CAREER DEVELOPMENT -- Job Stress: When a Crisis Is Not a Crisis

Steve Mullinix, PhD

Job stress is something we all experience – whether we work for someone else or whether we have our own business and work for ourselves. Being involved in work activity, 8 - 12 hours a day or more is stressful. That’s the case whether we like our jobs or not. As humans, we are constantly adjusting to sensations and signals both outside and inside of us that cause us to constantly adapt and adjust to changing conditions. Hans Selye, MD, a noted pioneer of the study of stress and its impact on the body, defined stress as the body’s physiological response to any demand (physical, mental, or emotional) placed upon it. So, as we live, work and play, there is stress.

But what about the stress of not liking your job? Or, what if you find yourself in a position that is ill suited to you because of the mismatch of personality, interests, values or skills? Don’t you just have to leave now? Well, the correct answer is – “it depends.

Frequently, in the career counseling work that I do, I meet with men and women who feel so frustrated in their positions, that they just “have to get out. “ They may not have a clue as to what they’d do next, but they have become so frustrated with what they are doing that they get depressed or develop physical health problems. It’s almost that with the recognition of “this is not a fit or “this is going no where, that a kind of panic can set in that shuts off rational thought and creativity that might otherwise lead to a solution. Certainly, this is not a healthy place to be forever. However, at that particular point in time, the major stress problem often is not from the job or position itself; but, from the expectation that the person puts on themselves that they “can’t stand it any longer. This is not to say that there aren’t abusive, harassing or otherwise psychologically damaging situations – but frequently that isn’t the case.

Actually, it is very healthy to be aware of whether a particular job or role that you are playing does not work anymore. Whether that thought comes soon into your first job, 10 years in, mid-career or later, it is important and developmentally appropriate to be aware of the need to change. You have made a decision. Congratulations! No need to panic! You’ve made the first important step to improving your situation. You are going to change. And, you get to choose when that takes place – don’t put extra pressure on yourself by demanding it now. Once you’ve decided to leave your job. Develop a time-line for your transition. A general rule in the HR industry is that for every $ 10,000 salary you want, you need to allow 1 to 1½ months for job searching. From there proceeds the necessary steps to identify what doesn’t work in your current position, identifying other opportunities and doing the necessary exploration. Friends, family, mentors, job seekers groups , books, websites or a professional career counselor can be helpful at this time. And, no matter what else you do, take care of yourself. The job search is stressful too!