Work certainly takes its toll on you physically. You show up and put the work in each and every day. You are sore, tired and perhaps even injured, but you push through. If you love your job then you probably enjoy the grind. But are you aware of the extra physical tolls work can place on your body if you are miserable at work? In a recent blog post, we broke down 10 signs that you may be ready for a new opportunity. A major theme amongst many of those signs was not being happy at work. In this post we will break down 7 ways not being happy at work can affect you and your body.
Headaches
Stress at work can cause headaches and even migraines, especially if you are prone to these attacks. These ‘tension headaches’ are triggered by low blood flow to the brain which can be caused when miserable at work.
Aching and Soreness
The causes of your sore and achy body are not always obvious. You work 40-plus hours each week and that alone can cause soreness. But unhappiness and stress at work can intensify these pains. Working out, stretching or a massage can help heal these but if they persist then you may start to ask why.
Mental Fatigue
Stressful and intense work, a tough boss or frustrating coworkers can all cause mental fatigue. There’s a lot going on in your life outside of work and mental fatigue can affect those other areas of your life. Your work should be challenging but not to the point that you are totally fatigued either mentally or physically. You have friends, family and other outside groups that you spend time on as well and, while work is important, work should not become a distraction to those other obligations.
More Sickness
Your level of stress is directly related to the health of your immune system. If you are always stressed at work then your immune system will eventually take a hit as well. The longer the stress remains with you the worse your health will get. It is important to combat this with vitamins and a healthy diet, but stress might still get the upper hand. This makes it crucially important to leave your stress at work. Some popular ways to reduce stress include meditating, writing, exercising and spending time with loved ones.
Irregular Sleeping Patterns
You may be able to recognize that your sleep patterns have been thrown off but you may not know the cause. Perhaps your work is playing a role. A miserable workplace can have you dreading that alarm clock and the start of a new work day. This should not be the case. If you are not looking forward to work on a daily basis then you may be ready for a new opportunity!
Change in Eating Habits
Similar to sleeping patterns, you may recognize this but you may not be able to connect all the dots at first. Stress can also take its toll on your diet and eating patterns. There are two issues that may arise. Either your appetite will become suppressed and you find that you are eating less or perhaps the stress is intensifying and you turn to food as a way to comfort yourself. Neither is good, so staying committed to a diet will help you overcome these potential problems.
What can you do?
Stress is a major factor in all of these cases. Stress alone doesn’t mean that you hate your work but stress is not always enjoyable and it has obvious effects.
Some ways that you can reduce stress in your life:
Exercise
Writing
Meditation and breathing exercises
Go for a walk
Spend more time with your loved ones
A consistent diet and workout plan can help reduce stress and combat some of the problems that might arise from a miserable workplace. Building habits into your life can help you stay on top of your health and always find time for the loved ones in your life. These habits can help you get through tough times that might come up at work.