A guide to Stress in the Workplace for Employers
Stress in the workplace is a normal part of life and we tend to spend a significant portion of our week in the workplace. It's impossible to avoid stress entirely, but you can learn how to manage it effectively.
Stress is a normal reaction to situations that challenge us or cause us anxiety. When we're stressed, our bodies release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into our bloodstreams so we can react quickly when needed to help keep ourselves safe. This is often called the "fight, flight, freeze" response, and while it helps us get through stressful situations, it's not ideal for our health over a prolonged period of time and, if we’ve developed unhealthy coping mechanisms to calm our nervous system, e.g. aggressiveness in order to feel in control, we can make stressful situations even more stressful for ourselves and others.
Causes of workplace stress
There are many different causes of workplace stress: work overload; long hours spent sitting at your desk without taking breaks; unrealistic deadlines; competing with co-workers for promotions or raises; feeling like there aren't enough resources available for completing projects on time... the list goes on! And while some types of workplace stressors may be unavoidable (such as dealing with difficult clients), others could be mitigated by changing certain aspects of how we do things within our organisations' structures, for example: something as simple as encouraging employees who are facing particularly demanding workloads to take more frequent breaks throughout each day.
It’s important to acknowledge that employee stress isn’t necessarily in direct proportion to the amount of work someone is undertaking, or their environment, or their relationships with colleagues, but can be about their relationship with themselves. Those employees that seem to be excelling in their roles and working to high standards may need a closer eye if they are feeling the need to attain perfection in order to feel they are contributing and are worthy of their pay. This is a self-esteem issue and these individuals will need help to understand they are of value when they work to a ‘good enough’ standard in order to promote their well-being and reduce self-inflicted stress.
The Impact of Stress in the Workplace
Stress can have a significant impact on your productivity, mental health, physical health, and relationships with co-workers. Here are some examples:
Stress can cause you to make mistakes at work that cost time or money. This may be because you're not able to focus as well as usual due to the stressors in your life (or because you're so focused on dealing with them).
Stress can lead to burnout if left unmanaged; this means that even though you're working hard, it's not effective enough because there's too much of a gap between what needs doing and how much energy is available for doing it.
Stress has been linked with higher rates of absenteeism from work due to illness or injury; this is especially true when people feel like they don't have control over their lives, for example, when their workloads increase without any corresponding increase in pay rate/bonus etc.
How to Create a Low-Stress Workplace
There are many ways to create a low-stress workplace such as:
improve communication between employees and managers, which will lead to better understanding of expectations and goals.
encourage a healthy work/life balance so that employees can relax outside of work and return refreshed and ready for the next day's tasks.
foster a sense of community within your company that will help everyone feel supported in their efforts and make it less likely they will experience burnout or fatigue from overwork.
How to Support Employees to Deal with Stress in the Workplace
Employees should be encouraged to:
Take regular breaks.
Ask for support.
Practice relaxation techniques, such as meditation, mindfulness, or deep breathing exercises.
Raise issues in team meetings and supervision sessions
Learn where to find additional information and support such as counselling
How to Support Employees to Overcome Stress in the Workplace
Employees need to be able to:
Identify stress triggers.
Get enough sleep and take time to relax when they can.
Develop healthy coping mechanisms.
Practice self-care.
Set themselves realistic expectations
Set boundaries for themselves
Feel they can ask for support from those that can refer them on if needed
The Benefits of Reducing Stress in the Workplace
Reducing stress in the workplace can have a number of benefits, including:
Increased productivity. It likely isn’t surprising that studies have found that employees who reported high levels of stress take sick days more often than their less-stressed counterparts. In addition, they are also less likely to be productive during their time in the job. This means that if you're able to reduce stress in your work environment, you may see an increase in output from your team members as well as fewer absences due to illness or injury (which will save you money).
Improved mental health. Research links high levels of occupational stress with increased risk for depression and anxiety disorders - two conditions that can lead directly back into work if left untreated! By reducing workplace pressures through things like flexible schedules or remote working, companies can help ensure that their employees' health doesn't suffer because they're too busy trying not only survive but to thrive at work every day.
How to Help an Employee Manage Stress
If you are a manager and see that someone is experiencing stress, there are several things you can do to help. First, listen and empathize with them. You may not be able to relate directly to what they're going through but by listening attentively and showing concern for their situation, it will go a long way toward helping them feel better about themselves and less alone in their struggles.
Next, offer help and support whenever possible. If they are under particular pressure at work, is there a way to reduce the pressure through delegation or similar? If they are under particular pressure away from work and aren’t able to focus, is there anything you can offer them to enable them to access support, or can they take some annual leave to reduce the pressure in the short-term?
Finally, encourage them to seek professional assistance if needed - this could mean recommending an app like Headspace or Calm which provides guided meditation sessions specifically designed for workplace stressors such as deadlines; meetings; emails from coworkers/bosses etc or could mean a referral to a counselling or similar therapy service.
Conclusion
Stress is a natural part of life, and you can't completely avoid it. The key is to learn how to manage and overcome it when it's affecting your work performance.
We hope this guide has given you some ideas for how to handle stress in the workplace, whether it's for your employees or for yourself! If there are any questions left unanswered, feel free to contact us for some dedicated support for your workplace.
