7 ms·

Ask HN: How would you quantify the level of stress at work?

• lowmagnet 10y ago
  I'd say you don't since stress is a subjective and qualitative thing.
• byoung2 10y ago
  0%...I work remote and make my own schedule. I'm on my way to the airport for a month long vacation. As a contractor I can take a month off without needing approval from anyone. I can take a Tuesday off and go to Disneyland with my daughter without needing to lie about being sick.
  • throwaway2016a 10y ago
    > I can take a Tuesday off and go to Disneyland with my daughter without needing to lie about being sick. Unless you are talking "on a whim" with no notice it would have to be a pretty terrible employer to not let you take a Tuesday off. I'd be inclined as long as you give a week or two notice to approve that time off no problem. However, if you lied and said you were sick there is a major trust issue there and there would probably be disciplinary action
    • foliveira 10y ago
      > Unless you are talking "on a whim" with no notice it would have to be a pretty terrible employer to not let you take a Tuesday off. I think OP was referring to not having to worry about the number of days he has taken so far, since he says "make my own schedule", i.e.: not having to worry about limits, either temporal or financial.
      • byoung2 10y ago
        Exactly this. When you just get 2 weeks, you save those up for a week long cruise and Christmas. You wouldn't take a random Tuesday off and burn a vacation day.
• OJFord 10y ago
  I'm not sure how this can be well-answered. Any time you actually feel stressed, you're unlikely to feel that it's 'less stress' than some previous experience; I think it inherently feels each time like you're discovering what '100%' might be, or perhaps it's less than that - a thought that in itself only adds to the stress.
• magic_beans 10y ago
  Before I quit, I felt like I'd hit 100% stress at work. It was an unfriendly environment, my manager was so stressed that she stressed everyone else out just from talking to her, and I got a strong feeling that my project manager hated her job (and me). The work itself was tedious and poorly spec'ed out by the requestors. 100% stress can be FINE under the right circumstances. With a supportive boss and team, you feel like you won't actually drown in the work. But when the team is wishy-washy and distant... well, then you get a situation where something has to give.
• treehau5 10y ago
  I feel 100% stress because of the noise and distractions. It is 100% beacuse a. I hate it so fucking much that I rarely even curse and it is making me want to say I hate it so fucking much b. I am more sensitive to distractions and noise. I can't simply "put on headphones" like everyone always retorts when I say I can't focus. c. There's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I can change jobs, but this stupid fucking fad has permeated everywhere. I have heard of exactly two companies that give their thought-workers distraction, noise-free environments. If I haven't put down roots already, maybe I would have given it a crack, but moving is not an option.
  • macobo 10y ago
    Remote work is an option. :)
  • vintageseltzer 10y ago
    Have you considered working remotely? There are a lot more remote positions available these days than you may think.
    • pasbesoin 10y ago
      Just be very, very careful of your home environment. I ended up with neighbors from hell, while caught in a mortgage. Working from home was not an option (yes, they were that bad). So, in the larger context, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, FIRST. BEFORE you work on your work environment, make sure your home environment is safe and restorative. (And, these days, has a fast enough connection.) All else will come from this. Remote work. Or, when that's not possible, simple relief from stress when you are away from work. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, FIRST.
      • byoung2 10y ago
        Luckily the things we looked for in a home made the ideal home office: lots of space, an extra room that wasn't a bedroom, big lot so we couldn't hear the neighbors even when they party, fast Internet. The house we ended up buying was perfect for our kids on the way 2 extra bedrooms, and a 500 square foot sunroom, but now that I work remotely it's perfect for that too. If it gets too distracting at home I can walk to 1 of 4 coffee shops.
• austincheney 10y ago
  I cannot speak to my current employer as my handle is not anonymized. I will say that in prior employments the level of stress was directly correlated to the incompetence of the staff and developers. Incompetent people tend to create two problems: 1. Job insecurity. Politics ramp up as employee mobility goes down. 2. The technology is trash. The internal tech is often riddled with excessive abstractions, confused organization, lack of purpose, and other unnecessary qualities that generally slows people down. Its a real bummer when 10 minute task takes 2 weeks to complete in the office. I can only speak to large software companies and unfortunately the demand for employees will often exceed the available supply of confident AND experienced developers available in the market.
• shawabawa3 10y ago
  I've found I can quantify my overall stress level quite well by the length of my fingernails. The more stressed I am the shorter they get (through subconscious biting/chewing on them)
• dogmata 10y ago
  Surly the question is not how much stress full stop, but how much undue stress? Some jobs are just inherently stressful, an Account Manager under pressure to get orders/sales over the line at year end, a Support Manager working with irate customers and escalating issues etc etc. I've seen people go off sick with 'stress' and have staged re-introduction to the workplace, but if the role is inherently stressful maybe they weren't cut out for it in the 1st place. On the other hand undue levels of stress can be placed upon employees by bad management (usually to try and save their necks after they've messed up in someway), and sometimes people put themselves under pressure by holding themselves to high standards. Separating the source goes along way to being able to manage it.
• mcjiggerlog 10y ago
  Stress is hard to quantify. I generally find if I am having fleeting negative thoughts about work flashing though my mind outside of work hours then I am stressed and need to do something about it. When work is going well and is fairly stress-free then I will not spend a single second thinking about work outside of work.
• ggregoire 10y ago
  > How would you quantify the level of stress from %0 to %100? Reminds me when my employer asked me to rank my level of happiness at work. I hesitated between 7 and 8, the other guys in my team answered from 5 to 9.
• teekert 10y ago
  No stress. I work at a large healthcare company in the Netherlands, we do science, oncology. There are no real hard dead lines because stuff either works or it doesn't and is killed before it does (us scientists are known to keep trying for too long apparently). I get motivated when stuff gets hard and I get to learn new things. Currently I just had my second child and my project allows for me to work in public transport or at home easily (doing data science on our Linux cluster) making it easier to get to 8 hrs a day and still be at home to assist my wife (who was quite "damaged" during the delivery) as much as possible. This is important because I have an insane commute of 80 min. I like my job. I work 90% meaning I have a day off every two weeks. Plus, in the Netherlands there is Parenting leave meaning you can have about 1000 hours of unpaid leave anytime you like during your kids first 4 years, of course this is to be discussed with the boss but in my case it is always possible (I do it when it does not interfere with important meetings, conferences, colloquiums etc.) This is on top of the usual 5 weeks paid vacation every dutch person has.
  • iandanforth 10y ago
    Can I have your job please?
    • teekert 10y ago
      It's partly the job, partly the country I think. For example, I only get 2 days off (paid) when my daughter was born. My wife gets about 6 weeks. We complain it's unnatural for a woman to work while she should still properly breast feed and complain that I'm needed at home badly now. We look jealously to Finland where they get more than 100 days, even when you are self-employed and men get over 10 weeks off. All paid. Yeah, taxes I know but also, less stress.
      • koolba 10y ago
        If you're self employed who pays 100 days of salary? Does it come from the government and, if so, wouldn't it be very easy to game that system by paying yourself a high salary just prior to taking leave?
• iamben 10y ago
  Honestly sometimes it's zero stress. I feel absolutely fine. But stress creeps up on me - and I know it's hitting a peak when I start to get alopecia holes in my beard. It's only then I realise what's going on and how I'm feeling. A bit like boiling a frog, I guess. A physical manifestation is an ugly and unwelcome reminder to get on top of things.
• clueless123 10y ago
  Long ago, after a life event, I decided to ban stress as an "illogical activity". I've got so good at it, that sometimes I have to feign being stressed so the higher ups don't think I don't give a damn. (I do, I just don't consider work "life or death")
  • patothon 10y ago
    This. The only moments I feel stressed now is when I have to stand in front of 200 people.
    • clueless123 10y ago
      Try picturing them all in their underwear ;)
      • drdeadringer 10y ago
        Sometimes that causes more stress.
      • ci5er 10y ago
        Oh, great! 200 nearly naked people, each with stern looks of disapproval!
  • tgb 10y ago
    Can you elaborate? Do you avoid stressful situations or just not feel stressed by the kinds of situations that you used to encounter?
    • clueless123 10y ago
      As an example: Something that used to drive me bats was being asked to do something I clearly knew was wrong for the project/company. Before, I would fight hard to make my point. Now, I try to illustrate my point the best I can, then I just do as told. (I bill by the hour anyways) On a previous project I actually told a non-technical owner: "What you are asking me to do is basically to hit your finger with a hammer.. That said, it is YOUR finger and YOUR hammer.. so say so and I will do" (it actually worked!)
• TheOneTrueKyle 10y ago
  Stress level is at 100% for sure. In a giant corporation that is comfy and has 3 levels of middle management. I currently hate life and trying to find a new job. Everyday I wake up to rejection letters reminding me that I can't find anything better. At least I can fall between the cracks sometimes at work, but ultimately it is will be spent on applying to new jobs. Its getting harder to get out of the bed in the morning.
• debt 10y ago
  0% right now because I'm not working. I get stressed out when I need to work because I need money. And then I get work and money and I stress because of the work so I stop for a bit. It's a poorly choreographed dance between wanting money and not wanting to work.
• sailfast 10y ago
  If pressed to find some numbers, one might measure it using a few metrics: 1) Turnover percentage 2) Number of mandatory recurring meetings factor (divide top line by # of meetings?) 3) Strictness of "Core Hours" (meaning, does it cover the entire work day, or just part of it) Perhaps this is a percentage? 4) Leave policy (multiplier for good policies) 5) Work From Home policy multiplier (flexible? routine? abnormal?) 6) Hours worked per week 7) For Software add: Test Coverage %, Automated Deploy Apps divided by Total Apps %, Uptime % 8) Open Office penalty factor 9) Team Room # factor (number of rooms / number of teams)
• deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
• kzisme 10y ago
  As you sort-of eluded to - it varies by week. Most of the stress in my life is caused by commuting to and from work, or not relaxing after work (ie: Not going home right after work). Job wise - It's fairly stress free probably around 25%. The majority of that percentage is from waiting on other people or answers to questions, or things that I feel are out of my control. I enjoy the work I do, and it hardly feels like work (which is great), but I feel like I could be challenged more.
• lormayna 10y ago
  My level of stress at the moment is around 50%, just because I have resigned a couple of days ago. In the last 3/4 months the level of stress was 100%: a lot of overtime, a lot of nightly works and on duty calls. Furthermore my manager is part-time (the only case in my whole careeer) and it's under big pressure; the company is in the middle of a big reorganization and there is a lot of politic wars.
• tcgarvin 10y ago
  I read this question as "How would one go about quantifying the level of stress at work?", which is what I was hoping I would read about after the click. In a world where metrics are useful for everything, I feel like a time-series graph showing relative stress levels time would be really illuminating.
  • zild3d 10y ago
    My first thought as well, in the quantified self area. Plotting heart rate data, blood pressure, while working
  • hosh 10y ago
    I thought the same too. I suspect stress capacity is going to be different for each person, and that capacity might change or shift over time (as a result of physical health, emotional stability, etc.) Another is that the level of stress (and its attendent tension held in the body) one might be aware of is dependent on how well trained your awareness is. We could narrow down "stress" by measuring the levels of stress markers in the body, but I think that only gives part of the picture.
• koolba 10y ago
  It oscillates as a square wave between 0% and 100% depending on what's on fire, what's due, and who I have to deal with. There's significantly more 0%s than 100%s though. Probably close to 5:1.
• jcadam 10y ago
  I'm currently in my first 'non-programming' programmer role. I was hired to provide 'subject matter expertise' on software development issues and to help define requirements and design architecture. Meetings, talking to folks, writing documentation, meetings, drawing diagrams in visio, and meetings is my life now. It's stressful because 1.) I'm not coding (So, I literally have to whip out my laptop and code something every day to maintain my sanity) 2.) It's really hard to tell if I'm doing a good job or not (i.e., I don't know the rules of this new game). The pay is good, but I really miss being able to code in solitude for hours at a time during the workday. Also, I'm starting to get headaches, a lot. They used to be rare.
  • clueless123 10y ago
    Get a pet project in open source. Fast!
• alistairSH 10y ago
  50%. I have periodic stress - approaching major releases, major changes in staffing (up or down), but my day-to-day stress level isn't very high. I also work a reasonable schedule, generally 40-45 hours/week, rarely more than that, and maybe 2-3 weekends in 15 years at my employer. Good vacation policy, flexible daily schedule, and a short commute as well.
• anotheryou 10y ago
  From the title I understood you meant "how to quantify stress in general". It's something so subjective and you can never know how whimpy or brave people are. I really like the idea of asking for what one would sacrifice for the discomfort to go away. Would you move 2 workdays to the weekend so you can work in peace? Would you move to another town if there was a less stressfull job, all else equal?
• freddyc 10y ago
  I realize this doesn't necessarily answer the original question, but in my mind I view two major buckets of stress: 1. Immediate, demand-driven stress. 2. Low-level, semi-constant stress (the nagging kind). I'm perfectly fine with 1, as I accept that as part of the job which I'm highly compensated for. Number 2 though is what always affects me the most and is the reason I left my last role. It's the kind of stress that is alway present under the surface but never quite manifests itself like #1 does. Think of the boss who is constantly inconsistent (consistently inconsistent?), saying something one day and then something completely different the next. You shrug it off with an eyeroll and start re-doing all of your work, but deep down it eats away at you. Or the lazy colleague who you're constantly cleaning up after but who is best buddies with leadership so is regularly promoted ahead of more capable colleagues. The frustration bubbles under the surface but due to office politics there's nothing you can really do about it. I could go on, but I'm sure we've all suffered some form of low level stress that has a far more significant impact on our personal well-being than we care to admit.
• zwieback 10y ago
  5% of hours in a typical work week. The occasional machine-down situation due to a bug I put in the software or a disagreement with a higher-level manager.
• nunez 10y ago
  Despite being in quite stressful situations at the moment (consulting with tight deadlines and unclear deliverables), I actually feel quite at ease. Team is great, client and location are great and my weekends are protected.
• thescribe 10y ago
  Extreme, the open office plan means I'm constantly interrupted no matter what I do.
• apimenta 10y ago
  Hi, I'm working on a project called Performetric (https://performetric.net https://performetric.net) that aims to help objectively measure levels of fatigue and stress and help manage some situations mentioned here. I am not doing my “pitch” here, but trying understand if a solution like our can help you