A tough day at work can spell trouble for parents in more ways than one, impacting not only their physical energies, but also their children’s health and wellness, according to findings released by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Researchers sought to uncover the link between workplace stress, health and confidence and family life, as well as the role that supervisors can play in impacting the wellness of employees.

In addition to revealing that work is one of the leading stressors in an individual’s life, the report – which was presented in Los Angeles at a recent annual conference – demonstrated that high levels of job stress can throw the balance of work and home out of sync and leave adults more likely to experience depression and anxiety as opposed to those who are not stressed at work, HealthDay News reported.

“In the research literature there’s correlational evidence that when parents are more stressed, kids are more stressed,” said Leslie Hammer, a professor of psychology at Portland State University in Oregon, and director of the Center for Work – Family Stress, Safety and Health. “Kids experience that stress, and it comes out in terms of health compliance, it comes out in terms of behavioral difficulties.”

Signs that a parent may be stressed out include sleeplessness, lack of attention, short-temperedness, making poor food choices and not working out. For children, it can be easy to pick up on these types of changes in mood, and they may make kids more likely to act out or feel frustrated.

Improving stress
If you’re a busy parent and you’re trying to better balance the demands of work and family, you may want to consider a few of these tips.

For starters, you should consider if the job is worth the stress it could be putting on your home life. If a job is pushing you to your limits but you don’t think it’s worthwhile, don’t be afraid to start looking around for another position.

Kids may start to duplicate a parent’s behavior, so restlessness, lack of sleep and bad eating habits could show that your children are affected by your stress.This in turn could leave kids more vulnerable to colds, the flu and other chronic pediatric conditions that can impact health and wellness.

If your loved ones are feeling the strain, why not plan a family outing to a park, museum or local amusement park? These can be easygoing ways to reconnect with children and a partner without breaking the bank, and they can be helpful for overcoming stress.