In my last article I described a stress inventory scale that has 43 life events which are likely to cause you stress. Each of these 43 events is rated in terms of its stress impact from 100 points at the highest to 11 points at the lowest. Number one, with a stress value of 100, is death of a spouse, obviously a significant life event for anyone. Most of the stressors are related to change and transition, either in personal relationships, personal choices, place of residence, or the workplace.

In terms of workplace stress, number 8 in the list of stressful events is being fired at work, number 10 is retirement from work, 15 is a major business readjustment, 16 is a major change in your financial status, number 18 is changing to a different line of work, 21 is foreclosure on a mortgage or loan, 22 is a major change in responsibilities at work, a spouse beginning or ceasing work outside the home is ranked at 26, and troubles with the boss comes in at 30th place.

Out of the 43 events which have an influence on how we feel, nine are directly related to the workplace. This is logical because not only is work the source of our income for us to feed clothe and house ourselves and our family, work often characterizes who we are, what our talents are, and work is a very significant part of our personal history.

So it is not surprising that workplace stress is a source of concern for most people. But more importantly than measuring stress, in this article I want to talk about job loss, sacking, forced retirement, forced redundancies, and downsizing in the workplace. We are living currently in a recession, we have a new president who is confronting some of the most significant financial problems any president has had to deal with, there is a lack of confidence in the international currency and stock market, and we are spending billions to try to recover what could be termed the mismanagement of many of the financial institutions.

You would think that people in the workforce would be worried and, according to recent research, 69% of Americans rated holding on to their jobs as their chief concern for 2009. Oddly enough, and conversely, nearly two thirds of people think they are going to get a raise in 2009. Most think that the new president will solve their problems.

So what are American workers doing to prepare for the tough times ahead? Less than a quarter are putting money aside in case they are sacked. Financial consultants typically recommend having at least eight month’s salary in cash savings to account for an unexpected loss of income through downsizing or job loss. About one in 10 are delaying their planned retirement and this makes a lot of sense when figures on people’s investment in their 401(k) show huge losses over the last 8 to 12 months.

One of the ways of preventing stress over potential job loss besides having money set aside is to analyze the prospects of being put off in your own organization. If you hold a position that you feel can never be downsized or lost, and if the organization’s balance sheet in bulletproof, you’ll probably be insulated against any of the stresses I am describing. If you are not in such a potentially safe and secure situation, another strategy is to brush up your resume, make it current, and consider searching for another job in an organization that you think can ride out this rough financial storm. According to the recent research I cited above, only one in eight people are considering this possible way of dealing with potential job losses.

At a personal level, one way of reducing the stress is to talk about possible strategies with your loved ones. The purpose of this exercise is not to spread gloom and doom but to develop some collective strategies to confront the tough times. This might include revising your budget, cutting back on planned holidays, not buying that new car or boy’s toy, reducing purchase of new clothes, and generally developing more prudent fiscal management systems. At a high-level, of course, increasing savings, watching investments, analyzing the financial security of your current workplace, considering downsizing your home, and even exploring the possibility of a new job placement could be sensible ways of preparing yourself if things go bad.

I don’t want to spread gloom and doom myself but it is much easier to deal with stress if one outlines potential strategies to minimize the stress than it is to try and cope after you have experienced dramatic and significant life changes as a result of tough fiscal times. My messages are consistent: scrutinize events carefully, develop sound predictions, plan sensible strategies, involve key stakeholders, and be prepared for transition and change. These are all excellent ways of giving you stress relief and reducing workplace stress and personal stress in your life. Good luck!

1 Comment so far

1. Jeffrey on January 23, 2009 1:59 am

   Very helpful article. Better to always ready and plan ahead before things get worst.

   But no matter how ready we are we cannot avoid being affected by stress once negative situation is struck in our face. Everything is beyond our control specially if worldwide situation is concern. The only thing I know is to change once mindset. Simple but powerful.