Shift work stress is without a doubt, rife amongst shift workers throughout the world. But when you add job loss or the possibility of job loss into the equation, then it’s an entirely different ball game.

Now as an employee of Qantas, Australia’s national airline, I certainly became exposed to this type of uncertainty when our CEO decided to ground the entire fleet of aircraft due to ongoing industrial action.

And it goes without saying that it left all employees speechless – not to mentioned stressed and anxious about what was unfolding behind the scenes.

And having gone through a similar roller-coaster ride some 10 years ago when I lost my job with Austalia’s other airline, Ansett Australia, when it too became grounded but this time permanently, it would be fair to see that I am suitably “qualified” to know what job loss is all about, not to mention the stress that goes along with it.

You see apart from the death of a spouse or relative, job insecurity is regarded as one of the largest causes of stress. And given the uncertainty surrounding the recent grounding of the Qantas fleet, (and the somewhat stress and anxiety placed upon staff and customers alike) – I have to say that I felt the following quote was appropriate to share amongst my fellow shift working colleagues.

“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.” ~ Glenn Turner.

Of course this quote applies to all aspects of our lives.

And I’m not going to deny stress – in particular shift work stress is nothing to be concerned about.

It most certainly is.

In fact any type of stress can cause damage to our overall health and well-being – both physically and mentally.

But having been through the whole job loss saga before, don’t let shift work stress (or any type of stress for that matter) – define your life.

Even though I would not wish this upon anyone, if you do end up losing your job for some reason, sometimes it can end up being the best thing that ever happens to you as you are forced to do something completely different with your life.

As Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

So just remember that every closed door (in this case a loss of a job), might end up being the catalyst towards an entirely different change in career for you. In fact it may end up being one which is more enjoyable and satisfying than the one that you’re in right now.

And that of course, is always going to be a good thing.

If you’re a shift worker who feels tired all of the time, then sleep deprivation can certainly be one of the main causes – but not the only one. In fact it may actually be stress that is causing you to feel so tired all of the time.

Because whenever you’re feeling stressed, it affects both your mental and physical well-being which can lead to an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion.

What is interesting is that we all react differently to stress. One scenario may feel extremely stressful to one person, however prove insignificant to another. It all depends on your beliefs and your own perception of a stressful situation.

The key to minimizing the effects of stress is to try and control the level of stress that you experience every day. You will also need to establish what causes stress in your life and make the necessary changes.

Working shift work alone is stressful – no question. Just getting up in the middle of the night or the very early hours of the morning is adding a lot of unnecessary stress on your body.

But if you can’t change the erratic hours that you work, what else can you do to help reduce stress in your life?

Step 1 – Find a hobby or get involved in some other relaxing activity.

Step 2 – Exercise regularly - it can help relieve any tension that you may feel.

Step 3 – Stop worrying! Because 90% of what we worry about never happens, so let go of these kind of thoughts for good.

Step 4 – Accept change - it’s an integral part of life. Stressing about something that you can’t change is only going to add to your fatigue.

Step 5 – Surround yourself with positive, like-minded people. They will help uplift and energize you, instead of making you feel even more tired.

So stop stressing and start relaxing, because when you do – your days of constant fatigue and tiredness will become a thing of the past.