Wednesday, August 7, 2002

A story published today by the Raleigh News & Observer reports that according to a survey about "Desk Rage in America" by Integra Realty Resources, a real-estate appraisal company, nearly two-thirds of Americans say that work stresses them out at least occasionally

Prolonged stress can hurt relationships at home and work, productivity and physical health, said Karen Untz, president of Raleigh Employee Assistance Program, a consulting firm that helps companies deal with work stress. She said she has seen more employees stressed over excessive workloads and anxiety about layoffs.

"A lot more segments of society have been hit with the economy," Untz said. "We're going through a bit of a rougher time that is longer than what people are used to."

But Untz and others say that work stress is more often spilling into life outside of the office.

Attitude, according to some workplace consultants, can be the determining factor in how someone deals with stress.

"In terms of stress, the research says it doesn't matter what you do, only that you do something proactive to deal with it," said Tom Stevens, president of E Square Leadership, a consulting firm in Raleigh. "Optimism is a virtuous cycle. The more confidence you have, the better you feel and the better resources you will be able to bring with you when facing very serious challenges."

It's not just relationships at work that suffer under stress. Relationship counselors said they see more couples during rough economic times. Often couples don't leave work stresses at the office.

"Some couples will identify it as a major issue, like financial and social embarrassment," said Dianne Taylor Dougherty, a marriage counselor. "Some couples are experiencing other tensions, and the economic problems just intensify problems."