Is Your Job Killing You?

By Mike DuBose with Blake DuBose and Surb Guram, MD

 

“I hate my job!” We’ve all heard it before; many of us have even said it ourselves. Most of the time, it’s an exaggeration, or an expression of frustration about temporary problems at work. But for some—those who are bombarded with constant, intense stress as part of their daily routines—it could be the truth. Science has demonstrated clear links between stress and poor health, so jobs that leave us constantly stressed could actually be shortening our lifespans. To know why our jobs can actually harm our health, first we need to know the effects of stress on the body. Then, we can take steps to decrease or control job-related anxiety.

How the Body Responds to Stress

In 2012, the British Medical Journal published a study of nearly 70,000 participants indicating that psychological distress “is associated with increased risk of mortality from several major causes…even at lower levels of distress.” Part of the reason lies in the body’s natural stress response. Bruce McEwen, a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University in New York, reported that humans are wired for survival—in stressful situations, the body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to “focus the mind and body for immediate action.” In the short term, stress hormones can be beneficial to the body; cortisol can stop inflammation, which is a contributor to several serious health problems. However, when chronic stress pushes cortisol into the bloodstream relentlessly, cells become desensitized to the hormone and can no longer stop inflammation. As a result, the inflammation damages brain cells and blood vessels, fuels joint diseases like arthritis, and promotes insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes. Inflammation in the bloodstream can be detected with C-reactive protein and cortisol blood tests, but physicians do not typically administer these tests unless patients ask for them. (However, patients can request to have these tests performed every few years).

The Health Consequences of Stress

Research from a host of scientists, including Carnegie Mellon psychology professor Sheldon Cohen, has revealed sobering facts about people who have highly stressful lives and jobs, including:

1.  Because of their weakened immune systems, they are more likely to catch a cold, the flu, or pneumonia. They also have higher white blood cell counts, and the cortisol encourages the cells to stick to blood vessel walls, forming plaque, a key marker of heart disease.

2.  People with high-stress jobs have a 23% increased risk of heart attack, according to a 2012 review of studies conducted at the University College London.

3.  They burn fewer calories as compared to people with less stress, which could add up to 11 extra pounds per year, according to one study. (There is also a link between cortisol and excess abdominal fat.)

4.  Their wounds take longer to heal due to their elevated cortisol levels.

5.  They sleep less, wake up more often during the night, and find it more difficult to get back to sleep; without a good night’s sleep, people find it harder to manage stress, continuing the cycle.

6.  Stress exacerbates back, neck, and shoulder pain.

7.  Stressful episodes can trigger depression, which then “takes on a life of its own,” according to Dr. Huda Akil, professor of neuroscience at the University of Michigan. Key brain neurotransmitter systems, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, can become imbalanced due to stress, negatively impacting mood, appetite, and libido.

Women who have stressful jobs are also more likely to develop diabetes, according to a 2012 Journal of Occupational Medicine study, although the same effect was not proven in men.

To add to the danger, when people are stressed to the limit, they often practice unhealthy lifestyles. Many individuals who have stressful jobs don’t leave their desks for significant periods, meaning they often reach for quick fast food lunches and don’t get up and move around. They are also more likely to eat or drink excessively, take harmful drugs, or use tobacco products, all while sleeping and exercising less. In fact, a 2010 University of Illinois study showed that people who worked longer hours had higher rates of cigarette smoking, performed less exercise, and got fewer medical checkups. Another study proved that shorter workweeks have the opposite effect: when the French government reduced the maximum working hours from 39 to 34 per week, people were less likely to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol and more likely to exercise.

Which Stressors Harm Us the Most?

Most people can deal with limited amounts of stress for short periods of time without experiencing problems; however, when faced with a number of extremely stressful life events at once, including those related to work, they are overwhelmed and more likely to become ill. Psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a scale to estimate the impact of different events on a person’s health by studying the records of thousands of patients, the results of which were published as the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. Each stressful life event is assigned a “Life Change Unit” score, and people are asked to note which events they have experienced over the past year, then add the scores together for a number that will help predict how likely they are to get sick. A score of 300 or higher indicates a substantial risk of illness; 150-299, a moderate risk of illness; and less than 150, a slight risk.

The top twenty most stressful events for adults and the corresponding “Life Change Unit” scores on the scale are as follows:

1.  Death of a spouse: 100

2.  Divorce: 73

3.  Marital separation: 65

4.  Imprisonment: 63

5.  Death of a close family member: 63

6.  Personal injury or illness: 53

7. Marriage: 50

8.  Dismissal from work: 47

9.  Marital reconciliation: 45

10.  Retirement: 45

11.  Change in the health of a family member: 44

12.  Pregnancy: 40

13.  Sexual difficulties: 39

14.  Business adjustment: 39

15.  Change in a financial state: 38

16.  Death of a close friend: 37

17.  Change to a different line of work: 36

18.  Change in frequency of arguments with others: 35

19.  Major home mortgage: 32

20.  Change in work responsibilities: 29

 

As you can see, a quarter of the top 20 stressful events (dismissal from work, retirement, business adjustment, change to a different line of work, and change in work responsibilities) are job-related! (The scale is available in its entirety at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~eap/library/lifechangestresstest.pdf.)

 

Which Jobs Create the Most Stress?

Any type of job can be stressful, depending on its demands, and many American workplaces promote a “workaholic” mindset that puts workers in a constant state of anxiety. In his 2013 course “Mind-Body Medicine,” University of California professor Jason Satterfield noted that about 30% of American workers are often or always under stress, an increase of 300% since 1995. With workplace stress levels at such heights, it’s no wonder that problems at work are associated with more health complaints than any other type of stress!

A person’s profession itself may even predict how stressed they are, according to a 2014 Huffington Post article by Chad Brooks and other research. Brooks cited a CareerCast survey revealing the jobs that typically produce the most stress: member of the military, firefighter, airline pilot, event coordinator, public relations executive, senior corporate executive, police officer, and taxi driver. Of course, there are variations within every field, and some people are better equipped than others to manage stress from their jobs.

What Can You Do About It?

There are a number of measures that employers and staff alike can take to reduce stress in the workplace and improve the health of the business and its employees. Read our next segment, 37 Ways to Reduce Stress and Live a Longer, Happier Life, to learn strategies to fight stress and take back your personal and work lives!

 

 

About the Authors: Our corporate and personal purpose is to “create opportunities to improve lives” by sharing our knowledge, experience, success, research, and mistakes.

Mike DuBose is a former licensed counselor, has been in business since 1981, authored The Art of Building a Great Business, and is a field instructor with USC’s graduate school. He is the owner of four debt-free corporations, including Columbia Conference Center, Research Associates, and The Evaluation Group. Visit his nonprofit website www.mikedubose.com for a free copy of his book The Art of Building a Great Business and other useful articles.

Dr. Surb Guram, MD is a board-certified internist and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He is a partner with the SC Internal Medicine Associates in Irmo, SC and has practiced internal medicine in the Midlands for the past 30 years. See www.scinternalmedicine.com for more information on Dr. Guram and his practice.

Blake DuBose graduated from Newberry College Schools of Business and Psychology and is president of DuBose Web Group. View our published articles at www.duboseweb.com.

Katie Beck serves as Director of Communications for the DuBose family of companies. She graduated from the USC School of Journalism and Honors College.

© Copyright 2015 by Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose—All Rights Reserved. You have permission and we encourage you to forward the full article to friends or colleagues and/or distribute it as part of personal or professional use, providing that the authors are credited. However, no part of this article may be altered or published in any other manner without the written consent of the authors. If you would like written approval to post this information on an appropriate website or to publish this information, please contact Katie Beck at [email protected] and briefly explain how the article will be used and we will respond promptly. Thank you for honoring our hard work!