UNIT 5

Stress

Communication Starter

There are many things in our lives that can be causes of stress. Here are some of them. Group the stress factors under 3 headings.

catastrophic events	major life changes	daily hassles
…	…	…

living in a noisy neighborhood natural disasters earthquakes divorce imprisonment losing one’s job being expelled from the university fires

wars torture automobile accidents violent physical attacks death of a spouse or family member illnesses commuting to work in heavy traffic splitting up with your boy/girlfriend

getting married getting a job promotion disliking one’s fellow workers waiting in a long line worrying about owing money misplacing or losing things hurricanes moving to another country

Interview your partner about types and frequency of stress that he/she experiences. Ask questions using the verbal collocations with the word “stress”, for example:

• What major life changes cause (create, produce, provoke) stress in your life?

• What daily hassles increase you level of stress?

• Are you often under stress? Do you often suffer from stress?

• Do you think you are susceptible to high levels of stress?

• Is it hard for you to avoid stress?

Be ready to present the results of your interview to the class.

Make conclusion about the stress level of your partner.

  One’s work or study is often considered to be a source of stress. Read the following statements about stress at job place and try to guess if they are right or wrong .

- Professionals who have to meet deadlines suffer from stress symptoms more often.

- Air pilots are more vulnerable to stress than people in any other profession.

- Photojournalists are more often under stress than dentists.

- Competitiveness at job place adds to stress levels.

- Some types of medical practitioners do not have to handle stress at all.

- Worrying about job stability is one of stress factors.

- Unfavorable environmental conditions can also provoke stress.

Now read the text and check whether your suppositions were correct.

I t is one thing getting a job in these tough times – it’s quite another handling the stress that comes with it. A survey carried out by an internet job finder has ranked the most stressful and the least stressful careers.

According to CareerCast, 70 per cent of all employees say that work is the main cause of their stress, with nearly half of those questioned attributing it to worries about job stability.

Many people also complained their employers paid little attention to trying to help them find a good balance between work and the rest of their lives.

The 2011 stress list is led by commercial pilots, but their $100,000 plus annual salaries might make up for some of the angst.

At the other end of the stress scale, the health care field makes up five of the ten spots in the survey’s list of least stressful jobs with audiologist coming out as the best bet. The toughest blue collar jobs are more predictable, with firefighters, who are paid an average $45,222, topping the list and police officers and prison guards not far behind

To find the rankings, researchers reviewed the differences in five key criteria - environmental factors, income, outlook, physical demands and stress. With the last category, they broke it down into factors like travel, deadlines, whether the work was in the public eye, competitiveness, hazards and whether your own life or that of another was at risk.

CareerCast’s stress lists in full:

MOST STRESSFUL 1. Commercial Air Pilot, $106,151 2. Public Relations Officer, $90,160 3. Corporate Executive, $161,141 4. Photojournalist, $40,209 5. Newscaster, $50,456 6. Advertising Executive, $62,105  7. Architect, $73,193  8. Stockbroker, $67,470  9. Medical Technician, $30,168  10. Real Estate Agent, $40,357

LEAST STRESSFUL 1. Audiologist, $63,144 2. Dietitian, $52,127 3. Software Engineer, $87,140 4. Computer Programmer, $71,176 5. Dental Hygienist, $67.107 6. Speech Pathologist, $65,143 7. Philosopher, $61,221 8. Mathematician, $94,178 9. Occupational Therapist, $70,193 10. Chiropractor, $68,358

tough times – difficult times angst – anxiety, worry audiologist – medical practitioner who checks up people’s hearing blue collar – types of jobs where peoples are working in productive industry hazards – factors harmful for people’s health

newscaster – person who works in the sphere of TV or radio broadcasting real estate agent – audiologist –a professional whose task is to sell houses occupational therapist – a doctor who cures diseases related to people’s professions

In the text you read that researchers devised five key criteria - environmental factors, income, outlook, physical demands and stress, including factors like travel, deadlines, whether the work was in the public eye, competitiveness, hazards and whether your own life or that of another was at risk.

Do you think that psychologist is a stressful job? Try to evaluate it using the criteria presented above.

Criteria adding to stress level		High level	Average level	Low level
Environmental factors
Income
Outlook
Physical demands
5. Stress	a) Travel
	b) Deadlines
	c) Whether the work was in the public eye
	d) Competitiveness
	e) Hazards
	f) Risk factor

Be ready to share your conclusion whether psychologist is a stressful job with the group.

Listening and Writing