Workplace Stressors

Come on, you know you want to ask me why I'm posting this at 1:19 am CST. To be honest, I'm a procrastinator. Not on all tasks... many of them I really enjoy. However... I'm supposed to be assisting in a course re-build, and I had several lecture/assignment/activity modules to build on different topics. We started this projects weeks ago but it was halted and started over again (kind of like the game Sorry, or even Parcheesi, where you roll the dice just the right way and boot your opponent back to his home place. While, for a week or so now I've been sitting on my rump at my home place, avoiding the inevitable torture of creating these modules. Since they are due tomorrow, and we are supposed to submit them to the team in advanced, I naturally decided to wait until after Saving Grace(one of my new favorite shows) to start my work. At 11:00 pm.

Wouldn't you know it, the first module I needed to write is on Stress Management! (Ok, so it wasn't the first module. But I had no energy to write about Academic Dishonesty tonight. In fact, I started to write that one, and I ended up plagiarising nearly every article I reviewed. In any case, I came across this great article about workplace stress. I am looking at it as kind of a checklist toward a break in a shoe-lace-less facility:

1. The treadmill syndrome.

Do you have too much to do?
Do you have too many responsibilities?
Do you work throughout the day and at home? (hello, have laptop, will travel)

Reality: I may not actually have too much to do. I may have just enough and I choose not to do it at the appropriate times. Did I mention I need to be out the door by 7am tomorrow?

2. Random Interruptions.

Does your telephone cause disruption to your routine?
Do you check your e-mail more than 25 times per day?
Does a new e-mail prompt a sound like a train running across your keyboard?
Does your office have an "invade my space anytime" policy?
Does your supervisor....

Nevermind the last question. I like my boss, and even if I didn't I wouldn't tell you.

3. Pervasive uncertainty.

Did you just get a new supervisor for the fourth time in a year?
Did they move the vending machine to an undisclosed location?

I am not sure that there is a greater miscommunication then moving the vending machine. How else are us poor working saps supposed to get through the day, if The Milky Ways disappear? And yes, I've been in more than one office where this has happened.

4. Mistrust, unfairness, and office politics.

HA! Moving on.

5. Unclear policies and no sense of direction.

Do your coworkers walk by your mission statement and snort?
Do your staff meetings consist of a minimum one-hour dress code discussion?
Do you spend at least 10 hours a week on conference calls? Consecutively?

6. Career and job ambiguity.

Just when was your last performance review? Millennium.. what?
Has your office been moved to the basement?

7. No feedback - good or bad.
I equate this with the above. If you aren't getting feedback, then you aren't memorable enough in your position. And if you aren't memorable enough, then you aren't contributing to the bottom line (at least, to someone...)

8. No appreciation.

Your last raise was equivalent to standard of living... for 1956.
The gift card they gave you expired two years ago.
You had to contribute 5 dollars for your own birthday cake. And pick it up.

9. Lack of communication

I sent that e-mail to you three days ago. You know, Sunday during Christmas break. Don't you check your e-mail on Sundays?
Thanks for coming to this brainstorming meeting. We look forward to reviewing your ideas after we submit the proposal we developed tomorrow.
Now, on to slide 659....good news folks, we are halfway there!

and... *drum roll*

10. Lack of control
What am I doing here? What's my job? Who's in charge? What? Who? What???

I just reread this post and it is SO time to sleep.