by Paul Arco
OSF Healthcare
OSF Healthcare
The five components of a healthy workplace include: protection from harm, connection and community, work-life harmony, mattering at work and opportunity for growth.
A new year brings about many possible changes – promises to eat better, exercise more, stop smoking, save money, and so on. Another priority for some is to improve their work situation.
If that’s you, there may be no better time than the present, especially after the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report that links a toxic workplace culture to health issues such as heart disease, depression and anxiety.
"A toxic workplace is basically any work setting where you're dealing with any sort of psychological stress, where you're feeling nervous, you have some fear, anxiety, sadness, depression – things like that," says Victor Mendoza, a behavioral health provider with OSF HealthCare. "If you start noticing those things in your own workplace, that can be something we would call a toxic environment."
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the five components of a healthy workplace include: protection from harm, connection and community, work-life harmony, mattering at work and opportunity for growth.
Mendoza says now is the time for organizations to assess their relationship with employees – to create a sense of connection among workers, show them they are important, and support their professional needs.
"First of all, if they haven't added these five components, they should probably try to because I think that's a good foundation to what a healthy work environment should be like," says Mendoza. "You want to have a workplace where you feel comfortable, you feel heard, you feel like there is upward mobility, and that that people care for you. That you're not just a number to them but that you actually are a human, and they understand and are willing to be empathic to your situation. And if there is a concern, they're open to listen to you."
There are many ways feeling stressed or miserable can manifest in an unhealthy work environment such as increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, increasing the chance of high blood pressure, weakening immune systems, causing headaches and increasing anxiety and stress. Mendoza says physical symptoms can include stomach aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and racing heartbeat.
The report comes during an uncertain time in workplace culture due to the COVID pandemic, when employees are seeking more flexible opportunities including working remotely or a hybrid schedule. Mendoza adds that the pandemic also affected our routines, and when routines are changed it can impact our mental health.
"It's been really tough for a lot of people," says Mendoza. "When all this started with the pandemic, a lot of people were having anxiety about what was going to happen. People feared losing their jobs, and a lot of people did lose their jobs, sadly, and that was very hard for them. They had to switch careers. A lot of them were lucky they were able to keep their jobs, but they had to work from home and that that created some stress as well even though we do have good technology."
There are things, however, you can do to cope with your workplace stress. Mendoza suggests keeping track of the stressors in your job, developing healthy responses such as exercise, getting enough sleep and learning how to relax and take time to recharge by unplugging from work, and making sure to use your vacation days.
Mendoza says it’s easy for some people to feel guilty about work-related issues. The most important take home message is to first take care of yourself, and not let a stressful environment affect your health.
"Sometimes you can only do so much and you have to advocate for yourself, and you have be aware when this happens," he adds. "So set up good boundaries with your workplace, make sure that you're taking some time off work for self-care, whatever that looks like for you, and do something you enjoy. Make sure you do some basic things like exercise, you’re eating well and you're sleeping well. That's a really good foundation to deal with a toxic work environment."
"The manikins are very much like the human body, so the students get a really good, hands-on experience with how CPR works,” Meeks says. "They also learn how to use the AED. Most students know where it is in their school, but they’ve never seen it before. They have no idea how it works."
You can count Paige Ferguson and Kira Becker, both juniors at Fisher High School, among the adolescents who think the training is valuable.
"You just had to stay at a consistent pace, which was difficult [to start]. But once you got that pace going, it was pretty easy to stay with it," Ferguson says, describing the training.
"It’s important to know this so you can help friends and teachers in your daily life. You can help save a person’s life,” Becker says.
One of those teachers is Doug Ingold, the health and physical education instructor who asked OSF to train the whole student body.
"It’s great to have hands-on experience. It’s different than just watching a video,” Ingold says. "Having OSF come in and give the students actual practical experience really gives them a good idea of what it takes to do CPR."
Recently, in a Mexican restaurant in Houston, Texas, a patron shot and killed a man who was robbing other patrons. The robber was masked and brandishing what appeared to be a pistol. If the man who shot the robber is charged with murder for protecting himself and others from a potentially lethal threat, then we have a serious problem.
We have another problem. Millions of undocumented people have crossed our border from El Paso to San Diego and in between. America is being invaded. We do not have enough free housing, welfare and food stamps to support all these people.
Biden wants to mobilize 85,000 IRS agents who will find every dollar they can to support the millions of undocumented people roaming our nation. How many more dollars can the IRS squeeze out of your pocket? Do you have property that they can seize and sell for a few dollars? 85,000 agents will need to find something to do and most likely they will be checking up on everyone.
Arizona has been patching holes in their border with containers which has been working. Biden ordered that the containers be removed. Over one million undocumented people have crossed into America through Arizona during Biden’s Presidency.
Can you imagine being a farmer or just living on the Southern Border? This is 24-hour a day nightmare for these landowners. Do you think anyone wants to buy their property? These same people are coming to your community. They are looking for jobs and housing. They need money and food. Do you have plenty of affordable housing in your community? Do you have big free food banks to feed these people? If you need a reasonably priced apartment, I would suggest you snatch it fast because people are coming who need that apartment and they may have more help from the government than you do to underwrite the costs.
McCarthy, Biden, and Congress must bring back every job we have outsourced to China. We can no longer do business with China. The people who have been living in America the last few years need jobs and millions of new undocumented workers need jobs. By the way, do you remember when the United States Census was a once every ten-year job? Now, Census workers have to work year-round chasing down people who will not complete U.S. Government Census information. How many full-time census workers will it take to chase down all of these undocumented people?
If Biden, McCarthy, and Congress do not protect Social Security your town will probably have to close up. Over 70 million Americans count on Social Security income. Social Security is all or over half of all this number receives each month. As the buying power of the retired population suffers, each community suffers. The government collects social security taxes from people to subsidize us in our old age. Americans will be back into abject poverty if they don’t keep Social Security strong.
Affordable housing, medical insurance and jobs that pay over $15 an hour must also be McCarthy and Biden commitments. We must be able to buy health insurance across state lines. State governments need to make it easier for working poor to have health insurance. We need real people to answer the telephones in the state and local governments. Websites need to be simple and seamless. Working poor Americans feel like their local states aren’t that interested in helping them.
Making medical care more affordable will solve problems for everyone including the insurance companies. Publicly listing the cost of services and surgeries was a good idea that most medical providers don’t seem to be following. Making pharmacy purchases from Canada easier is imperative for struggling Americans.
We have some problems in America. Biden, McCarthy and Congress have a lot to do. Name calling, and aggressive behavior in the House only makes for a few seconds of television stupidity. America has some problems. We need for McCarthy and Biden and Congress to step up and help us solve them.
Illinois House Representatives passed legislation banning high-powered weapons and large-capacity magazines last week. It is a step in the right direction. What if it is not enough?
The bill that passed through the House also created a prohibition and criminal penalties for devices that turn semi-automatic weapons into fully-automatic guns. It now heads to the Senate for approval.
While gathering for Thanksgiving is intended to be a joyous occasion, everyone who has hosted the feast knows it can also come with a lot of stress, and expenses.
