A stressful work environment can affect your health in many ways. Many believe stress and anxiety are always a bad thing, but sometimes it can have a positive effect on your overall health and wellbeing.
“Good” stress is when you’re working towards a reachable goal either as a group or as an individual. This “good” stress is also about being in a challenging job that you really enjoy. This type of stress can actually improve your health both mentally and physically. It instill in you that feeling as if you were racing toward a finish line while the crowd is cheering you on.
Now let’s talk about “bad” stress. This is the kind that no one wants to deal with and can be very bad for your health. This stress is triggered by a bad work environment. But, what creates a bad work environment? Usually it starts with management, a boss who’s a bully or at the very least, incompetent. These types of bosses saddle you with unrealistic goals, and give your little or no recourse over the situation.
Then, there’s your co-workers. They are most likely in the same boat as you, setting up an office that’s more like a shark tank than a think tank. You’re in an environment full of stress, where everyone is out for themselves, and where employees try to undermine each other every chance they get. The “bad” boss of course likes this, because it keeps his team divided, conquered, and unfocused enough so no one will notice their incompetence, or stop their bullying.
It’s this type of stress that’s going to raise your blood pressure and cause unnecessary amounts of adrenal chemicals, like cortisol, to enter your bloodstream which can be detrimental to your health. According to health experts, too much cortisol in your blood for too long can lead to obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases as it tries to compensate for a body constantly “in danger”.
But, if you’re into yoga, you’re in luck. To help yourself and your overall health, try to move your exercise routine to the early morning, and emphasize meditation. Meditation before work will “center” you for the challenges ahead, as well as give you perspective when it comes to the many personal difficulties you will encounter. Evidence also shows that yoga and meditation benefit your health by lowering your heart rate and the amounts of cortisol in your bloodstream, which means a calmer, less-stressed, and more rational you.
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