Dealing with work stress
Discussion
All
I'm not too sure if posting this up is a good idea, but I thought I'd give it a go as some other perspectives would be good to hear.
I've always considered myself to be pretty stress resilient....I work in a pretty fast paced production environment as an engineering manager and resources and money is tight. I've been in these sort of jobs for well over 20 years and have always dealt with the challanges of the job very well. I've been in my current job for 11 months now.
At the moment, I'm working lots of hours (60+) and am pretty much always on call, day and night for anything that might go wrong. There has been quite a bit going wrong recently, and every day is pretty much full on, making it hard to make progress, and I seem to be fire fighting all of the time.
Normally, I'd thrive on sorting out problems, but recently my tolerence has dipped massively and I'm finding it hard to be positive about anything, and this is spreading into my home life. I'm always tired, unmotivated, angry and impatient and feel like I just want to get home and be totally alone. As you can probably imagine, this is not a nice feeling.
I know I should change jobs as I think I'm never going to win with this one, and I'm looking around, but it's how I approach it until that point and not let these things drag me under that is escaping me at the minute. Getting signed off with stress is not really an option for me as I would see that as quitting and feel like I had put more on to others who'd have pick things up. Any tips or similar perspectives are welcome.
I'm not too sure if posting this up is a good idea, but I thought I'd give it a go as some other perspectives would be good to hear.
I've always considered myself to be pretty stress resilient....I work in a pretty fast paced production environment as an engineering manager and resources and money is tight. I've been in these sort of jobs for well over 20 years and have always dealt with the challanges of the job very well. I've been in my current job for 11 months now.
At the moment, I'm working lots of hours (60+) and am pretty much always on call, day and night for anything that might go wrong. There has been quite a bit going wrong recently, and every day is pretty much full on, making it hard to make progress, and I seem to be fire fighting all of the time.
Normally, I'd thrive on sorting out problems, but recently my tolerence has dipped massively and I'm finding it hard to be positive about anything, and this is spreading into my home life. I'm always tired, unmotivated, angry and impatient and feel like I just want to get home and be totally alone. As you can probably imagine, this is not a nice feeling.
I know I should change jobs as I think I'm never going to win with this one, and I'm looking around, but it's how I approach it until that point and not let these things drag me under that is escaping me at the minute. Getting signed off with stress is not really an option for me as I would see that as quitting and feel like I had put more on to others who'd have pick things up. Any tips or similar perspectives are welcome.
60+ hours and on-call. No wonder you feel knackered.
Do you live to work, or work to live?
How old are you?
Simply, you need to get off the hamster wheel or the finger of fate will push you off with the help of a heart attack or stroke. Bail out now before you screw yourself up.
Write a "wish list" of what you want and then work towards that. "What you want" could (should!) include things like weekends off/holidays away WITHOUT a mobile phone.
Do you live to work, or work to live?
How old are you?
Simply, you need to get off the hamster wheel or the finger of fate will push you off with the help of a heart attack or stroke. Bail out now before you screw yourself up.
Write a "wish list" of what you want and then work towards that. "What you want" could (should!) include things like weekends off/holidays away WITHOUT a mobile phone.
Maybe a conversation with your line manager is in order. Far better from his point of view to have you firing on all 8 cylinders for 40 hours a week than spluttering away on 3 for 60.
Work is an inconvenience that allows you to do the things you actually want to do.
You need a little time out to think clearly. When did you last take a week off?
Work is an inconvenience that allows you to do the things you actually want to do.
You need a little time out to think clearly. When did you last take a week off?
condor said:
Getting signed off with stress should be an option - will give you time to recharge yourself...otherwise you'll find you could make yourself very ill.
True, but1) If you're stressed you tend to worry about it more when you're not at work
2) When you go back the crap pile is twice as high
The only real answer is to sort the root cause of the workload
Doing 60+ hours when you're in your mid 20s is a lot easier than when you're in your mid 40s.
The OP said he was the manager and he's not managing - if he wasn't there who would do the work? A lot more delegation is called for - if there's a problem at night get someone to sort it in the morning. Person who was working on that job to do something else instead.
No job is worth ruining your health over.
The OP said he was the manager and he's not managing - if he wasn't there who would do the work? A lot more delegation is called for - if there's a problem at night get someone to sort it in the morning. Person who was working on that job to do something else instead.
No job is worth ruining your health over.
condor said:
Doing 60+ hours when you're in your mid 20s is a lot easier than when you're in your mid 40s.
The OP said he was the manager and he's not managing - if he wasn't there who would do the work? A lot more delegation is called for - if there's a problem at night get someone to sort it in the morning. Person who was working on that job to do something else instead.
No job is worth ruining your health over.
OP said he was the Engineering Manager,I wonder what the set up is in the company I ask this because in the firm my Dad worked for before his retirement ,the 'Factory Engineer' was a Manager but the Senior Engineer on site was the Engineering Projects Manager ... (the EPMs reported to the company chief engineer and their divisional director)The OP said he was the manager and he's not managing - if he wasn't there who would do the work? A lot more delegation is called for - if there's a problem at night get someone to sort it in the morning. Person who was working on that job to do something else instead.
No job is worth ruining your health over.
I'm not sure what the professional qualifications requirement was for the Factory Engineer but the EPMs were all IEng or CEng ,the project engineers and the project support team were a mix.
the Nature of the 'on-call' is also important is the OP being rung by the Engineering Chargehand/ Supervisor to inform him that there is a problem and it's being dealt with or is he having to direct dealing with the problem or respond himself ? Is he being rung for everything or only when there is a loss of production ? -is there a policy of who gets informed and when ?
How many supervisors/team leaders/charge hands are there ? is there always one in the building when the plant is running or projects/PPM activities are taking place?
Is there slack among those supervisors or within the projects side (if there is one)to put someone in to look at what is going wrong and why all the 'firefighting' is required?
-might not even be one of the existing supervisors are they any up and coming among the fitters/sparkies
Edited by mph1977 on Tuesday 4th December 11:41
Edited by mph1977 on Tuesday 4th December 11:59
Thanks all for the helpful comments and some perspective on stuff.
I've normally worked for big companies which are well resourced in terms of people and money and even though it's been demanding, which, to be honest, I like, it's been manageable. My current company is small, privately owned and money is very tight.
There is no real fallback..all of the big problems come to me, whatever time of day or night, or weekend, and it's been quite common recently for me to turn up at 7 in the morning, and not leave until midnight or later and be back at 7 again if we have had a big problem. I put in loads of effort to doing a good job, and I reckon I do but it's funny how it can get to you after a bit.
My question is really how to try and depersonalise it a bit...the circumstances won't really change without more cash or people, and that isn't going to happen...it's more about how to adjust my approach to it and perhaps feel a bit less responsible and guilty when things go wrong, and not let it get into my personal life.I guess some of you have been there....worked too hard and paid the price, so what would you have done differently?
Cheers
Tant
I've normally worked for big companies which are well resourced in terms of people and money and even though it's been demanding, which, to be honest, I like, it's been manageable. My current company is small, privately owned and money is very tight.
There is no real fallback..all of the big problems come to me, whatever time of day or night, or weekend, and it's been quite common recently for me to turn up at 7 in the morning, and not leave until midnight or later and be back at 7 again if we have had a big problem. I put in loads of effort to doing a good job, and I reckon I do but it's funny how it can get to you after a bit.
My question is really how to try and depersonalise it a bit...the circumstances won't really change without more cash or people, and that isn't going to happen...it's more about how to adjust my approach to it and perhaps feel a bit less responsible and guilty when things go wrong, and not let it get into my personal life.I guess some of you have been there....worked too hard and paid the price, so what would you have done differently?
Cheers
Tant
I'm in a similar position but in a different sector.
I do enjoy my work, its often around the same amount of hours for me.
I have to be careful with myself as its easy for me to burn out. I personally know what works for me and I work on the basis of unless there is a emergency I leave work at 5pm (I start at 6.30am) and go to the gym. The gym massively helps me remove stress and then I do as much work after that as required. I'm also someone who can be highly aggressive and taking it out on the weights gives that aggression a place to go for me. I'm not suggesting this is your answer but I am suggesting everyone needs to find a way of coping with these demands and not taking it out on their families or loved ones.
I'm lucky in that my girl also works at the same company and understands my stress and helps me manage it.
Lee
I do enjoy my work, its often around the same amount of hours for me.
I have to be careful with myself as its easy for me to burn out. I personally know what works for me and I work on the basis of unless there is a emergency I leave work at 5pm (I start at 6.30am) and go to the gym. The gym massively helps me remove stress and then I do as much work after that as required. I'm also someone who can be highly aggressive and taking it out on the weights gives that aggression a place to go for me. I'm not suggesting this is your answer but I am suggesting everyone needs to find a way of coping with these demands and not taking it out on their families or loved ones.
I'm lucky in that my girl also works at the same company and understands my stress and helps me manage it.
Lee
Edited by Ordinary_Chap on Tuesday 4th December 23:38
Tant
I think you have got a grip on the causes of your stress. While you might not be in a position to go out and hire more staff is there any way to revise how staff currently work ?
do you have supervisory grades in your dept or is it flat with the fitters/sparkies etc reporting directly to you ?
The emergency services use the 'Gold-Silver -Bronze' command structure in big events / major incidents but the principles can be applied to the day to day today running of a service
from what you have described you are Silver ( the big bosses/directors/owners are Gold)
Do you have that 'Bronze'layer of supervisors, do you trust them, does the company trust them?
without the bronze layer you are doing two jobs -trying to deliver both operational and tactical command to the team and the dept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold%E2%80%93silver%E...
http://www.slideshare.net/jim666/gold-silver-bronz...
http://www.hfidtc.com/research/command/c-and-c-rep...
http://www.leslp.gov.uk/
I think you have got a grip on the causes of your stress. While you might not be in a position to go out and hire more staff is there any way to revise how staff currently work ?
do you have supervisory grades in your dept or is it flat with the fitters/sparkies etc reporting directly to you ?
The emergency services use the 'Gold-Silver -Bronze' command structure in big events / major incidents but the principles can be applied to the day to day today running of a service
from what you have described you are Silver ( the big bosses/directors/owners are Gold)
Do you have that 'Bronze'layer of supervisors, do you trust them, does the company trust them?
without the bronze layer you are doing two jobs -trying to deliver both operational and tactical command to the team and the dept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold%E2%80%93silver%E...
http://www.slideshare.net/jim666/gold-silver-bronz...
http://www.hfidtc.com/research/command/c-and-c-rep...
http://www.leslp.gov.uk/
I would suggest you speak to the owner - tell the owner that the system is unworkable at present and needs to addresss various options - accept less work, allow more time for job completion, hire or promote from existing staff a deputy to take some of the load off you.
Put the onus on the owner to come up with the solution, who has a duty of care to look after the business and workforce.
Put the onus on the owner to come up with the solution, who has a duty of care to look after the business and workforce.
condor said:
I would suggest you speak to the owner - tell the owner that the system is unworkable at present and needs to addresss various options - accept less work, allow more time for job completion, hire or promote from existing staff a deputy to take some of the load off you.
Put the onus on the owner to come up with the solution, who has a duty of care to look after the business and workforce.
alternatively and while this is work for Tant (and the PH readers of this thread) in the very immediate term, he could come with a proposal to the ownersPut the onus on the owner to come up with the solution, who has a duty of care to look after the business and workforce.
Without knowing more of the set up Tant has to work with there's only so much can be suggested ,i.e. it's no good suggesting he re-jigs staffing to createa PPM(planned and preventative maintainance) team if he already has one that works well - but if he hasn't and everyone is working reactively there's the possibility of doing something fairly immediately especially if there is a Christmas shut down by grabbing a few days for the engineering dept and selected others at the beginning,in the awkward week between Christmas and new year and at the end of the shut down to do some PPM
^ What he said.
I used to be a slave to the BlackBerry even reviewing emails when I was on holiday abroad with the family! But then I thought WTF and dont even turn it on when I'm not at work.
I recall a work colleague who used to delete all his emails from his inbox that he had received whilst on leave. His view was if it was important they will send another or make contact. Worked for him no problem and no-one thought any less of him.
You cannot sustain 'on-call' all the time and wonder if it is included in your JD as employers have a duty of care to staff. Leave work at a reasonable time then become 'on-call' until a reasonable time, then turn the phone off.
My wife is not usually right (on most things) but informs me that if I drop dead tomorrow they will find someone else and if I am not available they will sort it out themselves or make do until I return. Wise words.
I used to be a slave to the BlackBerry even reviewing emails when I was on holiday abroad with the family! But then I thought WTF and dont even turn it on when I'm not at work.
I recall a work colleague who used to delete all his emails from his inbox that he had received whilst on leave. His view was if it was important they will send another or make contact. Worked for him no problem and no-one thought any less of him.
You cannot sustain 'on-call' all the time and wonder if it is included in your JD as employers have a duty of care to staff. Leave work at a reasonable time then become 'on-call' until a reasonable time, then turn the phone off.
My wife is not usually right (on most things) but informs me that if I drop dead tomorrow they will find someone else and if I am not available they will sort it out themselves or make do until I return. Wise words.
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