Worrying About Losing Your Job is Bad For Your Health

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

29 Aug 2009 01:16 PM

Are you worried about losing your job? You're certainly not alone. But a new study says that worrying about losing your job can be worse for your health than being unemployed.

Researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of California, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development took a look at data from some long-term studies on American workers.

The two studies -- one done during the 1980s and one during the 1990s -- interviewed workers about physical and mental health.

• People who were persistently worried about losing their jobs reported worse physical health than those who didn't.
• Participants who were persistently worried about losing their jobs reported more depression than those who didn't.
• Job insecurity was linked more frequently with poor health than smoking or hypertension!

Why? It all seems to come down to stress. Chronic stress -- like the constant worry that you're going to lose your job in an already struggling economy -- can do a number on you physically and mentally. Study participants mentioned different facets of the worry:

• The feeling that you can't do anything but keep your head down until the event (getting fired or laid off) happens
• Questions about the future -- how will the worker support his or her family, how will they find another job, how long will the job search take The inability to talk to supervisors or coworkers about this fear
• Uncertainties about the firing process itself -- will there be severance pay or a settlement? Will there be job counseling or coaching available?
• Fear of a major health crisis without the support of health insurance from an employer

The bottom line: if you can stop worrying about losing your job, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor. Easier said than done, right? Something as simple as having a fallback plan -- "I can always temp while I look for something else" -- might help. Or, try to build up a cushion of savings so that losing your job isn't an instant disaster. Try to find an outlet for relieving stress.

Of course, having a demanding job with long hours and loads of pressure can be just as stressful... and just as bad for your health. Again, finding ways to manage that stress is the best thing you can do for your health (physically AND financially).

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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