Work-related stress is on the rise in North America and with it has come an unprecedented spike in disease, disorders and discontent. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, heart disease is soaring, divorce rates are mounting and "me" time is becoming obsolete.

Depressed yet?

According to WorkStress.net, some of the primary causes of workplace discontent are...

- long hours;
- incompetent leadership;
- conflicting demands; and
- lack of recognition.

I'm sure you can sympathize with most of these things. Many of us have buckled under the pressures of strict deadlines, zero communication and bureaucratic red tape. Throw into the mix the bumper-to-bumper traffic that commuters are forced to endure and it's a wonder we're still standing, let alone reporting to the office.

Forced to take on too many projects? Unable to move forward because you're busy fixing other people's mistakes? You’re not alone. These things wear us down eventually, that's for sure, but oftentimes it's the little things that push us right over the edge.

For most workers, the "last straw" isn't the incoherent manager but rather, the photocopier machine that's always jammed and out of paper.

Or the coffee mug that keeps disappearing from your desk.

Or the person who keeps stealing your lunch from the communal fridge.

Or the printer that's always out of toner.

Or the people who make a mess of the bathroom.

If you ask me, one of the main causes of work-related stress is the fact that we're forced to share our offices with inconsiderate people that we (likely) wouldn't socialize with in real life. And to make matters worse, jerky behavior appears to be contagious.

I'm not going to lie. I've done some pretty inconsiderate things when no one's looking, simply because everyone else appears to be doing them.

And that, my friends, is the problem.

Being thoughtless at work may seem like a small thing but it can snowball rather quickly and working in an office that appears to be void of human decency is far more depressing than an impromptu board meeting or a demanding client.

As much as we'd like to blame our companies for everything, we tend to be the biggest sources of our discontent. Workplace stress is unavoidable, but it becomes a heck of a lot more manageable when people learn to be considerate of one another.

Remember that the next time you're about to leave your dirty plate in the kitchen sink for someone else to clean.

This is a guest post by Cheryl Santa Maria.