The Professional Effects of Pain: How Back Pain Can Impact Your Work Performance

No matter the cause or origin, back pain can impact every aspect of your life, from the personal all the way to the professional. Anyone who has experienced lasting or chronic pain can attest to that. It does more than affect your physical state of being; it can tank your mood, impact your relationships, and have a serious impact on your productivity and effectiveness. It’s important to be able to recognize the ways that back pain can have a ripple effect throughout your home and work life, and to know how to minimize both the pain and the negative effects caused by it. 

The Drain of Physical Discomfort

The largest and most recognizable part of back pain is the physical sensation of pain. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t point to the physical effects as the part that impacts them the most. Battling through pain while you’re at work can make even the most mundane or simple tasks require a great deal of effort and can leave you feeling drained and exhausted. 

Everything is more difficult to accomplish when you are also having to contend with discomfort on top of it. It can also make it more difficult - or even impossible - to do the regular tasks that are required of you at work.

There may even be times when the pain is preventing you from going into work at all. When you experience chronic pain, these frequent missed days can add up quickly and can lead your team and management to see you as unreliable. This can not only contribute to a loss of trust, but it can also require you to work twice as hard when you are feeling well enough to work to make up for the time missed. This in turn can lead to increased strain on you and exacerbate the issue, making it a never-ending cycle that is hard to escape from.

Emotional Impact

The physical strain is far from the only strain that can be caused by back pain. Having to deal with feeling pain constantly can cause your mental and emotional health to suffer as well.

It forces your brain to constantly remain in a fight-or-flight state that wears down your ability to deal with other stressors and negative emotions.

Changes in Mood

Irritability is one of the most noticeable symptoms of back pain, at least that your coworkers and customers will experience. When you are already having to deal with pain, it makes it more difficult to handle other negative emotions, causing you to snap at others. Even mild inconveniences can cause a negative reaction, since you are already handling other difficult feelings and sensations, both physically and emotionally.

Mental Health Changes

Your outward expressions of emotion aren’t the only things being influenced when you are experiencing back pain. Studies have shown that people who experience chronic pain are more likely to show an increase in depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. The strain that it puts on your mental health to spend each day in pain is hard to overstate, which is part of the reason it’s so important to seek help whenever you experience signs of lingering pain. 

These mental health struggles can make it difficult to find purpose in your work and can lead to burnout and resentment related to your job. This is only amplified if your work makes the pain worse or otherwise impacts your mental health. It’s a snowball effect that can be difficult to stop unless you know the best ways to counteract it. 

How to Combat Back Pain

Seeking support

When you start to experience any kind of back pain, it’s important that you begin looking for support- both literally and figuratively. Even if the symptoms are small, they can quickly worsen and lead to serious medical conditions like nerve compression, slipped disks, or pinched nerves, among others. Catching it early is the best way to stop it from turning into a much more serious problem down the road. 

If you are experiencing pain, it’s also important that you are able to communicate with your team, leadership, and HR about what’s going on. They may be able to help you put strategies into place to keep the pain from getting worse, or alter tasks or schedules to allow you to continue to do your best work. If your team knows what’s going on, this can also help prevent feelings of resentment. Talking about any mental health struggles is also an important part of overcoming them and building a strong support network.

Wellness Initiatives

Many companies are placing a high priority on employee wellness, both physical and mental. Look for initiatives sponsored by your company that can help you get moving to help prevent pain. Be sure to also fully explore your benefits packages to have a full picture of what your company offers. You may be surprised by what is covered under your employee benefit plan. 

Physical Space

The physical space that you work in plays a large role in preventing back pain. You want to ensure that your desk or other work area is arranged in a way that allows for ergonomics that fit you, not just a standard idea. Screens should be at the right height to avoid neck cramping; you should have a chair that supports your back and knees; and you should have the space to stretch and take breaks when needed. All of these together can make your space at work a place that you find both comfortable and productive.

Conclusion

Back pain can easily derail even the most productive employees and cause them to struggle with their daily workload. Recognizing the signs of pain in yourself and others can help you get ahead of the curve and allow you and your team to do your best work. A strong support system and robust wellness initiatives can help you stay ahead and feel healthy, mentally and physically. When you feel good, the quality of your work reflects it, and you’ll be able to reach your full potential at work and in life.

---

By Sherjan Husainie