Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Stress in the Workplace Has Reached New Heights

Several weeks ago, CareerBuilder.com reported that an estimated 30 percent of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least once in the past year. The online job site also reported that the stress of work caused a sizable number of those individuals to call in sick simply because of that stress.

Stress has always been part of a workplace dynamics. There is the rush to get the best jobs because they pay more and offer more prestige, which means there is stress built into most jobs.

But the workplace has rarely been as stressful as it is today.

Sponsored
Sponsored

California’s unemployment rate has been at more than 12 percent for the past year, building unprecedented angst for those seeking jobs. The longer the economy slumps, the deeper the financial hole some people find themselves in, and the more their stress rises.

Certainly, the workplace is only one of several major contributors to stress, but because of its importance in providing economic security, it may be the most significant.

Even individuals who have jobs are suffering from high stress levels. Layoffs often force them to do more with less, opportunities to improve their lives through pay increases or promotions are less likely, and companies don’t expand with new job opportunities. Now, another survey suggests that those stresses are following workers home from the job.

The survey from the American Psychological Association shows the long-term impact of stress on the physical and emotional health of workers as well as their family members. The most severe finding of the survey of 1,134 adults is that there is a troublesome trend emerging that families are underestimating the effects stress is having on the children of harried workers.

“America is at a critical crossroads when it comes to stress and our health,” says the association’s executive vice president Norman B. Anderson. “Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they experience stress at levels that exceed what they define as healthy, putting themselves at risk for developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression.”

The American Psychological Association says many workers are unable to find ways of alleviating that stress and that it gets passed on to their children. Overweight children are more likely to report they worry a great deal and that they realize their parents are stressed out compared to children with normal weight levels.

The overweight children also often have more difficulty falling asleep, have more headaches, eat too little or too much and feel angrier or get into more fights than others.

And, although 32 percent of parents report that their stress levels are extreme and have an impact on their own health, many of those same parents think their kids are fine. Sixty nine percent of parents believe their children are sheltered from the stress they bring home while only 14 percent of the children say they are.

The association believes the inability of parents to acknowledge and deal with stress is now making a leap to a new generation. “It’s critical that parents communicate with their children about how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they’re young and still developing behavioral patterns,” says psychologist Katherine C. Nordal. “If children don’t learn these lessons early on, it could significantly impact their physical health and emotional well-being down the road, especially as they become adults.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”

Several weeks ago, CareerBuilder.com reported that an estimated 30 percent of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least once in the past year. The online job site also reported that the stress of work caused a sizable number of those individuals to call in sick simply because of that stress.

Stress has always been part of a workplace dynamics. There is the rush to get the best jobs because they pay more and offer more prestige, which means there is stress built into most jobs.

But the workplace has rarely been as stressful as it is today.

Sponsored
Sponsored

California’s unemployment rate has been at more than 12 percent for the past year, building unprecedented angst for those seeking jobs. The longer the economy slumps, the deeper the financial hole some people find themselves in, and the more their stress rises.

Certainly, the workplace is only one of several major contributors to stress, but because of its importance in providing economic security, it may be the most significant.

Even individuals who have jobs are suffering from high stress levels. Layoffs often force them to do more with less, opportunities to improve their lives through pay increases or promotions are less likely, and companies don’t expand with new job opportunities. Now, another survey suggests that those stresses are following workers home from the job.

The survey from the American Psychological Association shows the long-term impact of stress on the physical and emotional health of workers as well as their family members. The most severe finding of the survey of 1,134 adults is that there is a troublesome trend emerging that families are underestimating the effects stress is having on the children of harried workers.

“America is at a critical crossroads when it comes to stress and our health,” says the association’s executive vice president Norman B. Anderson. “Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they experience stress at levels that exceed what they define as healthy, putting themselves at risk for developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression.”

The American Psychological Association says many workers are unable to find ways of alleviating that stress and that it gets passed on to their children. Overweight children are more likely to report they worry a great deal and that they realize their parents are stressed out compared to children with normal weight levels.

The overweight children also often have more difficulty falling asleep, have more headaches, eat too little or too much and feel angrier or get into more fights than others.

And, although 32 percent of parents report that their stress levels are extreme and have an impact on their own health, many of those same parents think their kids are fine. Sixty nine percent of parents believe their children are sheltered from the stress they bring home while only 14 percent of the children say they are.

The association believes the inability of parents to acknowledge and deal with stress is now making a leap to a new generation. “It’s critical that parents communicate with their children about how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they’re young and still developing behavioral patterns,” says psychologist Katherine C. Nordal. “If children don’t learn these lessons early on, it could significantly impact their physical health and emotional well-being down the road, especially as they become adults.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Next Article

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader