Headaches: A Pain in the Office

“What a headache!” It’s a phrase that refers to anything that’s stressful, complicated, inconvenient, and bothersome.

“I can’t; I have a headache.” It’s a commonly cited (if often transparent) excuse that gets people out of doing things they don’t want to do. After all, it can’t be proven true or false, which makes it unlikely that you’ll be questioned about it.

But for the millions of people who suffer from frequent and/or severe headaches, it’s far more than a euphemism or a convenient excuse. For them, the word itself carries the burden of pain, frustration, thwarted obligations, and interference with everyday life, work, and activities.

Tension headaches, the most common type, are triggered by a wide variety of factors, including eyestrain (especially among those who spend the majority of their day staring at a computer screen), stress, bad posture, and jaw clenching.

Because headaches can affect your employees’ ability to function and perform at their best, they can be a serious concern for employers as well as the people experiencing the physical discomfort.

Lost workdays, decreased productivity, and impaired job performance are just a few of the negative effects of chronic headaches that you should be aware of. Even if they don’t call in sick, odds are any work they do get done won’t be up to par.

Help your employees find ways to cope with headache pain at the office. Often the key is as simple as taking an over-the-counter pain reliever, but also consider ergonomic adjustments and, in severe cases, medical help to determine the cause and the best course of treatment.

In the meantime, these drug-free self-care tips from WebMD can help your workers manage the pain: