

How to reduce workplace stress? - fredbasset

I'm a software developer and find that my body is really suffering from the stress at my workplace.  For example, I am usually fine sitting at my cube working but when a bunch of priority 1 bug reports come in I can feel my body fill with cortisol and it feels terrible.  I think it's the body's fight or flight mechanism kicking in, but I can neither flight nor fly, I'm stuck at my cube!  The problem is made worse by the fact that my company leaves everything to the last minute, e.g. reconfigures (and screws up) critical systems 5 minutes before an important demo, doesn't leave enough time for testing before shipping a release leaving lots of problems to be solved in the field, so I feel like I have no control over the high stress problems that are coming inbound my way.  Thanks so much for any responses - Fred.
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jburwell
I work in a very stressful workplace with the same types of stress (e.g.
constant changes in direction, client commitments made without checking with
the staff who will deliver, etc). Unfortunately, the root cause of these
problems lies with the company leadership which makes them exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible, to correct. The only way to remove this type of
stress is to leave for another company. As you seek a new job, be open with
prospective employers about the reasons you are looking, and prepare questions
to verify that you're next employer doesn't have the same problems.

I wish you luck -- these circumstances are ver difficult, and they can destroy
your health. Run, don't walk away.

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fredbasset
Thanks for the response, excellent advice.

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olefoo
Polish up your resumé and start shopping around for another job. Places that
manage by panic attack do not get better, unless the leadership is changed.

Seriously, don't wait, you are shortening your life by accepting that sort of
phantom stress. You have skills, you are not trapped in this job by anything
other than your desire to carry through with things you started and your fear
of change.

~~~
away
Agreed!

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devs1010
What is your company's process like? I mean, if they get what you are
referring to a "priority 1 bug", I'm assuming this could either be a data
related bug or an actual code bug (as you wouldn't know yet at that point).
Does your company expect you to just make a fix immediately, if its a code
bug, and then they push it into production right away? If they are doing
anything resembling this then run, don't walk away as this is terrible
practice and will definitely make you go crazy after a while (I have worked
for some companies that did similar things). At my current job I do have to
deal with a lot of bugs but, for one, they realize their software is basically
crap (10 year old legacy code base) and don't expect things fixed immediately
and once I can find that its actually a code bug the pressure comes off a bit
as they are very strict about release cycles and testing so they rarely push
fixes into production sooner than 1 month. Data related bugs tend to have
patterns to them that become apparent after seeing a few of them over time, at
least in my experience, and usually become easier to deal with the longer you
work with a system.

I don't mean to start any flame language wars but am a bit curious what sort
of language / platform you are working with. In my experience, companies that
build their products with dynamic languages (not strongly typed, etc) tend to
play things a bit more "fast and loose" and the workload can really pile up.
They usually don't know about best practices like test drive development, etc
and don't care, even when this is pointed out. This led me to steer my career
towards working with a strongly typed, compiled language (I do server-side web
dev) and, at least with my current job, I have noticed a much more refreshing
approach as far as professional development practices compared to other jobs
where dynamic languages were used.

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DanBC
As others have said, really you need to try to leave. Bad companies grind on
because people stay there, getting dumped on.

Unfortunately there are many idiots in the workplace, and that translates to
many bad workplaces. ( _Office Space_ _Dilbert_ etc are not funny because
they're off the wall; they're uncomfortably close to real life.) But don't let
this put you off from leaving. No-one should be put in the situation that
you're in.

You could try adjusting work / life balance:- get more exercise, drink much
less caffeine, get a self-help book or course about dealing with stress and
use those techniques at work (and remember, it's just a job), remember to take
regular time-outs (you're using a monitor, so you should be having at least 5
minutes every hour), don't get pressured to do silly hours, etc etc.

FWIW I have a lot of sympathy for you. Bad working environments suck, and suck
hard. Employers need to learn that treating the workforce humanely is in the
best interest of their business.

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DanBC
(Some definitions for this post: "Stress" == bad, harmful, something to be
avoided for everyone. "Pressure" == not harmful, enjoyed by some people.)

Possibly not relevant to you but: In the UK your employer owes you a legal
duty to protect you from stress in the workplace.

The duty is clearly defined in law, and has been tested by the courts and
employment tribunal many many times.

But - so what? You need to be able to turn that protection into something that
helps you.

Seek advice; and then gather evidence of what things are too stressful, and if
anything could be done to reduce that to a manageable level. Then go see a
line manager and ask to talk. Present these things, and see if you can work
something out. Realise that you probably can't, but at least you now have some
protection if you decide to leave.

