Job dissatisfaction has negative health effects by age 40

How many times have you watched someone get a promotion when your hard work goes unnoticed, or
attempted to offer your insight to management, only to have it fall on deaf ears? Working in an unjust
environment can make you sick––really sick.
Staying at a job you hate may affect more than just your happiness. New research finds that employees who stay
at jobs out of a feeling of obligation are prone to several health problems, including exhaustion, stress and
burnout.

When your brain perceives stress, you get reactions from the stress-reactive area, and an elevation of stress
hormones––cortisol and norepinephrine––increase in concentration in the blood. One person will respond with
panic attacks, another with headaches. While the impact of workplace stress varies from person to person,
mounting evidence shows that stress can cause some very specific adverse health effects.
For instance, stress may make it harder to control diabetes by raising blood glucose levels. This is related to the
“fight or flight” response, which prompts your body to raise blood sugar levels to help boost energy in response
to the stress.

If you dislike your job and see the pounds piling on, the two could well be related. It happens because an
unhappy work life robs you of the energy you need to exercise and make good dietary choices. Or to put it
another way: after a long frustrating day at work, you are more likely to go for a tub of ice cream and less likely to
go for a run. You can improve your overall physical and mental health withPilates (news/pilates-for-weightloss.
html), and gain a more positive and healthy relationship to your body.

If you work really hard, but feel appreciated at work and see your efforts paying off, you are not as likely to
become stressed. On the other hand, if you are being treated badly, or if nothing you do at work is ever
recognized and you spend your work days in a more or less permanent state of frustration, worry and depression,
you can become stressed even if you only work 30 hours a week. Studies have shown that workplace stress
harms the immune system and increases the risk of depression. Makephysical activity (news/just-15-minutes-ofexercise-
may-boost-life-span.html) a regular part of your daily life.

One of the worst things about being dissatisfied with your job is that it does not stop at the end of the work day.
For many people it spills over and affects their whole life. People who are unhappy at work have less satisfying
sex lives and more problems in their relationships.

It is common knowledge that consistently sleeping a full night does wonders for the human body. The restorative
work done while bodies are at rest cannot be underestimated. People who are miserable at work often find it
harder to fall asleep or they do not sleep as well.

You have probably been there: laying awake, staring at the ceiling of the ticking clock on the nightstand as
visions of your to-do list or frustrating co-worker dance through your head. This is bad for your health because
sleep restores the body and strengthens the immune system. Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious
medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes––and it shortens your life expectancy. Learn
more about sleep issues (news/lack-of-sleep-may-increase-the-risk-for-cardiovascular-disease,-and-sleepdeprivation-
may-have-a-negative-impact-on-cholesterol-levels.html) and how they may be treated
(news/physiotherapy-can-improve-sleep.html).

It is a dilemma millions face: stuck in a terrible job but can not get themselves out. How can you make the great
escape? All of this means, that if you hate your job, you have to act on it. You have to either figure out how to
improve your current work situation or you have to find another job where you can be happy. The only option you
do not have is to do nothing, because staying in that job you hate can make you sick. Remember: no job is ever
worth your health. In fact, nothing is!