long as the wants dont outweigh the shoulds.
Its a matter of prioritizing, DeNelsky says. You have to make care and maintenance, both mentally and physically, a priority. n