I love this post by that looks at a health issue we should all pay attention to Stress. Whether you are an entrepreneur or digital marketer, we all work under pressures that may well be damaging our health! Put simply, burying your head in the sand about work stress is probably the fastest route to an early grave! I can honestly say that there will not be you, your business or job without good health.

This flowchart gives you a simple and straightforward way to measure how stressed you are. You will get summary results at the end of the flowchart, as well as resources to get more information and help! Read on to protect one of the biggest workplace silent killers.

How Stressed Are You? (Flowchart)

Lindsay Kolowich wrote the original post and featured on HubSpot blog

Background

My interest in stress comes from primarily from three sources: my psychology background and the fact that I am a Digital Marketer as well as Founder and Managing Director of an online marketing consultancy start-up for businesses in Croydon and surrounding areas in South London and Surrey (http://globaldotmedia.com). Like countless entrepreneurs, I have grown my business from an idea to a living, growing and thriving entity that demands endless amounts of time and handwork to deliver results for clients.

This achievement has happened over the course of the last 16 remarkable months. I am one of those crazy entrepreneurs who has happily swapped working 40 hours a week for an employer to working 80 hours a week on my lead generation consultancy

At the start of my business, I provided Internet lead generation services including Search Engine Optimisation, content development, email marketing, paid search advertising and social media management. In the spirit of evolution and continuous improvement, I then added mobile app development and commercialization as well as video production and marketing to my portfolio of services. My business has gone through the typical startup lows to relative stability and growth today.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of clients I work with in recent months. I have moved from worrying about not having enough clients to now having to think carefully about taking on each new additional client. In the good old days, I could start every day with an exercise workout in my home gym or a run in the park. These days I seem to be working seven days a week while also attending business networking events to fill the sales funnel. I do all of this while continuing to market my online marketing consultancy.

It is not uncommon to find me taking a nap at my work desk or working through the night. The truth, however, is that I enjoy my job and love what I do – nothing can compete with getting the next conversion for my clients. I get incredible joy from knowing that my clients all have social media posts scheduled for the weeks ahead and that together we are doing everything possible to avoid missing potential customers.

My big questions are whether my way of working as an Internet Marketer is good for my health and what I should do about it? Let’s go straight into the focus of this post.

About stress

A quick search for a definition of stress on Google categorises it as a noun that is:

• Pressure or tension exerted on a material object.
• A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.
• The synonyms of stress include strain, pressure, tension, nervous tension, worry, anxiety, nervousness.

WebMD goes further to say that: Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you, and many things that you do yourself, put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body and your thoughts.

Effects of stress

In small doses, stress can be an important part of our lives. It can motivate us and make us more productive. And, once it’s over, we might come out of that stressful situation all the better for it.

Too much stress, though, can be detrimental to your health, happiness, productivity, and relationships. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between difficulties. As a result, the person becomes overworked, and stress-related tension builds.

Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress, a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to physical problems including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain and trouble sleeping.

• In 2014/15, 440,000 people in the UK reported work-related stress at a level they believed was making them ill. That’s 40% of all work-related illness. (Health & Safety Executive)
• The Health and Safety Executive says around 9.9 million working days are lost each year to stress, depression or anxiety.
• Occupations with some of the highest rates of work-related stress are education, health and social care, public administration and defence.
• The NHS says psychological problems, including stress, anxiety and depression, are behind one in five visits to a GP.
• Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma and arthritis.

So what’s that healthy balance between being too stressed, and not stressed enough? Is your current stress level manageable and healthy? To help you figure out where you are on the stress scale (and what you can do about it), the folks over at Pound Place created the flowchart below. Start with the question at the top, and then follow the arrows to work your way to the bottom, where you’ll find out whether your stress is at a manageable level.

The Flowchart

So there you have it. When all is said and done, it looks like I am a Digital Marketer in the calm category, who could do with some relaxation and de-stressing! I think I will take and work on that great piece of advice!

 

How are your stress levels? Is your Digital Marketing or Entrepreneur role making you sick?

***********************************************************************

Global.Media provides expert online and offline advertising, and marketing on all digital platforms  to help businesses generate qualified Leads. Checkout our Services page to see how our advertising and marketing services can help your business to get more customers and sell more, faster. Why not sign up for our newsletter using the simple form on the right? You can also follow us on social networks. Finally, we’d love for you to share this post with your network using the share buttons below.

*****************************************************************************

We’d love to have your feedback and suggestions about this post. How do you manage your stress levels at work? Have you struggled with work stress? How have you been affected by work stress? Please leave your comments in the Comments Section below.

Other posts you may like

How Small Businesses and Startups Can Stay Competitive and Close Big Deals

4Ms of Business Foundation every company needs Series – part 3 (Money – 14 Top Tips to fund Business)

Psychological Pricing Strategies Guide – 9 secrets to sell more

Our Digital Marketing Services:

Search Engine Optimisation| Content Development & Marketing| Email Marketing| Pay-Per- Click| Social Media Marketing| App Development & Marketing