How to avoid harmful workplace stress

stress at work

Stress produces the familiar fight or flight response that is characterised by an increase in blood pressure and heart rate and the release of chemicals like cortisol. In short bursts, stress is no bad thing, in fact it can even be helpful, giving us the drive and motivation we need to meet our daily challenges.

However, stress becomes a problem when we experience it on a sustained basis. Prolonged periods of stress can weaken the immune system and cause high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, anxiety and even heart disease. Early warning signs that you may be suffering from the effects of stress include:

  • A weakened immune system with greater susceptibility to minor ailments
  • Headaches
  • Sleep problems
  • Irritability
  • Changes in appetite
  • Mood swings

Stress is a big problem for individuals and the businesses they work for. Estimates put the cost to the UK economy of working days lost to stress at around £6.5 billion. The latest Labour Force Survey shows that in 2014/15 stress accounted for 35 per cent of all work-related ill health cases and 43 per cent of all working days lost due to ill health. The total number of working days lost due to this condition in 2014/15 was 9.9 million days. This equated to an average of 23 days lost per case.

For every 100,000 workers, 1380 will develop work-related stress, anxiety or depression. Stress is more prevalent in public service industries, such as education; health and social care; and public administration and defence. The main work factors cited by respondents as causing work related stress, depression or anxiety were workload pressures, including tight deadlines, too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.

Businesses not only have a moral responsibility to help protect their workers against workplace stress, but it also makes sound economic sense. Alongside the days lost to stress, there has also been a rise in the condition known as “presenteeism”, whereby employees show up for work but they are unmotivated, exhausted or too stressed to work, leading to poor performance and decreased productivity.

So, what can businesses do to safeguard their employees against workplace stress? Calm People helps people to develop greater emotional resilience at home and at work. We have developed these eight simple steps which we recommend employers and employees implement to reduce the harmful effects of workplace stress.

Take regular breaks

With the pressure of work it can be tempting to continue working and not to take time out during the day. However, studies have shown this to be counterproductive. Taking a break gives your brain a rest and helps it to refocus on the task in hand. Allowing our brain to switch from “focused mode” to “diffuse mode” (the relaxed state we associate with daydreaming) can often produce valuable insights. How often have you wrestled with a tricky problem only to find the answer comes to you while you are in the shower or driving home from work? Taking a break also allows you to step back from the issue and see it from a broader perspective. It ensures you don’t get lost in the details but are working towards your broader goals. Taking a break makes you more productive and more efficient.

Avoid information overload

People can become overwhelmed by the amount of information they are required to process at work. Avoiding sending unnecessary emails is a good workplace policy. So, too, is limiting the number of times people are required to check their emails during the day – once in the morning and once in the afternoon should be sufficient.

Build supportive relationships

Although it may be tempting to communicate solely via email, face-to-face interaction is important and it helps to build supportive relationships, which are useful for countering harmful workplace stress. Managers can contribute to this by organising social activities which allow people to get to know one another outside of their work roles. This can be as simple as sitting down to lunch with one another once a week. You should include every member of the team in these activities and think about individual people’s interests, beliefs and backgrounds.

Take a partnership approach

Stress in the workplace is everyone’s problem so take a partnership approach to tackling the issue. Talk about it and avoid it becoming a taboo subject. Managers need to be willing to listen without trying to offer solutions to “fix” the problem. It can be helpful to point out to employees that, while you are there to help prevent unnecessary stress and find effective strategies for managing it, it is their responsibility to deal with it. It may be helpful to ask what support systems people have outside work and, if necessary, provide specialist counselling.

Develop a stress strategy

HR has an important role to play in managing workplace stress. It can be helpful to develop a stress strategy and to hold team leaders and managers to account for preventing and dealing with workplace stress. Everyone in the workplace needs to understand the importance of recognising the warning signs of stress and dealing with them in a timely way. Ensure that all team members know the support system that is available to them to help them cope with stress.

Take a holistic approach

Providing employees with opportunities to relax and unwind can be effective in mitigating workplace stress. You might want to consider reduce price gym membership, meditation sessions or lunchtime yoga classes.

Be a role model

Managers have a responsibility to manage their own stress effectively, both to ensure they perform at an optimum level and to act as a positive role model for employees.

Discover the individual causes of stress

Different people have different stress thresholds. What is stressful to one person another can take in their stride without too much of a problem. A stress assessment can help employees to recognise the triggers that cause them stress. Once they are aware of this, you can help them to put plans in place to avoid them becoming stressed.

 


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Julian Hall

Julian Hall is Director and Founder of Calm People, experts in emotional resilience, stress, conflict and anger management. 20 years experience working in challenging corporate environments and dealing with change programmes, Julian uses his knowledge to support organisations and employees to take advantage of increasingly changing and moving business environments.
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http://www.calmpeople.co.uk

Julian Hall is Director and Founder of Calm People, experts in emotional resilience, stress, conflict and anger management. 20 years experience working in challenging corporate environments and dealing with change programmes, Julian uses his knowledge to support organisations and employees to take advantage of increasingly changing and moving business environments.