by P. Onh

Created on: May 08, 2009   Last Updated: July 26, 2009

When you bring your problems home from work, everyone suffers, because work problems cause stress. When you're stressed, you take it out on your family, and that stresses them out, too. Everyone gets cranky, family members bicker, and that stresses you out even more. Meanwhile, the problem at work still exists because - surprise! - worrying about it at home doesn't do anything to solve the problem. That problem just hangs out at work, waiting for you to come back and take care of it. Worrying about it at home, where you can't do anything about it anyway, only increases your anxiety. Meanwhile, you're neglecting to spend time with your family or taking care of yourself.

Stress affects your health in addition to family relationships. You can't sleep. You can't eat - or, if you're like me, you overeat. You don't exercise, because you don't feel motivated. As if all these things weren't bad enough, that anxiety is raising your blood pressure, too. And if you find yourself in the likely position of sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle, you're distracted, irritable, and aggressive. You're an accident waiting to happen. Clearly, you can see that stressing over something you can't control anyway is bad for your health. And you don't need health problems compounding your worry, because then you're stress will just continue to go up and up.

So you need to learn to leave your problems at work and not dwell on them. You know what you need to remember?

It's only money.

Sure, that's easier said than done. We all need money; it's essential for survival. Not having enough money to get by would probably cause you more stress than your problems at work. But, we're not talking about your money, here. We're talking about the company's money.

I'm not advocating bad stewardship practices. Of course you should take your job seriously and be commended for it your problem solving skills. Of course you should take care of the company's resources to the best of your ability. It's what you're paid to do. You obviously care about the company's resources, about your coworkers, and about doing a good job, since you're worried about the problems you face there. Caring about your employer is a good thing, and there is nothing wrong with worrying about problems at work while you're at work. The trick is leaving your concern at the door when you go home. You do this by recognizing that it's only money, and it's not the end of the world. This problem at work in itself isn't affecting your health. It isn't affecting your relationships, your family life, or your spiritual life. It's affecting money - someone else's money - and you're doing the best you can to safeguard the business. Give yourself a break. Leave your problems at work.

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