Ergonomics: the study of people’s problems in adapting to their environment; sp. the science that seeks to adapt work or working conditions to the taste of the worker.

By its very nature, “high tech” means constant transitions and changes, and this means constantly high levels of stress in adapting to these changes. Our primitive mechanisms for adapting to change are often overwhelmed by the changing, high-tech world in which we need to live and work. Virtually everyone agrees that negative transitions like; job insecurity due to downsizing (“downsizing”, etc.) or financial insecurities (i.e. credit card debt, mortgages, college fees, stock market changes, etc.) or health problems (i.e. , illness, chronic illness, injury, stress symptoms, etc.), or insecurities in emotional relationships (divorce, courtship, changes in family roles, two-income families) and international or regional political upheavals (as presented “from up close and in person” in our homes on television) are seen as stressful with potential drawbacks to their health and well-being.

Change “good”: same results

Transitions and changes are not always bad. However, even positive change can create responses within our primitive response mechanisms that can lead to negative symptoms of physical and emotional stress. In the last ten years alone, high-tech advances have increased productivity expectations and often time commitments to respond to work pressures. Remember life before: fax machines, voicemail, email, cell phones, cellular faxes, instant international business applications, and yes, even the Internet? Sure you can turn them off, ignore them, control them (???,) but the pressures to respond and keep up with changing hardware/software technologies are still there, even if you bury your head in the sands of DENIAL. ….

To prove a point about how stress/positive change can be dramatically bad for your health, I want to tell a short story. When I was a child, I read an article in the newspaper about a man suffering from good fortune. The story said that a man had won the Irish lottery. He had made a fortune…$100,000, which in those days was a lot of money! He was so happy with his good luck that he celebrated in an unfortunate way…he died of a heart attack! How many people do you know who get a new job or relationship and end up paying the price for this positive stress?

In the last ten years, people are developing new symptoms of this technology. Eye strain, back strain, wrist/hand strain, neck problems, even weight gain and substance abuse can be loosely related to long hours in the world of computers and technology. New industries are even springing up to take advantage of the health and safety needs of the everyday computer user and high-tech worker.

Who reading this article can say that our primitive response to the stress of millions of years of adaptation and survival has been able to keep up with these last decades of change? Have you developed a new midbrain response to the old flight/fight response? If we cannot change the world around us, or the people we do business with, or the people we have to live with, or the global changes that affect us, then we can at least be aware of this dilemma and avoid becoming a VICTIM of these changes! We have CONTROL over how we RESPOND to these changes.

Awareness is half the battle! Know how YOU respond to stress and what in your life is causing this transitional stress… THEN, you need to develop daily wellness habits to stay off the “edge” of falling into negative physical and emotional responses to stress. . You can GET BACK IN CONTROL! It can prevent, or at least minimize, symptoms of stress such as: headaches, backaches, neck pains, high blood pressure, panic, anxiety, many stomach problems, sexual dysfunctions, possibly reduce autoimmune problems such as allergies or some forms of arthritis. , sleep problems, bruxism, TMJ, etc… Emotional symptoms such as: loss of concentration, withdrawal (depression), anxiety, being accident prone, memory loss, lack of motivation, poor communication, poor performance , some learning difficulties, etc. they can be linked to stress and reduced, if not eliminated, through changes in consciousness/lifestyle. Key employees can receive executive/staff training and this can prevent them from becoming passive due to inefficiency, low productivity or poorer training replacements for these key people. This is as true for families as it obviously is for businesses.

The remedies are as broad as the variables that have created the problems. However, most people perform better when they engage in regular (daily) self-care, which often includes: Relaxation (stress management (tapes, exercises, one-on-one counseling)), Physical exercise (5 times per week for more than 30 minutes) and proper nutrition (including mineral and antioxidant supplements NOT readily found in usable forms in the high-tech or mass-produced processed foods we eat).

Please take care.