TWH 8: What’s Stress Got to Do with It?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rameshbabu A
• Description:
  Today's safety committee meeting is about the impact of chronic or lasting high stress levels. Recently, an employee struggling with high job demands and an impending deadline had a heart attack while working late to finish a report that was due the next morning. His doctor had noted a spike in his blood pressure over the last several months since the new project had started. Stress occurs when excessive demands result in physical and psychological strain. In addition to increasing the risk for hypertension, heart disease, and stroke, experiencing stress for prolonged periods can prevent you from engaging in healthy behaviors such as sleeping well, eating right, and getting exercise, and instead make you vulnerable to illness. Stress can also leave you distracted at work, thereby increasing your risk for having accidents on the job. Here are some ways to alleviate stress: Recognize your signs of stress: e.g., not sleeping enough, smoking or drinking more, feeling tired all the time, or quick changes in your mood. Meet with your supervisor or team regularly to understand your job expectations, review safety and health practices, and reduce uncertainty, thus preventing stress. If you are a supervisor, consider ways of reducing work demands and increasing your employees' control over how or when they do their work. Understand and make use of the support resources for well-being that may be available to you at work, e.g., stress management, work-life balance, or diet/exercise programs. Explore ways to tackle your stress in healthy ways: Go for a walk, try some deep breathing or meditate, listen to music, exercise, talk through your problems with family, friends, or co-workers. Pause and prioritize: usually, not everything needs to be done right away. Focus on the tasks you have accomplished and give yourself credit for them. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Promotion Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Health Effects Health Promotion Information Dissemination Injury Prevention Job Stress Occupational Health Services Psychological Reactions Safety Education Total Worker Health TWH Work-life Balance

  More +
• Publisher:
  Oregon Health & Science University
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Teaching Materials
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053869
• Citation:
  Health Impacts Safety: Safety Meeting Guide. Portland, OR: Oregon Health & Science University, 2015 Jul; :1-2
• Email:
  montgomd@ohsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  Health Impacts Safety: Safety Meeting Guide
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7ca8c87e106cc66f893fd2667ae88093f825c28b821a59b679f33d9c555062eafc3d10db4735eee1cf45ede41dbae3f0123cbf5d0c68b1aa58e1f755ceef93c9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216555/cdc_216555_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 319.25 KB ]