Most of us experience stress during our work week. However, some people experience an extreme amount of workplace stress daily. It’s no wonder, more job hunters are looking for roles and positions that offer low stress day-to day.
If you’ve already tried to balance your stress at your current job, it may be time to start interviewing for a new one. Unfortunately, sometimes asking questions about workload can give the impression you want to slack off. Here are three questions that will help you determine the stress level for prospective roles/positions.
#1: Why is this position open?
Asking this question will help you understand the role in terms of the overall company and team. Often jobs are created because there is a new need in the company. However, sometimes the role is a replacement, Understanding why someone left this role can help you determine what’s expected and the anticipated stress level.
#2: Tell me about the typical day-to-day of this position.
Not only is this interview question a great way to see if the job will line up with your skills, but it also will give you an idea of who you’ll be interacting with and what you’ll be doing on a daily basis. Look out for phrases like “it depends”. This shows that the role is evolving and changing every day and this can be a sign of potential stress.
#3: What defines success for this position?
This is an all-around exceptional question to ask a prospective employer because it allows you to clearly identify the job expectations. However, it also works to scan for a stressful job because it allows you to assess how stressful the clearly defined goals will be to achieve.
Stress in the workplace often occurs when you’re responsible for things you cannot control. Understanding what defines success for the position will allow you to assess whether or not that role is empowered to actually achieve those results.
l the job will be. In your next interview, be sure to ask these interview questions to gauge just how stressful a new job might be in the future
These days there is a lot of conversation about employee satisfaction and happiness. Company consistently evaluate and add perks and benefits in an attempt to achieve this happiness. Unlimited time off, flexible work schedules, and even stocked break rooms are some of the ways companies work to ensure their employees are happy and love their jobs.
Here are some clues to help you determine if you love your job and are happy:
1. Passion—if you feel passionate about your job already, congratulations. However, for many people the passion for their job is harder to quantify. Take some time to evaluate your job and task that you love or feel passionate about. Once you identify the areas of your job that make you happy, ask your manager to increase those responsibilities. This will help you increase the areas of your positon you feel passionate about and create more happiness.
2. Independence—everyone wants a job that offers a little bit of flexibility, whether that’s the opportunity to choose roles on projects, the ability work from home or go to your child’s school pay. This flexibility can help with your work life balance and make your job happier.
3. Cultural Fit—this term gets used too much, but creating friendships at work and having camaraderie can help you find happiness at work.
4. Compensation—we all want to be valued for the work we perform. This compensation includes not only your salary, but benefits and perks. Money alone can’t buy happiness at work, but being under compensated can quickly lead to discontent.
If you’re struggling to balance your work and personal life, chances are, your manager or direct boss is contributing to these issues. Does you manager constantly give you work over the weekends or ask you to work late? Do you get in trouble if you’re a few minutes late? If so, it’s time to do something about the issue.
Step 1: Recognize the Problem
If you don’t have any balance between you work and personal life, first look for the reason why. Are you pushing yourself too hard and constantly competing with your co-workers? Or do you feel pressured by your boss to go above and beyond every day? Try making a list of the projects your boss has given you that are causing you the most stress. Then, think of some ways you could help yourself. If you try those things and realize your boss truly is the issue, it’s time to call a meeting.
Step 2: Honest Conversation with Your Boss
Arrange a time to meet with your boss to discuss your concerns. Professional honesty is the best tone for the meeting. The focus of the meeting should be on your position and the responsibilities. Focus on the nature of your position and your ability to accomplish your tasks and goals with working flexibly.
Step 3: Know When to Go To HR
First, make sure you understand your company’s guidelines and policies because every workplace is different. However, if you have meet with your boss and the problem persists, it’s probably time to go to HR. Meeting with HR is a great way to understand your organization’s experience with and overall openness to work-life balance. Doing so will help you understand how the company tries to help its employees and getting this background information will help you determine if there are organization barriers or if the challenge really is just dealing with a reluctant manager.
It might seem like a big, scary decision to make, but you’ll be much happier when you have a boss who understands you have a life when you leave the office!
Delta Computer Consulting, Inc. is certified through the WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) as a woman-owned and woman-operated business.
