Occupational Stress

Since I am independent and run my own practice, I can keep my occupational stress level low. However, Greenberg (2021) contended that low occupational stress can be equally as unhealthy as too much stress. In my case, I enjoy the work that I do and I believe that I have the resources to be able to handle running a practice. I regularly access my licensing board as well as my liability insurance company when I have questions about scope of practice or other issues. I also have all the systems in place to practice legally and ethically and that helps to decrease stress. I do continually, or at least on a regular enough basis have to recruit clients to grow my practice as clients come and go. However, I have a system in place which makes the process in many ways seamless. I think what contributes to my enjoyment of my work, is that I can do things the way I want to,  not the way someone else wants me to, and that would be the difference between being an employee and a business owner. It was interesting to participate in the lab questions, as I do have clients that have experienced burnout which has led them to transition into other careers. Completing the lab gave me additional insight into the nature of the stressors that surface in the workplace.Despreaux,Saint Lary,Danzin, and Descatha (2017) noted that stress accounted for more than 1/3 of the cases centered around work related illness and nearly half of all the working days that caused absence as a result of illness. The researchers identified factors that lead to occupational stress such as a heavy workload in which the employee had to work above and beyond their work hours as well as job and security, and a sense that the work hours were undefined, as well as a sense of isolation in the workplace among other factors.

References

Despréaux, T., Saint-Lary, O., Danzin, F., & Descatha, A. (2017). Stress at work. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 357. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26940567