One Measurement of Job Stress

Yesterday I ran a short 5 mile loop in the rain with my dog Digger.  I was not particularly looking forward to running in the rain; however, I did it anyway, because I knew the positives would outweigh the negatives.  Sure enough, I felt better and had more energy after my brief sojourn.  My experience told me over and over again that physical exercise is one way to deal with everyday stresses.  I plan to run today, even though it is raining, as well.

The following self-assessment can help identify sources of job stress.  Rate your experience and your job during the past year using the following scale: 0= never, 1= occasionally, 2= somewhat often, 3=frequently, 4= always

Lack of control

_I lack the authority to carry out certain responsibilities

_I feel trapped in a situation without any real options.

_I am unable to influence decisions that affect me.

_There are a lot of requirements that get in the way of my doing certain tasks.

_I cannot solve the problems assigned to me.

Information gap

_I am unsure about the responsibilities of my job.

_I do not have enough information to carry out certain tasks.

_I am unqualified for certain tasks that I am expected to do.

 _Others I work with are not clear about what I do.

_I do not understand the criteria used to evaluate my performance.

Cause and effect

_There is no relationship between how I perform and how I am rated.

_I sense that popularity and politics are more important than performance.

_I do not know what my supervisor thinks of my performance.

_I do not know what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong.

_There is no relationship between how I perform and how I am treated.

Conflict

_I am expected to satisfy conflicting needs.

_I disagree with co—workers.

_I disagree with my supervisor.

_I am caught in the middle.

_I cannot get what I need to get the job done.

Blocked career

_I feel pessimistic about opportunities for advancement or growth in my job.

_My supervisor or boss is critical.

_I feel unaccepted by the people I work with.
_ My good work is not appreciated or noticed.

_My progress on the job seems less than it could be.

Overload

_I have too much to do and too little time to do it.

_I take on new responsibilities without letting go of any of the old ones.

_My job seems to interfere with my personal life.

 _I must do my work on my own time.

_The size of my workload interferes with how well I do it.

Values Conflict

_I must do things that are against my better judgment.

_I must make compromises in my values.

_My family and friends do not respect what I do.

_I observe my coworkers doing things that I do not approve of.

_My company pressures employees to do things that are unethical or unsafe.

Hopefully, this tool provides insight to you regarding your job stress.  Scores of 12 or more in any category suggest that action is necessary.

Reference provided by the Institute for Natural Resources.