Poll: How would you describe your work-related stress level on an ongoing basis?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Sep 3, 2015

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How would you describe your work-related stress level on an ongoing basis?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:15
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Moderately low Sep 3, 2015

As I said before (another poll) I don’t stress as much as I used to… In the very beginning I pulled numerous all-nighters in the process of meeting deadlines and I’m sure I have gained a few gray hairs, but now (many years later) I know myself quite well, I’m still extremely motivated, I understand my limitations, I learned to say “no”, I became extremely organized and methodical, I never bite off more than I can chew and over the years I have learned the importance of taking time ou... See more
As I said before (another poll) I don’t stress as much as I used to… In the very beginning I pulled numerous all-nighters in the process of meeting deadlines and I’m sure I have gained a few gray hairs, but now (many years later) I know myself quite well, I’m still extremely motivated, I understand my limitations, I learned to say “no”, I became extremely organized and methodical, I never bite off more than I can chew and over the years I have learned the importance of taking time out for myself!

Having said that, clients that are bad or slow payers still send me through the roof!

I must say though that I’m kind of stressed right now, but my actual stress is not directly related to work: later this month I’m moving back to Portugal after 30 very happy years in Belgium…
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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
Moderately high Sep 3, 2015

Although I'm tempted to post "Other" as usual, I must admit that I often allow myself to be quite stressed from time to time. This summer has been busier than any others I can recall - I haven't taken any time off at all in the past two months, and the message is rammed home to me every time a client pops up in my inbox saying things like " that's me back now, how was your summer vacation?" Nevertheless, it's my bed and now I'll have to lie on it.

Perhaps I should learn to say "no".
... See more
Although I'm tempted to post "Other" as usual, I must admit that I often allow myself to be quite stressed from time to time. This summer has been busier than any others I can recall - I haven't taken any time off at all in the past two months, and the message is rammed home to me every time a client pops up in my inbox saying things like " that's me back now, how was your summer vacation?" Nevertheless, it's my bed and now I'll have to lie on it.

Perhaps I should learn to say "no"... ?
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John Cutler
John Cutler  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
Moderate to High Sep 3, 2015

I figure each of my clients has their own individual deadlines to meet. When one or more (sometimes 3 or 4) of those deadlines suddenly becomes mine, it obviously raises the stress rate proportionally. I call it MDRS (Multiple Deadline Related Stress).

 
Stephanie Mitchel
Stephanie Mitchel  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:15
French to English
What, me worry? Sep 3, 2015

Let's see... between being at full-on exam-level concentration for the duration of every job, pushing back against rate erosion, contending with feast-or-famine scheduling, and wondering when exactly my clients who were in a tearing hurry to get their work will get around to paying me? Yeah, slightly to highly stressed much of the time.

 
DianeGM
DianeGM  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:15
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Variable ... Sep 3, 2015

I would say that my ambient stress level is pretty low, but I experience occasional high stress blips. Summer was extremely busy and hot, which is a perfect storm for increasing anyone's stress level.

 
Erzsébet Czopyk
Erzsébet Czopyk  Identity Verified
Hungary
Local time: 10:15
Member (2006)
Russian to Hungarian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
inspiring comment Sep 3, 2015

Teresa Borges wrote:

As I said before (another poll) I don’t stress as much as I used to… In the very beginning I pulled numerous all-nighters in the process of meeting deadlines and I’m sure I have gained a few gray hairs, but now (many years later) I know myself quite well, I’m still extremely motivated, I understand my limitations, I learned to say “no”, I became extremely organized and methodical, I never bite off more than I can chew and over the years I have learned the importance of taking time out for myself!

Having said that, clients that are bad or slow payers still send me through the roof!

I must say though that I’m kind of stressed right now, but my actual stress is not directly related to work: later this month I’m moving back to Portugal after 30 very happy years in Belgium…


Dear Teresa, i am still in progress, but thank you for your inspiring comment "the importance of taking time out for myself"...


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 18:15
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Stress is a variable Sep 3, 2015

Like DianeGM says.

If you knew what average to expect everyday, you could handle it more easily. But it's not that simple.
Stress hits you in unexpected waves - or instantaneous spikes - most often caused by others' idiocy or extraneous factors such as:

- For some inexplicable reason, I could not access the Internet when I booted up the machines this morning. After fiddling around the hardware connections, the problem righted itself OK but after about 40 minutes.
... See more
Like DianeGM says.

If you knew what average to expect everyday, you could handle it more easily. But it's not that simple.
Stress hits you in unexpected waves - or instantaneous spikes - most often caused by others' idiocy or extraneous factors such as:

- For some inexplicable reason, I could not access the Internet when I booted up the machines this morning. After fiddling around the hardware connections, the problem righted itself OK but after about 40 minutes.

stress level 10/10

- The customer sends an 'urgent' e-mail at 1 pm telling me to right away send the files she was expecting first thing in the morning when I told here that I would be delivering EOB.

stress level 7/10

- A new PM just can't get e-mails right and I have to field 4 or 5 extra inquiries to straighten things out.

stress level 4/10

To answer this question, I really have to say "Other N/A" since it's never an average. Stress comes out of the blue like a bolt of lightning. The more experienced you are, the more you know how to deal with it. But stress is stress.

Here's an article I found. The young woman in the picture might even be a translator. Poor lass!

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
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Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:15
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Stress is over, thank God! Sep 3, 2015

I used to be very stressed with my work before I became a full-time translator. Working in-house, having a boss and working hours is what causes stress. As soon as I eliminated in-house jobs from my life, I was never stressed again. My family thanks me and God everyday ever since.

Believe me, if you have never worked in-house, with a boss and working hours, you do not know what professional stress is. And I hope you'll never find out. Those who have worked only as freelance translat
... See more
I used to be very stressed with my work before I became a full-time translator. Working in-house, having a boss and working hours is what causes stress. As soon as I eliminated in-house jobs from my life, I was never stressed again. My family thanks me and God everyday ever since.

Believe me, if you have never worked in-house, with a boss and working hours, you do not know what professional stress is. And I hope you'll never find out. Those who have worked only as freelance translators so far will consider a tight deadline, eating and sleeping irregularly and a lot of work a real stress. My dear, this is NOTHING compared to the moral harassment and dirty competition, typical of the traditional office/company environment.

[Edited at 2015-09-03 23:29 GMT]
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Stephanie Mitchel
Stephanie Mitchel  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:15
French to English
Not to mention the commute! Sep 3, 2015

Mario Freitas wrote:
My dear, this is NOTHING compared to the moral harassment and dirty competition, typical of the traditional office/company environment.

[Edited at 2015-09-03 23:29 GMT]


I have worked in some classic pressure-cooker translation agencies, suffering blasting AC, endless meetings, incredibly repetitive work, zero guidance / full liability, office politics, and the knowledge that my time was going down the drain. AND sat on the highway two hours every day for the privilege.

The upside was I knew when I would get my little check; the downside was the rest of it.


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:15
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
But, Steph, this is quite unusual, Sep 4, 2015

Stephanie Mitchel wrote:

Mario Freitas wrote:
My dear, this is NOTHING compared to the moral harassment and dirty competition, typical of the traditional office/company environment.

[Edited at 2015-09-03 23:29 GMT]


I have worked in some classic pressure-cooker translation agencies, suffering blasting AC, endless meetings, incredibly repetitive work, zero guidance / full liability, office politics, and the knowledge that my time was going down the drain. AND sat on the highway two hours every day for the privilege.

The upside was I knew when I would get my little check; the downside was the rest of it.


I agree with you that may have been quite stressing, but meetings and two hours on the highway are not part of a regular freelancer job. It's more like the in-house jobs I mentioned. A freelancer hardly ever has any physical contact with their agency or client. As a matter of fact, I only have one single client in my own town. All others are more than 500 miles away. This type of contact, although very stressing, is not a freelance issue.

[Edited at 2015-09-04 03:28 GMT]


 


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Poll: How would you describe your work-related stress level on an ongoing basis?






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