Sniffing a colleague's armpit, booking nap time in a "sleep pod" and sneaking out to rub a cat's tummy at lunchtime have emerged as the latest stress-busters for workaholics.
The unorthodox suggestions are included in a guide to a stress-free career, compiled for the New Scientist magazine by researchers investigating the causes of anxiety in the workplace.
According to Jacqueline Vischer at the University of Montreal, just having the wrong working space can make people stressed. The flow of colleagues through an office can break down communication and a sense of belonging, and even vague worries over the "feel" of a room can affect worker's attitudes.
"There's a hidden productivity cost of trying to make do with space that doesn't work," she said.
One of the most successful ways of cutting stress is to climb the ranks, according to the guide. A study of thousands of civil servants found that the lower a man's status, the more likely he was to die young. Researchers believe having little control over work life leads to chronic stress that eventually triggers a range of medical problems including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a related increase in heart problems. If promotion is a distant prospect, the researchers suggest taking control over working hours, bonding with those around you or raising your level of education.
Hanging out at the water cooler, lunching with colleagues and confiding in one another have also been found to reduce stress. Civil servants who had moral support from colleagues and encouragement from supervisors were healthier and less stressed. Being too sociable can exacerbate stress though, said Gloria Mark, a researcher at the University of California.
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
‘BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS’: The US military’s aim is to continue to make any potential Chinese invasion more difficult than it already is, US General Ronald Clark said The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is “very, very small” because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a US general has said. General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), the US Army’s largest service component command, made the remarks during a dialogue hosted on Friday by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Asked by the event host what the Chinese military has learned from its US counterpart over the years, Clark said that the first lesson is that the skill and will of US service members are “unmatched.” The second
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
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