Dealing With Stress

Maybe you’ve had headaches or stomach pain. Or you’ve found yourself snapping at family members and tossing and turning at night, unable to fall asleep.

The cause of all these different symptoms could be the same problem — stress. Not only can stress result in a number of short-term issues like the ones above, if left unchecked, it can also do long-term damage to your health.

What is stress?

Stress is the body’s way of reacting to a potentially dangerous situation. The rush of adrenaline that accompanies your body’s stress response is good news out in the wilderness where you might need a burst of energy to outrun a bear, according to the Mayo Clinic. But in a modern environment when the source of stress is the evening commute or work pressure, that same physical response can be harmful, particularly when it is chronic.

Chronic stress can harm your body and produce numerous aches and pains, including the following:

• Back pain
• Anxiety
• Bowel changes
• Jaw pain
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue
• Headaches

Recognizing stress

So, how do you know when you’re too stressed out? The following are some signs to look for, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

• You feel tense. When your body is stressed, you’ll feel tightness in your neck, back and shoulders. Pay attention to your body so you can recognize this symptom.

• You’re experiencing a life change. Stress is often triggered by life changes, such as a job loss, a new child, getting married or financial problems. Look for signs of stress during these times.

• You’ve gained or lost weight. Weight loss or weight gain are common when a person is stressed.

• You feel helpless or out of control. According to the Cleveland Clinic, when a person is stressed they may feel like events are catastrophic and unmanageable.

Take control of stress

If these sound like symptoms you’re experiencing, it’s time to take action. There are a number of things you can do to manage chronic stress, according to The National Institute of Mental Health.

First, it’s important to take care of yourself physically. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating properly and exercising. It’s also important to focus on your mental well-being. Look to friends and family as a support system or seek out a mental health professional. You can also take time to do things you enjoy, such as listening to music, writing poetry or taking a long walk on the beach, according to the Cleveland Clinic. And practice some relaxation skills, such as deep breathing or meditation.

If you recognize and learn how to manage stress, you can help prevent it from taking a physical and mental toll on your body.

For further reading

Check out the following resources for more information on handling stress:

• The Mayo Clinic

• The Cleveland Clinic

• The National Institute of Mental Health

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In The Words of Willard Mitt Romney…

“Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings, my friend.” —Mitt Romney to a heckler at the Iowa State Fair who suggested that taxes should be raised on corporations as part of balancing the budget (August 2011)

“I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” –Mitt Romney, using an unfortunate choice of words while advocating for consumer choice in health insurance plans (January 2012)

“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.” —Mitt Romney (January 2012)

“He [Obama] says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.” —Mitt Romney at a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 8, 2012

“I’ll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry’s come back.” –Mitt Romney, –Mitt Romney, on the American auto industry, despite having written a New York Times op-ed in 2008 titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” in which he said if GM, Ford and Chrysler got a government bailout “you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye”

“It’s hard to know just how well [the 2012 London Olympics] will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting. The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging.” –Mitt Romney, insulting Britain on the eve of the Olympics by suggesting the country is not ready, NBC News interview, July 25, 2012

“I’ll tell you what, ten-thousand bucks? $10,000 bet?” –Mitt Romney, attempting to make a wager with Rick Perry during a Republican presidential debate to settle a disagreement about health care (December 2011)

“I should tell my story. I’m also unemployed.” —Mitt Romney, speaking in 2011 to unemployed people in Florida. Romney’s net worth is over $200 million.

“[My wife] drives a couple of Cadillacs.” –Mitt Romney, campaigning for president in Michigan (February 2012)

“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.” –Mitt Romney (January 2012)

“Join me in welcoming the next president of the United States, Paul Ryan.” –Mitt Romney, committing a gaffe while introducing his running mate, Norfolk, Va., Aug. 11, 2012

“PETA is not happy that my dog likes fresh air.” —Mitt Romney in 2007, responding to criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals following revelations that he had once put the family dog in a carrier and strapped it to the roof of his car during a 12-hour road trip

“I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners.” —Mitt Romney, after being asked whether he follows NASCAR racing (February 2012)

“There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip” –Mitt Romney, attempting to identify with the problems of average folk (January 2012)

“I’m not sure about these cookies. They don’t look like you made them. No, no. They came from the local 7/11 bakery, or whatever.” —Mitt Romney, visiting a local bakery while campaigning in Pittsburgh, PA, April 17, 2012 (The owner of the baker later told MSNBC he was offended by Romney’s remarks.)

“I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks.” —Mitt Romney to a group of NASCAR fans wearing plastic ponchos at the Daytona 500 (February 2012)

“We have a president, who I think is is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps.” —Mitt Romney, who has two Harvard degrees (April 5, 2012)

“I love this state. The trees are the right height.” —Mitt Romney, campaigning in Michigan (February 2012)

“I’m running for office for Pete’s sake, we can’t have illegals” –Mitt Romney, recalling his reaction when he learned that there were illegal aliens working the ground on his property, employed by a firm that he subsequently fired (October 2011)

“I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.” —Mitt Romney, who earned $374,000 in speaking fees in one year according to according to his personal financial disclosure (January 2012)

“It’s not worth moving heaven and earth, spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.” —Mitt Romney, speaking in 2007 about killing Osama bin Laden

“Who let the dogs out? Who, who.” –Mitt Romney, during an awkward photo op with a group of African Americans kids at a Martin Luther King Day parade (January 2008)

“I’m Wolf Blitzer and yes, that’s my real name.” —CNN’s Wolf Blitzer at the beginning of a November 2011 Republican presidential debate
“I’m Mitt Romney—and yes Wolf, that’s also my first name.” —Mitt Romney, getting his own name wrong (his first name is “Willard,” and his middle name is “Mitt”)

“I’m not familiar precisely with what I said, but I’ll stand by what I said, whatever it was.” —Mitt Romney (May 17, 2012)

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Offshoring Becoming Obsolete

U.S. business executives, including NOVO 1 CEO Mary Murcott, recently met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the future of offshoring in the U.S.

Many domestic companies seem to be thinking twice about being overseas. With the threat of consequences from the U.S. government and the advent of cloud-based, or hosted, technologies, the topic of bringing operations back to U.S. soil has been a hot one in recent months.

Insourcing is the New Outsourcing

A panel of U.S. business executives met in a roundtable conference with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on January 11, 2012 to discuss tactics for insourcing: encouraging businesses to return their outsourced operations to the U.S. The panel included NOVO 1 CEO Mary Murcott, whose company was a founding member of the Jobs4America Coalition, which has been working since August 2011 to bring an estimated 100,000 call center jobs back into the U.S.

Murcott was also selected to participate in the “Insourcing American Jobs” forum and later appeared in the televised segment “Status of Businesses in the U.S.”, which also focused on how to approach this growing business trend.

In remarks following the roundtable discussion, President Obama praised the efforts of companies that have already made the decision to insource. He said, “These companies are choosing to invest in the one country with the most productive workers, best universities, and most creative and innovative entrepreneurs in the world: the United States of America.”

Murcott seems to share the President’s view.

During the “Insourcing American Jobs” forum, she stated that offshoring call centers is simply no longer profitable for U.S. businesses. After factoring in all relative costs and lost revenue, it is more expensive to maintain a call center overseas. Not to mention the inconvenience of language and cultural barriers, factors that have contributed to increased handle times and customer dissatisfaction.

Murcott also notes that many call center jobs have already returned to the U.S. – a trend that seems to be growing steadily as reports of call center expansions continue to make headlines.

Is Outsourcing Obsolete?

The evolution of hosted services in recent years has enabled many call centers to employ domestic agents (with the added bonus of creating jobs within the U.S.) for a fraction of offshoring costs.

In the press release for Kunnect’s new cloud-based software company president Fred Cote summed up what many executives may be feeling in regards to hosted contact centers and offshoring. Cote said, “Today, many organizations are understandably reluctant to offshore call center services — they would prefer to keep their business in the U.S., particularly in light of proposed legislation.”

Kunnect recently announced its affiliation with Jobs4America and supports driving awareness on the need for domestic job growth, as well as the role that cloud-based platforms may play in those efforts.

Is outsourcing obsolete? Not yet. But, looking at the strides that organizations like Jobs4America have made in just a few short months, it may be gone sooner than we think. Possibly by the end of 2012.

Why? In a brief statement during his remarks at the roundtable, President Obama alluded to plans for a series of new tax breaks for companies that help accelerate the return of jobs to the U.S., as well as an end special tax treatment for companies that outsource offshore. If, and when, these plans come through, the U.S. call center industry can expect to see major changes headed its way.

The value of offshoring jobs has been called into question over the last few years and CEO’s still engaging in this process are risking the security of their existing customers who may prefer to have their accounts in the hands of domestic employees rather than in some third world destination.  While short term costs may be reduced, the potential future lost revenue could make offshoring the most expensive path a company could take.

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