Signs it is Time to Quit a Stressful Job
Stress in the modern workplace has long since for many become a fact of everyday life. As efficiency and cost-saving drives by companies and employers become ever more targeted and ruthless, the pressure placed upon individual employees often grows exponentially. While a limited amount of stress should be manageable and can even drive individuals to greater performance levels, too much stress can have significant negative effects. This makes it vital that people be aware how to recognize when stress is reaching unacceptable levels and when it may be time to quit a particular job.IrritabilityOne of the first signs of stress problems in the workplace is where an individual finds themselves becoming increasingly short tempered and irritable. Even the most placid of individuals in normal circumstances do have their limits and can be abrupt - verging upon rude - with colleagues when stress levels build.HeadachesA very common symptom of stress is headaches. If you find yourself suffering in this way at work or immediately after leaving work on even a semi-regular basis, the cause may very well be the pressure you are being placed under by your job.Working too many hoursStress in the workplace is very often caused by an inability to cope with unreasonable workloads during working hours. If you find yourself regularly working extra unpaid hours in the evening or at weekends, this should serve as a pointer that the job is starting to get the better of you and that further, more serious problems are likely to result.Inability to relaxStress in the workplace does not only create symptoms while you are actually at work. Very often, people who are under unacceptable levels of stress at work experience an inability to switch off when they leave the workplace. If you find yourself sitting at home in the evenings going back over the working day in your mind again and again, or worrying about issues the following days are likely to bring, this is a sign that the stress of the job is starting to take over your life and that you are beginning to live to work rather than work to live.Drinking alcoholThere is little wrong for most people in enjoying a relaxing drink, perhaps before dinner, after a stressful day at the office or other place of work. If that one drink is regularly starting to lead to two, three, or even more, however, it could be a sign that workplace pressure is getting to unacceptably high levels.Relationship problemsStress in the workplace and all the many symptoms it produces can have extremely severe adverse effects on relationships with spouses/partners and other family members. If the irritability or short-temperedness you are experiencing at work is spilling over in to your home life, difficulties are unlikely to be far away. Your excessive working hours, distractedness and possible drinking can all lead to the end of a relationship and the pain and anguish this may bring about in the short and long term.Addressing stress in the workplaceOnce you have recognized that the stress of your job is a major life problem and can not be allowed to continue, you have to take significant and immediate steps to fix the problem. You could try speaking to work colleagues or your boss. Be honest and lay your cards on the table. In many instances, they may not have realized the extent of your problem and be willing to lend a hand. Alternatively - or where this action has proven futile - you have to take the potentially life changing step of quitting the job in favor of another in order to get your work/life balance back on track.
