PHYSICAL HAZARDS AT WORK PLACE..

Stress ; burn out & Deppression

Stress….how it works…..• It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about stress.

The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding.

What you want to do is…• But you have more control than you might think. • In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your

life is the foundation of stress management. 

Stress Management….• It is the amelioration of stress and especially chronic

stress often for the purpose of improving everyday functioning.• Stress produces numerous symptoms which vary according to

persons, situations, and severity. These can include physical health decline as well as depression

• Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, and the way you deal with problems.

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress

•Smoking

•Drinking too much

•Overeating or undereating

•Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or

computer

•Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities

•Using pills or drugs to relax

•Sleeping too much

•Procrastinating

•Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems

•Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

:

Strategies….

Avoid unnecessary stress• Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid

a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

• Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.

• Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.

• Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

• Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.

• Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Strategy 2

Alter the situation

• If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

• Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same.

• Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.

• Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.

• Manage your time better. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under.

Stress management strategy : Make time for fun and relaxation

• Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors.

Strategies 3

•Go for a walk.

•Spend time in nature.•Call a good friend.•Sweat out tension with a good workout.•Write in your journal.•Take a long bath.•Light scented candles.

•Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea.•Play with a pet.•Work in your garden.•Get a massage.•Curl up with a good book.•Listen to music.•Watch a comedy.

• What is burnout?

• Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

• Total depletion of physical mental resourcess caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work related goal.

• Gradually manifesting itself in symptoms such as irritability discouragement, exhaustion, cynicism, entrapment, and resentment.

Better to ……• Break your pattern• Get away from it all pirriodically• Re assess your goals in terms of their intrinsic worth.• Think about your work.

• Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy,

leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.

• Most of us have days when we feel bored, overloaded, or unappreciated; when the dozen balls we keep in the air aren’t noticed, let alone rewarded; when dragging ourselves out of bed requires the determination of Hercules. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may have burnout.

you may be on the road to burnout if:

Every day is a bad day.Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste

of energy.You’re exhausted all the time.The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either

mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is

appreciated.• The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of

life—including your home and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.

The Difference between stress and burnout

• The difference between stress and burnout• Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the

same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and psychologically. Stressed people can still imagine, though, that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.

• Burnout, on the other hand, is about not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress is like drowning in responsibilities, burnout is being all dried up. While you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.

Stress v/s Burn outStress vs. Burnout

Stress Burnout

Characterized by overengagement Characterized by disengagement

Emotions are overreactive Emotions are blunted

Produces urgency and hyperactivity Produces helplessness and hopelessness

Loss of energy Loss of motivation, ideals, and hope

Leads to anxiety disorders Leads to detachment and depression

Primary damage is physical Primary damage is emotional

May kill you prematurely May make life seem not worth living

Source: Stress and Burnout in Ministry

Depression• Symptoms….• Persistent sad• Anxious• Empty mood• Sleeping too little• Loss of interest in activities• Restlessness• Irrtability

Work Place violence• Argument against superior , Homicide at work place ,

Robbery, violence against employees,violence against women at work place…..sexual assault..Etc

CAUSES OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

• • Downsizing, layoff,transfer,depression,paranoia • Evaluations

• • Lack of promotion or advancement • Failure to recognize efforts

• • Termination• • Domestic violence brought into the workplace •

Employees working with each other every day• • Revenge for one of the above

Computer Related Ergonomic Problems

• Computer-Related Ergonomic difficulties can be caused by equally work-related and non-work related factors. Computer-related Ergonomics problems are ailments which affect thousands of people every single day. These Computer-related Ergonomics problems are only getting worse, as more and more of us use computer's desktop and laptop computers all day long , then again at night, we're spending more and more time in front of our computer systems and we will pay the cost if we do not look closely at our postures as well as bodies

Symptoms of Computer-Related Ergonomic Problems• Below is a list of the commonest clinical signs and

symptoms of computer-related ergonomic chance factors.

1.Pain or aching in wrists, forearms, arm , neck, or back followed by discomfort

2.Numbness, tingling or burning sensation available or fingers

3.Dry, itchy, crimson or sore eyes

4.Blurred or dual vision

5.Tight, sore neck as well as shoulder muscles

General fatigue or tiredness Reduced grip strength in the hand Swelling or stiffness in the hand or arm Reduced

range of flexibility in the hands, wrist, joint pain, neck, or back Weakness

Tension stress problems and other stress disorders