Introduction
Work that is done beyond one’s capacity, efficacy, and potential can be described as overwork. The urge to compulsively overwork and the underlying stress caused by employees create disturbances in their interpersonal or intrapersonal relationships. It affects not only our physical health but also our mental health.
Overwork And Stress
Occupational stress and high workload have increasingly become the major cause of work-life imbalance in today’s time. Overwork means the practice of working beyond one’s potential and capacities, often determined by factors such as workload demands, job insecurity, and the need to rise in life.
Work addiction, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder/ anankastic personality disorder, and burnout have become emerging concerns unfavorably impacting mental health and well-being in the workplace. The feeling of vulnerability can be seen amongst the employees being rigid perfectionists underlying OCPD/APD and being extremely work addicted. In some literature reviews, work holism is recognized as a dysfunctional and pathological form of heavy work investment that causes significant problems in the overall functioning of the employees and the organizations.
The WHO recognizes that a negative working environment may lead to physical and mental health problems, harmful use of substances or alcohol, absenteeism, and lost productivity, which can further create high detrimental psychosocial and economic costs. One major outcome of any work-related stress is burnout.
“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- Increased mental distance from one’s job, feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
- Reduced professional efficacy
Effects Of Overwork and Stress
- Physical disorders and Unhealthy behaviors: Work-related stress is widely discussed and linked to a variety of physical and mental disorders. Working conditions or overburdened work can cause severe stressful situations for an individual. Excessive work strain can encourage and damage the behaviors of the individual and exacerbate unhealthy behaviours like smoking, alcoholism, eating disorders, or self-harm.
- Mental Wellbeing: Exposure to higher levels of stress can result in various adverse health problems like burnout, anxiety disorders, and depression. There is a strong relationship between work-related stress and mental ill health; excessive and persistent stress can trigger and escalate mental illnesses.
- Organization’s productivity: The consequences of overwork and stress can affect the individual’s well-being and, therefore, impact the organization’s productivity, the morale of the employees, and the overall organizational dynamics. Any work-related stress can result in fatigue, emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion, or anxiety disorders.
- Short-term symptoms: Short-term symptoms, such as headaches, muscular pains, migraines, indigestion, or disturbed sleep patterns, can be seen among employees who overwork at the workplace.
- Long-term symptoms: Whereas long-term symptoms like heart disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes or asthma can be a cause of overwork and stress at the workplace. Other related symptoms of being overworked may include irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feelings of hopelessness, insomnia, or sadness.
How Does Overwork and Stress Impact on Mental Health
Overwork and stress have largely impacted the mental health of an individual in many ways.
- Anxiety and depression: Overwork and stress can cause anxiety, depression, or feelings of overwhelm in any work setting. The constant pressure to finish the deadlines or perform at a higher level can result in different mental health issues.
- Relationship: Overwork and stress can strain relationships among family members, friends, and colleagues. If people are constantly occupied with work, they will have less time for their families and friends, which can cause feelings of isolation and loneliness.
- Sleep Disturbances: Stress and overwork have a direct connection with sleep disturbances, leading to insomnia or hypersomnia. The quality of sleep is at risk, which can further lead to problems like mood swings, difficulty in concentrating, or irritability.
- Substance abuse: Some individuals may turn to substance abuse as it works as a coping mechanism for them to deal with overwork and stress. They can become substance or alcohol addicts, which will further cause extreme health issues both mentally and physically.
How to Overcome Overwork And Stress
A set of factors that can help overcome overwork and stress and reduce work-related stressors.
- Communication: Good two-way communication between each employee or employer and a healthy and safe working environment can help in dealing with the burden of work or stress at the workplace.
- Appreciation and Gratitude: With deep appreciation and gratitude, employees boost their energy.
- Changing Workplace or workers: More and more workplace interventions can be made to overcome overwork and stress by identifying and changing the aspects of either the workplace or the worker that are likely to induce stress.
- Workshop for work-life balance and stress management: Another way is to focus on the workplace and not on the employees and create a safe space for the employees. Organizing workshops or seminars from time to time based on work-life balance, stress management, and other related disorders (like personality disorders and eating disorders) in the organizations.
These workshops can help in building skills to manage life which can include the ABC model technique (which means focusing on what you can control), connecting with people (talking out with the people you trust), building new relationships (adapting new hobbies, re-uniting with friends/peers).
- Physical Activity: Introducing any sport or physical activity in your daily routine, learning any new forms of art, practising gratitude might help in overcoming stress due to the workload at the workplace.
- Strategies and Coping Techniques: Learning new strategies and coping techniques that may help in dealing with stressful situations at the workplace.
- Mindfulness and Meditation: Employees embraced appreciation and mindfulness, finding tranquillity through meditation’s gentle embrace.
Conclusion
Organizations must take careful actions to reduce the stress of overwork that is effecting the mental health of the employees. Introducing new policies and programs to promote work-life balance, resilience building, learning new methods for coping stress, encouraging support group culture and unbiased and reliable grievance system for the employees can help in overcoming the overwork related stress.
References
- World Health Organization (2019)
- Nakao, Japanese Ministry Of Health And Organization (2010)
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