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They are among the most envied groups in society – those individuals who proudly declare, “I love my job!” and actually mean it. These are the dynamos of the world who have managed to make a living out of their passion. They wake up each day with renewed vigor, a sense of purpose, and the intention to accomplish bigger and better things than they did the day before.

Then there is everyone else.

Many more people in the world have a “day job” that they get paid to do within an eight- to ten-hour time span each day but which doesn’t exactly make their toes curl, even though they may be quite good at it. This is not only the case with creative people – aspiring actors and actresses, writers, artists and musicians – but also with people who have never discovered what they are truly passionate about in life. They go through the motions each day of hitting the snooze button three or more times, counting down the hours until lunch time and the end of the work day, and living for the weekend and major holidays.

If this sounds like you, you may be experiencing “Career Depression Syndrome.” According to an article by CNN.com entitled, “Signs You’re Stuck in a Dead-End Job”, there are a number of symptoms of Career Depression Syndrome, or CDS, including decreased motivation, withdrawal from coworkers, feelings that one is not valued for their contributions at work and a noticeable change in temperament. Causes mentioned in the article include stress, burnout, or plain old unhappiness with one’s job.

If you recognize several of these symptoms in yourself, the last thing you want to do is ignore them, as CDS may begin to affect not only your mental and physical well-being over time but also your most intimate and valued relationships. Change cannot take place until you acknowledge that there is a need for it. There are several steps that you can take towards conquering CDS:

1. Cease self-defeating rationalizations. This particularly applies to individuals who choose to play it safe and reduce their talents and interests to mere hobbies or part-time work in the name of “job security”. This is fine if you’re happy pursuing your passion on the side, but if you habitually change jobs after several months because you are frustrated or unfulfilled, it might be time for a paradigm shift.

In my current line of work, I meet with countless college students who have shied away from majors that reflect their true interests because they have developed the notion that earning a degree in their chosen major will result in difficulty finding a job or making a good salary. Some students are influenced by well-meaning family members or friends who attempt to steer them in a more “practical” direction. What these students often fail to realize is that they are the ones who will have to spend each day dealing with the consequences of a poor career choice, not their parents or friends.

Then there are individuals who complain that because they are married, have children, or have a ton of bills to pay, they must stay in a job they hate in order to support their families. If this sounds like you, this attitude of hopelessness will only thwart your progress toward a happier life. While you may have to endure a job for a period of time until your circumstances improve, you do not have to give yourself the life sentence of an unfulfilling career. Positive change is always possible – unless you manage to convince yourself that it’s not.

2. Take a personality test. Your career depression may or may not be the cause of common issues such as work overload, an overbearing supervisor or a less-than-desirable salary. You may in fact be in a position that doesn’t fit well with your personality.

For example, if you are a “people person” – the quintessential extrovert who loves to connect with others as often as possible – you may be experiencing CDS because you’re stuck in an office somewhere, shut off from the rest of the world, with limited opportunities to engage in meaningful exchange. Likewise, if you are more of an introvert who needs ample time for quiet reflection and planning, a fast-paced customer service job is probably not your cup of tea.

There are many personality assessments that you can complete online. One of my favorite websites for these is http://www.keirsey.com. This site was developed by David Keirsey, a renowned psychologist who has done extensive research on the topics of personality and temperament. On this website, you can complete several quick and easy assessments that will help shed light on different aspects of your personality and how they relate to careers as well as other important areas of your life.

3. Shift your priorities. My husband and I used to long for the American Dream – the big house, luxury automobiles and other tangibles that are often symbols of success in our society. Once we acquired these things however, we had to work longer hours just to keep them, which cut into our quality of life. I had limited time and energy and zero motivation to write, which is one of my greatest passions. I was left with a huge void that no amount of money could fill, and each day at work I felt as though I was just going through the motions.

Not long ago, my husband and I began dialoguing about the things that matter most to us in life. Not in any one of our conversations did material things come up. Instead, we talked about how we’d like to have more time together, more time to pursue our personal interests and significantly less stress in our lives. We recently made a commitment to “downsize” our lifestyles so that we can focus on the things that are most important to us. For us, downsizing means paying off or selling those things that are weighing us down and shifting our focus to our overall quality of life.

4. Set small, realistic goals. It can be a bit overwhelming to set a goal of finding a wonderful, exciting job within a specified period of time. Instead, why not set smaller, more realistic goals for yourself? For instance, you may say to yourself, “this week I’m going to update my resume,” or “this month I’m going to begin searching the Internet for job opportunities.” Those are goals that you can bring to fruition. You cannot, however guarantee that the perfect job will come along in January or that you will achieve a promotion this year.

It is also important to always be working toward a goal. Working hard for week or month and then wallowing in six months of stagnation is counterproductive. If you didn’t find that exciting new job last month on the Internet, continue to search but add another element to the equation. You may want to seek career counseling or utlize some additional job search tools.

5. Surround yourself with positive people who support you. Some people are narrow thinkers. They may not see the same possibilities that you see in life, and may therefore respond negatively when you share your new goals with them. “Why would you want to do that?” they might say. “You have a decent job; at least you’re employed.” And yes, employment is definitely a good thing. But ideally you will strive for more in life than to have just any job.

Also be selective when trying to reach out to people who have already achieved success in your desired career. I have learned the hard way that not everyone who has made it to the top of the career ladder is willing to show others how to get there. While it may be a good idea to seek advice from some individuals who have accomplished that which you desire to achieve, you may find that your greatest support and inspiration comes from individuals who are who are either working toward the same goals as you or who are not directly connected to your field of interest.

6. Visualize success. While opportunities have been presented to me in life that I did not expect, I cannot think of very many instances where I achieved success without first visualizing myself being a success. If you go through life hoping for a better job or career but not actually being able to see yourself doing it, you probably won’t take the necessary steps or even risks to get there.

I have never been one to regularly use self-affirmations, but some people who use these on a daily basis have found them to be extremely helpful in reducing negative thinking and creating a vision of success for their lives. I recently discovered a link to a helpful website about using self-affirmations: http://www.coping.org/growth/affirm.htm. If affirmations do not work for you however, you can experiment with other strategies until you find one that works for you.

7. Most importantly, don’t give up! Perseverance is a major key to success. There are very few overnight sensations in this world and many of those people who do manage to reach the pinnacle of their careers very quickly find that they have nowhere to go but down. Find joy in your journey rather than just fixating on where you ultimately want to end up, and you will be more likely to persevere.

Article Reference: http://voices.yahoo.com/how-cope-day-job-leads-career-depression-428290.html?cat=72

When you first start a video business, you fight like crazy to get any kind of project that will help pay the bills. Then, once the ball starts rolling you realize that you are working 20 hours a day with no time to care for your health or nurture the relationships you cherish with family and friends…

Many of you may be thinking that you can’t wait until you have more work than you can handle. In some cases, this is a blessing. But only if you take the time to make sure this workload is properly managed. Here’s 5 tips for how to prepare for handling a heavy workload:

1. Silence your office phone and cell phone when you are editing. This will help you stay 100% focused on moving a project forward instead of only being half in-tune because your brother, mom and several telemarketers don’t understand that you are trying to get a job done. You can check your messages every two to three hours or while you are waiting for the project to render or before/after you decide to take a break.

2. Don’t waste your time in worthless meetings.
People will often unintentionally steal your time by asking you to join them in a meeting that really won’t do anything to grow your business. When you have a lot of projects to work on in a short period of time, guard every minute! If the meeting will create a direct and measurable marketing/sales benefit for your business, attend it. Any other type of meeting should be rescheduled until your workload has eased up.

3. Don’t push the envelope on every project.
It’s okay to try new things when times are slow but when you are slammed, use the creative skills you have already developed to complete the projects. This will help you move through projects at a much faster pace than if you download a new plug-in “just for this project.” I’m all for on the job training, but be very careful not to waste any time when the work load is heavy.

4. Pick one night a week where you work all night long to get ahead of the curve.
No matter how hard you try to focus throughout the day, there will always be small distractions that keep you from being 100% efficient and productive. I used to work all night on Wednesdays with just a few hours of sleep on Thursday morning. The extended “hump day” was all I needed to stay ahead of the game. The extra 12-14 hours of work a week worked wonders for knocking out the backlog. Staying up all night certainly isn’t fun, but the adrenaline of your new video business venture and a few cold mountain dews will be enough to get you through the busy times.

5. Drink plenty of water and grab power naps when you can.
Staying hydrated will help you stay energized….yes, even more so than a mountain dew or red bull. Those give you a quick boost but it doesn’t last long. Regarding sleep, I remember taking a nap while I rendered the timeline. I’d turn the audio on my computer up really loud so when the render was completed, the loud “DONG!” would wake me up. It was amazing how just 10 to 15 minutes of sleep would keep me running when trying to complete projects with what seemed like at the time, ridiculous deadlines

Okay, here’s a bonus tip:

EXERCISE! I don’t care if you walk for 30 minutes around your neighborhood or if you go to the gym and jump on the treadmill or bike. This is food for your brain! You need this in order to stay focused through trying times..a.k.a. heavy workloads! You don’t think twice about maintaining your computers and production equipment. You know that if the tools aren’t maintained, they will shut down when we need them the most. Your body and mind are the same way. Drink water, eat sensibly and exercise. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel about everything.

Reference:

http://www.dvpa.com/public/512.cfm

Whether you are male or female, a mom or a dad, balancing career and family can be really difficult. When you’re a woman, though, the choices you have to make seem especially difficult and the responsibilities all the more great. For some reason, women are guilt-ridden with their career decisions and the choices they make about working while trying to raise their children, providing nutritious meals for their family, keeping a respectable house and keeping their husbands happy. Last on the list, of course, is finding some time for themselves. So how does a woman find time to actually feel happy with her daily activities while keeping up with all of the responsibility?

First, take time to smell the roses! Literally, you can take time to smell the roses but you can actually do this with no flowers in sight. Every day, try to look around and appreciate what you have, taking in the sounds of your child’s laughter, the wag of your dog’s tail, the special glance of your husband as you tell a funny joke. Sometimes, the knowledge of what you have on your plate for the day will feel overwhelming, but a little perspective goes a long way. It may be a cliché and a very tired phrase, but it truly does work. People tend to get lost in the mundane, day-to-day “functioning” instead of really living their lives. For example, next time you are worried about fitting in your exercise with your child’s play date at Little Gym, forego the Little Gym and head out with your son or daughter for a run.http://www.careerberg.com

Strap the little one in the jog stroller or if he or she is old enough, ask them to put on the running shoes with Mommy and head outside! Once outside, you can literally stop to smell the roses. Just a few minutes of gratitude a day will work wonders for your soul and automatically make your life feel more balanced.

Along these same lines, try and give yourself some “me” time once a week. Once a week may not seem like much, but if you really allow yourself to soak it in and enjoy the time spent, it will make the stress of all of the rest of the hectic days melt away. Take a good block of time on a Saturday or Sunday – 2 hours, maybe – and mark this time in your calendar in pen, not pencil. Keep a standing appointment with yourself, and honor it as you would any other. Think you are too busy on a weekend to do this? You will feel much more productive the rest of the weekend allowing yourself this little ‘refresher’, rather than trying to cram some time in on a random Tuesday or other weeknight. For this special time, you can book a massage or a facial at your favorite spa. Take a couple of hours to go window shopping at your favorites stores, by yourself or with a friend. Take in a matinee with a couple of girlfriends. If your husband is willing to fly solo on a Saturday night, you can even book a girls’ night out once in a while and truly let loose! Even if your budget doesn’t allow for these activities once a week, you can lock yourself in the bathroom with a good book, a bubble bath and a nice glass of wine and feel good about your time alone – you deserve some!

Probably the most obvious way to balance career and family is to incorporate your family into what would otherwise be “work time”. If you have a short commute to work, for example, perhaps you can drive your kids to school each morning instead of having them take the bus. In the alternative, you could have your morning cup of coffee at the bus stop with them and spend a few minutes chatting about their day and what they plan to learn in school as you sip your cup of Joe and breathe in the morning air to mentally prepare for your own day ahead. If you normally exercise in the morning and leave the house very early, switch your workout time to lunch and leave the office to go to the gym, eating at your desk when you get back. You will have more time with your family each day and get a healthy break from your pile of papers to boot.

You may need to get a little creative with your schedule, but there are definitely ways to help balance career and family. Sometimes an extra few minutes each day or a once-weekly good block of time can go a long way in helping restore your peace of mind and help you feel less harried.

http://www.careerberg.com

When job and workplace stress surrounds you, you can’t ignore it, but there are simple steps you can take to regain control over yourself and the situation. Your growing sense of self-control will also be perceived by others as the strength it is, leading to better relationships at work. Here are some suggestions for reducing job stress by prioritizing and organizing your responsibilities.

Time management tips for reducing job stress

Create a balanced schedule.

Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.

Don’t over-commit yourself.

Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Try to leave earlier in the morning.

Even 10-15 minutes can make the difference between frantically rushing to your desk and having time to ease into your day. Don’t add to your stress levels by running late. http://www.careerberg.com

Plan regular breaks.

Make sure to take short breaks throughout the day to sit back and clear your mind. Also try to get away from your desk for lunch. Stepping away from work to briefly relax and recharge will help you be more, not less, productive.

Task management tips for reducing job stress

Prioritize tasks.

Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.

Break projects into small steps.

If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.

Delegate responsibility.

You don’t have to do it all yourself, whether at home, school, or on the job. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

http://www.careerberg.com

http://www.careerberg.com

It’s in a manager’s best interest to keep stress levels in the workplace to a minimum. Managers must act as positive role models, especially in times of high stress. All of the tips mentioned in this article are twice as important for managers to follow. If someone that we admire remains calm, it is much easier to remain calm ourselves – and vice versa! There are also organizational changes that managers and employers can make to reduce workplace stress.

Improve communication

Share information with employees to reduce uncertainty about their jobs and futures.

Clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities.

Make communication  friendly and efficient, not mean-spirited or petty.

Consult your employees

Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their jobs.

Consult employees about scheduling and work rules.

Be sure the workload is suitable to employees’ abilities and resources; avoid unrealistic deadlines.

Show that individual workers are valued. http://www.careerberg.com

Offer rewards and incentives

Praise good work performance verbally and institutionally.

Provide opportunities for career development.

Promote an “entrepreneurial” work climate that gives employees more control over their work.

Cultivate a friendly social climate

Provide opportunities for social interaction among employees.

Establish a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.

Make management actions consistent with organizational values.

Melissa had been the ideal worker, always willing to take on new projects, work long hours and weekends — until last year. There were subtle changes at first. Her demeanor turned from always positive to a growing streak of negativism. She began to have problems sleeping. She felt frustrated with a lack of progress within the firm, and a growing sense of no longer being a part of the team. She started to use sick days for the first time — some for a nagging number of illnesses, some for “mental health” days. Luckily for Melissa, she had some friends who recognized the problem she was suffering from was job stress. http://www.careerberg.com

What is Job Stress?

Job stress is something we all face as workers — and we all handle it differently. There is no getting around it. But, not all stress is bad, and learning how to deal with and manage stress is critical to our maximizing our job performance, staying safe on the job, and maintaining our physical and mental health. For workers like Melissa, infrequent doses of job stress pose little threat and may be effective in increasing motivation and productivity, but too much — and too prolonged — can lead to a downward spiral — both professionally and personally.

Some jobs, by definition, tend to be higher stress — such as ones that are in dangerous settings (fire, police), that deal with demanding customers (service providers), that have demanding time pressures (healthcare), and that have repetitive detailed work (manufacturing) — but stress is not limited to any one particular job or industry.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, states that job stress, now more than ever, poses a threat to the health of workers –- and the health of organizations. NIOSH defines job stress as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Stress also occurs when the situation has high demands and the worker has little or no control over it. Job stress can lead to poor health and injury.

Job Stress Statistics

Numerous studies examining job stress sound an alarming bell about the mental and physical health of American workers:

• A Northwestern National Life study found that 40 percent of workers report their job is “very or extremely stressful.” And that one-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.

• A Families and Work Institute study found 26 percent of workers report they are “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work.”

• A Yale University study found 29 percent of workers feel “quite a bit or extremely stressed at work.”

• A Princeton Survey Research Associates study reports that three-fourths of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.

• A Gallup Poll found that 80 percent of workers feel stress on the job, and nearly half reported that they needed help in learning how to manage it.

• According to an article in Shape Magazine, women are 60 percent more likely to suffer from job stress than men. http://www.careerberg.com

Symptoms & Warning Signs of Job Stress

While the causes can be something other than job stress, here are the most common symptoms and early warning signs of job stress and burnout:

• Apathy

• Negativism/cynicism

• Low morale

• Boredom

• Anxiety

• Frustration

• Fatigue

• Depression

• Alienation

• Anger/irritability

• Physical problems (headaches, stomach problems)

• Absenteeism

Causes of Job Stress

There are two schools of thought on the causes of job stress. According to one theory, differences in individual characteristics, such as personality and coping style, are best at predicting what will stress one person but not another. The focus then becomes on developing prevention strategies that help workers find ways to cope with demanding job conditions.

The other theory proposes that certain working conditions are inherently stress-inducing, such as fear of job loss, excessive workload demands, lack of control or clear direction, poor or dangerous physical working conditions, inflexible work hours, and conflicting job expectations. The focus then becomes on eliminating or reducing those work environments as the way to reducing job stress.

Strategies for Managing Job Stress

While many of the methods of preventing job stress need to be developed and supported by the organization, there are things that workers can do to help you better manage job stress.

Here are 10 tips for dealing with the stress from your job:

1. Put it in perspective. Jobs are disposable. Your friends, families, and health are not. If your employer expects too much of you, and it’s starting to take its toll on you, start looking for a new job/new employer.

2. Modify your job situation. If you really like your employer, but the job has become too stressful (or too boring), ask about tailoring your job to your skills. And if you got promoted into a more stressful position that you just are not able to handle, ask about a lateral transfer — or even a transfer back to your old job (if that’s what you want).

3. Get time away. If you feel the stress building, take a break. Walk away from the situation, perhaps walking around the block, sitting on a park bench, taking in a little meditative time. Exercise does wonders for the psyche. But even just finding a quiet place and listening to your iPod can reduce stress.

4. Fight through the clutter. Taking the time to organization your desk or workspace can help ease the sense of losing control that comes from too much clutter. Keeping a to-do list — and then crossing things off it — also helps.

5. Talk it out. Sometimes the best stress-reducer is simply sharing your stress with someone close to you. The act of talking it out -– and getting support and empathy from someone else — is often an excellent way of blowing of steam and reducing stress. Have a support system of trusted people.

6. Cultivate allies at work. Just knowing you have one or more co-workers who are willing to assist you in times of stress will reduce your stress level. Just remember to reciprocate and help them when they are in need.

7. Find humor in the situation. When you –- or the people around you — start taking things too seriously, find a way to break through with laughter. Share a joke or funny story.

8. Have realistic expectations. While Americans are working longer hours, we can still only fit so much work into one day. Having unrealistic expectations for what you can accomplish sets you up for failure — and increased stress.

9. Nobody is perfect. If you are one of those types that obsess over every detail and micromanage to make sure “everything is perfect,” you need to stop. Change your motto to performing your best, and leave perfection to the gods.

10. Maintain a positive attitude (and avoid those without one). Negativism sucks the energy and motivation out of any situation, so avoid it whenever possible. Instead, develop a positive attitude — and learn to reward yourself for little accomplishments (even if no one else does).

Final Thoughts

Okay, so it’s a cliche, but your health is everything. You need to take care of yourself, and no job, customer, or boss is worth putting yourself at risk. Find a way out through one or more of our 10 strategies. Take control of your situation — and fix it — and you will have better mental and physical health, as well as better relationships with the people around you. http://www.careerberg.com