Stress management

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• July 18, 2012 8:40 a.m.

  Technology has caused huge stress in my live! Even with my phones - mobile and land set to silent - my boss calls me on my days off. Last week, my boss started calling me at 0615 am, leaving messages, and it went on all day. I got into trouble for not responding.

  - Sam

• May 16, 2012 9:02 a.m.

  I have to agree with this. I think it is crazy the way we stay connected 24/7 to everything and can never actually get away from it all. I know at times I will just turn my phone to silent because I do not want to be able to be reached all of the time. I think that is sad that our society has come to the point where a vacation is a "working vacation."

  - Racheal

• May 16, 2012 8:23 a.m.

  While always being connected to work or "the office" is a concept that will most likely never go away and may only get worse as technology advances, the degree to which someone is always on the clock is going to be affected by the industry they choose to enter. Certain types of consulting and any investment banking is going to lead to constant connection to the office and it is simply the nature of the business.

  - Adam

• May 15, 2012 9:59 p.m.

  Being available 24/7 can be very soul-crushing. Always being connected with either work or school doesn't give you time for yourself which can cause you a great deal of stress. Always being connected with work is now essential because you have to put in all of your time and effort or you risk losing your job or falling behind in school. Now a days it is had to get away from the every day hectic life and to truly take time for yourself with out experience a negative consequence.

  - Miranda

• May 15, 2012 8:36 p.m.

  I agree that in the past we had the luxury of time and now we are "on duty" 24/7. It is a sad reality of today's society that in order to be successful, contributing members we must give ALL of our time and energy to work or school. However that is a hard fact to change. If people do say "enough is enough" they risk disappointing bosses or professors, failing classes, or being fired from their job. It is not easy to truly step away and take leisure time for rest and relaxation without worrying about the consequences.

  - Lauren

• May 15, 2012 8:33 p.m.

  This article brings up a very good term, "weisure". This is something that is becoming increasingly present in all types of workforce. No matter if you are a doctor, manager, student, or factory worker the case us the same; we all take our work home with us. Our leisure time is rapidly decreasing while stress levels continue to increase, and while there are multiple other contributing factors, taking work home is showing a negative impact on leisure time that should be time spent with family and relaxing and unwinding from our hectic work days.

  - Alecia

• May 15, 2012 7:39 p.m.

  I completely agree! It is ridiculous that we are constantly expected to be reachable every second of the day. I plan weddings and special events for clients in the Bloomington area. I am very busy on the weekends and I take lots of classes during the week. My boss always expects me to always answer e-mails no matter the time of day. I hate it!

  - Lorna

• May 15, 2012 3:37 p.m.

  I know that taking your work home with you has become very common place. I have heard of many people who go on family vacations to Florida and will take their laptop with them to keep constantly connected to their email and work. They are afraid that their absence will cause more issues at work that they will have to deal with when they get back. So while this keeps up a level of stress even while on vacation, it also prevents an increased amount of stress in the future.

  - Mary

• May 15, 2012 3:36 p.m.

  I agree with this article, and honestly I think it's a shame that we are so entwined in our work lives and responsibilities that many of us don't get a break or even sometimes time to just catch up. I think that employers might be pleasantly surprised at the increase in work ethic and quality that may be exerted if employees simply just get sometime to rest and be stress free of their work responsibilities and environment.

  - Haley

• May 15, 2012 2:16 p.m.

  I can see both sides from the arguments that can be made from the blog. Last year, I went without my phone for over a week and it was a very relaxing and stress free time so I can see the benefits. I also feel less stressed when I am in the loop with things and know exactly what is going on. If I feel disconnected it can lead to stress.

  - Dan

• May 15, 2012 1:01 p.m.

  This blog could not be more true for my own life. Last summer I had an internship but had my work email set up to my phone and found myself coming home after work and responding to emails that I didn't have time to during the day. Also, my supervisor would text message me about work related activities and I felt like I always had to be available. Home did not feel relaxing because I felt like I was always on call. I never felt relaxed.

  - Kaitlin

• May 15, 2012 11:42 a.m.

  The article clearly defined how technology comes with a lot of stress. It is difficult to not constantly check your e-mails and text messages when you get home from school/work. It has become an interruption to our leisure time, family time, and lifestyle. Technology is extremely helpful but it often becomes an issue because it is readily available and causes problems when it gets in the way of other priorities.

  - Jessica

• May 15, 2012 8:50 a.m.

  Technology is one of the biggest creators of stress in today's world. The job doesn't stop when you come home thanks to things like email and cell phones. Overall stress is such a factor of American life that we hardly even notice that is such a big part of our lives

  - Charles

• May 14, 2012 10:36 p.m.

  I completely agree with this what this article has to say. I can say that I had a big issue with being too connected to work because up until recently, I received email notifications to my cell phone. Now that I have disabled this application, I feel significantly more relaxed about the amount of work I have to do and when I have to do it. I would like to introduce some sort of mandatory shut off from the world time into my daily schedule.

  - Jocelyn

• May 14, 2012 9:56 p.m.

  I agree with this article. The territorial separation between "workplace" and "home" has been blurred. The many technological changes have rendered many work-place habits and rituals meaningless. However, we cannot ignore the rise of a new social phenomenon known as workaholism. Professionals today are capable of putting in an 80 hour week resulting in the disruption to family life and increase in stress level. When they get back from work, they are usually too exhausted to make any effort for any form of leisure activities. Leisure is essential for psychological relief and development of the holistic needs of the individuals. Hence we should take time off away from “work” – facebook, cellphone and emails – for leisure.

  - Yvonne

• May 14, 2012 5:12 p.m.

  I agree with this article because society expects us to be readily- available for anything that calls upon us. However, I know from my perspective that I cannot always be on my phone. I get over texting or talking to people on my phone. I need breaks just like other people do. Business occupations and medical occupations are the occupations that require the most amount of readiness. They are usually the ones who cannot let go of their phones because they have to have them for work. The work industry is so worried about what they are going to miss and how much over time they can get from being on call, they miss out on the leisure time with their friends and family.

  - Cassie

• May 23, 2011 9:54 a.m.

  I agree with this article to a degree. Although society today expects everyone to be technilogically savy, that does not have to be the case. I feel that it is ones choice whether they are still "connected" when they leave school or work. A cell phone, computer, ipad, e-mail all have a log-out or shut-down, power off option. It might cause you to be distant, but isn't that how you get to the point of relaxation?

  - Kayley

• May 23, 2011 9:53 a.m.

  I can understand where this article is coming from, but I'm going to have to disagree with it. I feel that being able to stay connected even after I leave the classroom or work actually reduces my stress from it. I feel like having my own computer and smartphone and all this technology actually helps with getting the work done on my own time, and allows for a more flexible schedule so that I can still be involved with my leisure activites. Since the organizations I'm involved in usually meet in the early evening, I can still attend all those and finish whatever I need to do for school later at night. However, this article is geared more toward 9-5 office jobs, something I've never experienced, so it could be an entirely different ballgame.

  - Justina

• May 23, 2011 9:52 a.m.

  I don't think that anyone can contest this article. I do feel however, that we also have to take into consideration how much more money is on the line. Yes, we didn't have the internet or smart phones allowing us to work but careers also weren't paying as much as they are now. Do you want to take that lavish vacation? If the answer is 'yes' then maybe bringing your work home with you is necessary.

  - Abigail S.

• May 23, 2011 1:36 a.m.

  I agree with this article as well, we do need to have that separation between the work place and our personal lives. It generally causes at least some stress in ones life if they try to combine the two. I do however feel that people can still today, despite how "connected" we are, have that separation between the two. It comes down in my opinion, solely based upon self control. Do you have the control to separate the two or not? Can you keep your devices shut off when you are with family? It's the little things like this that people can do to eliminate some of that unwanted stress in their day to day lives.

  - Evan

• May 23, 2011 12:30 a.m.

  I agree with this article. While technology has played a large role especially in the work force, making it nearly impossible to "shut off from work", it has also helped reduce stress as well by making communication easier and faster. On the other hand, I too believe that you just have to have some self control and remove your self from your work, including technology.

  - Rachel

• May 22, 2011 11:56 p.m.

  I agree with Dr. Creagan and the other comments. But I believe that we are expected to be constantly available because we expect everyone else to be available whenever we want. Our society expects to have whatever they want when they want it, so if we want this we also are drawn into this immediate gratification. Regardless, the constant demands of a never-ending job can be exhausting.

  - Betsy

• May 22, 2011 11:36 p.m.

  I can understand how the not having the disconnect can cause extra stress for some people, however there is a side of this that seems to remain unexamined. There are reasons we are allowed a shorter work week and I believe this is a major contributing factor. You can look at it now as either you are experiencing "weisure" or you can look at in a way that you would still be working during the times you spend at home being connected to work. I agree that at some point there needs to be a separation from work and leisure, but one major thing we need to consider is this connection to between work and leisure has not only allowed us to work less days per week, but also less hours. Yes, it may cause some undue stress at really inopportune times, but would you rather be at work until 8 p.m. every weekday or on saturdays, NO. I believe partly on the contrary that working this way with a connection between work and leisure it allows us to have more focus and commitment towards our work. I can see good in this article, however there is a lot more to consider than just saying "bringing home your work is stressful and bad".

  - Kevin

• May 22, 2011 11:28 p.m.

  For the work environment now and in the future, technology is what drives companies, and has made them more successful and efficient. There will be no going back, only moving forward with technology. Unfortunately, the more technology brings, the less leisure time there is for an individual. And the government could only do so much to keep to reduce the amount of stress technology brings, but it is also how the government runs things.

  - Ryan

• May 22, 2011 11:06 p.m.

  I also agree with this article. As I grew my mother was off work and getting phone calls from here job and would have to go in and check something out or calm down a patient. We never really got to do some of the things that she wanted to do like spend family time. Technology has been a great big factor in cutting in on our leisure time. I also think that if we don't say enough is enough than it would get worse then it already is and people will start being more stressed then they already are.

  - Donnell