Is Your Job Making You Ill Book Review @duffythewriter

Is Your Job Making You Ill? A practical guide on how to look for symptoms, face the challenges and ultimately decide on a path to happiness at work.

What’s Is Your Job Making You Ill About?

A book on coping with and treating work-related illness by high-profile GP Dr Ellie Cannon

‘An incredibly helpful guide’ Jonny Benjamin MBE

Work-related ill health can happen to anyone. This book is all about how to survive and thrive when it happens to you.

We all have a moan about going to work: groaning about getting on the bus in the rush hour, counting down to the weekend. A gripe here and there is understandable and expected, but what happens when the effects of work are far more detrimental to your wellbeing than a simple case of Sunday-night blues?

When you are in this situation, it can be very difficult to know where to turn, who to speak to or where to find good quality help and advice. In Is Your Job Making You Ill?, Dr Ellie Cannon uses her decade of experience treating patients to create an essential resource for anybody suffering from job-related ill-health.

Part one of the book lays out the key causes of job-related illness – from the pressure of an unmanageable workload to the challenges of an emotionally-draining job – and identifies the most common illnesses and symptoms which can occur as a result, including stress, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure and IBS.

Part two will help you to find a way out. It includes a practical, self-directed programme that can be tailored to your individual circumstances, covering everything from where to find help, when (and if) to seek professional advice or take time off work, to micro-actions like improving your commute and adjusting your diet to support a healthy lifestyle.

Duffy’s Thoughts On Is Your Job Making You Ill?

Let’s face it, we’ve all had that horrible burning feeling in our tummies on a Sunday night, knowing we have a big, bad, stressful week at work ahead.  We’ve also all had those nights here and there where we just can’t switch off and imaginary conversations take place with work colleagues in our heads regarding scenarios that never eventuate.

That’s the nature of work. Whether you are working for no-one or managing a large team there are periods of stress and anxiety. In some cases, a little bit of stress and pressure actually helps you to perform better! But, extended periods of applied pressure in a negative environment can only end badly for our mind, body and performance.

Dr Ellie Cannon is a high profile GP from the UK and this book is angled at the UK market, particularly when it comes to the HR law parts, so be mindful of that if you are reading in Australia. I guess, with this book, I was looking for more tips on how to deal with certain situations at work suck as conflict and toxic staff members, but being a GP, Is Your Job Making You Ill focusses more on the treatment of the physical and mental affects of workplace stress.

If you’ve read self-help books on anxiety and dealing with stress generally, there isn’t anything new to be found here, although this is a recommended read for those who are suddenly feeling sick, anxious, stressed, or IBS and have a sneaky suspicion it could be work-related.

The main theme here is to recognise that there is a problem and either manage the stress if you want to stay in your job through diet, exercise, medication or recognise the harm your job is doing to your body and look for something completely different.  The biggest step is realising the effects your job is having on you and overcoming the fear of walking away or trying a different tactic.

Is Your Job Making You Ill – 2.5 out of 5 from me (3 if you’re a UK reader)

Copy given to be by Hachette in exchange for an honest review. Buy now from Booktopia!