There are hundreds of possible causes for job-related stress and one of the most common is seen when employees and managers alike are given near-impossible goals and set unrealistic deadlines. Now competition in a fast moving business can be fun, but when the goals and deadlines sets don't serve valid business ends such as improving sales, optimizing work flow or enhancing communication then they are generally resented.

Add to that the all-too-common unreasonable boss or uncooperative co-worker and the scene is set for a stressful environment. In far too many companies, both large and small, people are often put in charge when they are poorly qualified to lead others. In many cases such people are frequently disrespectful of others and are generally more interested in pleasing their manager than improving productivity and getting the job done.

Unrealistic goals and unfair managers are the two reasons most commonly given when questioning people about stress at work and the underlying reason for their stress is often an absence of control over their lives.

Many people possess well-developed problem solving skills. Take the example of mothers in the workplace who know only too well how to manage time, multi-task multiple demands and innovate new solutions. They practice these skills every day at home. They also know quite a bit about how to settle disputes among individuals, all of whom may be partly right and partly wrong.

Men too have plenty of experience in prioritizing resources, responding to complaints and deciding when to push and when to compromise. They also practice these skills every day at home.

More often than not however the workplace fails to mirror the freedom to use your thinking skills and to exercise your power to enact a workable solution. Targets generally come from above and there is little debate allowed. People working in organizations of this nature experience obligations without authority and that is an almost certain guarantee of stress.

The most often cited reason for stress at work is that an individual has demands placed upon him but is not given the resources to meet them. Put in these terms it is easy to see how stress arises since stress is fundamentally caused by a feeling that there is something that you "must" do but which you "can't" do because you don't have the necessary resources.

Fortunately, an increasing number of organizations are starting to recognize this problem and are taking positive steps to address it. With any luck, you may be employed by one such organization.