Care for the Caregivers Exercise*

A. What are the most stressful factors in your particular job? Using the eight items listed below, rate yourself in terms of stress on a scale of 1 - 10.

[0 - 24 = low stress; 25 - 40 = medium stress; 41 - 64 = high stress; 64 - 80 = extraordinary stress]

* Reproduced with permission of National Organization of Victim Assistance.

Handout 7: Self Care

COPING WITH JOB-RELATED STRESS

(Hints for dealing with potential stressors.)

Work overload: too much work and too little time.

Handout 8: Self Care

Paperwork: The blizzard of paper.

(Hints for dealing with potential stressors.)

Work overload: too much work and too little time

• Set priorities: keep planning documents that identify your job goals or projects for the year; the monthly time frame for completion of tasks; and weekly deadline for segments of each task. Prioritize which goals are most important overall and then translate those priorities to a week-long plan.

• Distinguish between long-term projects, medium length project, and short-term projects. Break projects into task segments that range from several hours of work at a time, to one-hour segments, to several minute segments.

Lack of control: inability to do what you want to when you want to

• Accept that you will have interruptions and emergencies. Once you give up the need to have complete control of each day, you will begin to relax.
• Avoid being interruption-prone. Being interruption-prone is a little like being accident-prone. Many times the interruptions that you suffer are ones you have contributed to. If you avoid a phone call for a week, don't complain when you finally have to take it and realize that the caller needs something from you tomorrow. If you know your agency has cyclical needs such as the publicity needed for National Victims' Right Week each year, be prepared in advance and don't look at the additional work as an interruption.

No appreciation: Nobody loves me (or nobody notices me).

• If you notice others, they will eventually notice you. Nominate your boss for recognition you think she or he has earned. Praise your colleagues when they do a good job. Bring their work to other people's attention. Give credit to others.
• Give yourself rewards. Set your goals and when you accomplish them, acknowledge your efforts to yourself.

Boredom: Living in a stagnant pond.

Antidotes

• Look at your job from a new perspective. What would you see if you were just now taking on the position? How would you explain it to a new employee? As you examine your position in this way, ask yourself, how would others do it differently and how might others do it better?
• Think of innovative projects that might enhance your work and make it more fun - propose them to your boss.

Paperwork: The blizzard of paper.

• Get rid of all incoming papers as soon as possible. Stephanie Winston in The Organized Executive offers the "TRAF" system: Trash it! Refer it! Act on it! Or File it!
• Fill out any organizational forms that are required as soon as possible - daily is the best or it will seem overwhelming.

Financial Support: I ain't got no money.

• For those individuals and agencies that are with a bare-bones, barely surviving budget, there is little that can be suggested to relieve this stress. The pain of closing an agency or leaving a job because of money is devastating. The most important thing to remember is to cut your losses as quickly as possible. If you know you are going under, don't hang on and go into impossible debt or cripple yourself financially.
• For individuals or agencies that have more than adequate budgets, the complaints still exist. But, complaints from these individuals or organizations are usually symptoms of other ailments of the organization, not finances. Finances are the easiest issues to target.

Staff Relations: "I can't stand anyone around here!"

• Look for the positive attributes of colleagues not the negative attributes. Chances are that almost everyone in your organization contributes something worthwhile to the overall mission. Your boss probably sees that, so try to view your colleagues from the standpoint of their contributions.
• Ignore the petty stuff. Employment relationships are often like marriages. Indeed, many people spend more time with fellow employees than they do with significant others. Marital arguments over how a toothpaste tube is squeezed are as ridiculous as employee arguments over who arrives first at night. Save disagreements over things that may affect the reputation of the agency or your reputation on the job.
• Cultivate professional and friendly relationships. You don't have to like everybody to be courteous, cordial and polite. If you do have a close friendship with a colleague, remember to revert to a friendly colleague style at the office.
• Don't compete with your colleagues. Work to support them and ask for their support. You can accomplish more as a team than independently. Shine together rather than trying to shine alone.
• Try to ignore irritating mannerisms or habits unless they interfere with your health or your work. A person who eats onions and garlic every day at lunch may be unpleasant to talk to in the afternoon but she or he does little harm. A person who whistles or hums while she or he works may truly be disruptive in a small office.
• Be honest and open when there is dissension or a disagreement, but don't become angry, sarcastic or disrespectful. Listen to the other person and ask her or him to listen to you.

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