Work-related stress linked to a higher risk of this common heart condition, study finds. 7 ways to protect your mental health on the job.
Job stress can do more than just put you on edge or give you a heavy dose of the “Sunday scaries.” A new study finds that it can also affect your heart.
According to research published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, job strain is associated with a greater chance of developing the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm.
Mathilde Lavigne-Robichaud, a co-author of the study, tells Yahoo Life this adds to the body of research showing that work stress plays a significant role in overall health. “Evidence, including from this study, suggests that work-related stressors are an important risk factor for heart conditions, similar to how smoking would be considered in a patient’s history,” she says.
What does the study say?
Researchers looked at the medical database records, including 18 years of follow-up data, for nearly 6,000 adults in white-collar jobs in Canada. They found that employees who said they experienced high job strain had an 83% higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation (or A-fib), which is the most common form of arrhythmia, or an abnormal heart rhythm. Employees who reported feeling an “effort-reward imbalance” — meaning they didn’t think their work performance was justly compensated for with things like “salary, recognition or job security” — had a 44% greater risk of developing A-fib. And white-collar workers who reported feeling both high job strain and effort-reward imbalance had a 97% increased risk.
“The key takeaway from this study is that reducing psychosocial stressors at work, such as job strain and effort-reward imbalance, could be a crucial strategy for [A-fib] prevention,” Lavigne-Robichaud says. “It’s important to note that the increased risk of [A-fib] was not due to other existing cardiovascular diseases, which makes this finding particularly significant.”
More than 12 million people are projected to have A-fib in the U.S. by 2030, according to the American Heart Association. Symptoms include dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat or fluttering or thumping in the chest. A-fib can also put you at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke.
How to manage work-related stress
The study authors add that recognizing and addressing stressors at work may be an effective way to prevent A-fib. And while it's to impossible completely remove on-the-job stress, experts say there are some things you can do to reduce it:
Focus on your own reward. If you feel like you aren’t getting enough out of your job, remind yourself of what you’re working for. “You can amplify the sense of reward from your job by, for example, making sure that you have photos of your family, or your vacation goals or a picture that symbolizes being debt-free — whatever the reason is that you're working,” Chloe Carmichael, a clinical psychologist and author of Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety, tells Yahoo Life. “That way, moment to moment, you can feel more connected with the bigger reward that you are working towards.”
Take a break. “Short breaks during the workday are important, such as a quick walk, hydration break or a few minutes of meditation and slowing your breathing and thoughts,” John Staley, deputy director of the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center, tells Yahoo Life. “If needed, set an alarm on your phone or computer to remind yourself to get up, do some stretches, take a short walk or chat with co-workers.” And if physically removing yourself from your job isn’t an option, try mentally checking out for a few minutes. “Even just closing one's eyes for 30 seconds in a peaceful and quiet environment can sometimes help,” Dr. Paul Wang, director of the Stanford Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Stanford Medicine, tells Yahoo Life.
Keep a journal. Staley also suggests keeping a journal — not only to keep tabs on stress triggers, but also to log any little personal victories. “A compliment from a co-worker, student, boss or customer? Write it down. Receive a promotion, award or recognition for a job well done, or your child makes the team at school or your spouse [or] significant other has a happy outcome at work or at home? Write it in your journal,” Staley says. “Sometimes a look at the positives can reset our thinking.”
Reassess your work space. Staley says that clearing your desk or office can help alleviate your mental load, too. “Take a moment and assess your work environment to see what factors likely impact your work-related stress,” he says. “Do you have a comfortable workspace free of clutter and distractions?”
Consider job hunting. And if stress and anxiety from work is really getting to you, Carmichael says that might mean it’s time to brush off your résumé and look for something new. “The healthy function of anxiety is to stimulate preparation behaviors. So if you're having stress about your job, that can also stimulate you to say, ‘Is this stress, this challenge, worth the reward?’”
What employers and management can do:
Give employees options. Carmichael suggests talking to employees about their work preferences. Some people might enjoy working through lunch at their desk in order to wrap up the day sooner, while others will stay longer if it means having a solid hour away for lunch. “If you can give your employees options, that not only means they're getting a work style that suits them — you're also increasing their sense of control, which helps to decrease stress,” she says.
Help them prioritize. Carmichael also recommends helping employees assess their workload to figure out what can be tackled later. “Sometimes it can be surprising for managers to discover all of this stuff that has accrued on an employee's plate,” she says. “And that has the double benefit of not just the practical allocation of the employee's workload, but it also has the benefit of the employee feeling seen and heard and having rapport with management.”
