LOH #182 : Work stress experience

This is my reply to the Ladies of hive prompt for the week

1️⃣ How do you handle job stress? Do you deal with it well, or at some point has it generated some health discomfort or problems within the family? Would you prefer to do your office work from home?

A job is considered to be important in every society, and most people take on two or more jobs just to make ends meet. The internet has changed everything, of course, and now you can have a job even without leaving the comfort of your home. A few years back, I was one of those people who had a 8am to 6pm job and I can say it wasn't easy.

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The stress of waking up at 5am to prepare for work five or sometimes six days a week was a part of it. Failure to do so would result in me leaving the house late and arriving late to work. The traffic in my country is really terrible, so it was the major reason why I woke up early to prepare. The job itself was also really stressful, it was in a packaging company, and we did both what our jobs entailed and what it didn't.

I worked in the scaling department, our job was to weigh the goods to ensure they were not above or below the stipulated net weight. But after my department and other departments were done, we would also assist those in packaging, lifting heavy sacks and cartons and finally clean the work space thoroughly as no cleaner was employed.

At some point, the company also became a hostile space, as some people would make false reports against others to the boss. So it was one problem or the other each day. We also started being held back as late as 8pm, which angered most of us because we weren't paid for overtime. Moreover, we would still be expected to resume early the next day after battling the night traffic and getting home late.

How did I handle the stress? At that point in my life, the job was important. So I devised a schedule to help me get through the day. I tried my best to stay away from the toxic people in the company, and then my department co-workers would work hard and fast so we could assist others and get to close work early. I also ensured I rested extremely well on Sundays, which meant I had little social life.

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But even with all I mentioned above, it still wasn't smooth sailing, so I wasn't too sad when I ended the job. I figured my mental health and general wellbeing was more essential. I realized I was always feeling weak and had started taking plenty of painkillers. Plus, my mother noticed my late night returns and deemed it unsafe for her daughter.

Currently,I am a student and I work from home online when I get back from lectures. So if I had to choose between doing my job from home or going into the office, I would honestly choose to work from home for the following reasons:

1. It saves money, especially from transport fare.

2. It reduces the stress of commuting to and fro from work to your home 5 or 6 days a week.

3. Your health and wellbeing is secured because you get to rest and not deal with the toxic environment some offices have.

4. Working without distractions in a quiet home office will increase productivity.

5. Most importantly, working consistently for a few hours will lead to getting your job done on time and create time for personal responsibilities.

I know other people may have their reservations about working from home, but personally, I love it.

Thanks for reading.