In fact, a recent survey from Future Forum compiled results from 10,000 workers globally showing anxiety and stress levels in the workplace are at their highest since June 2020. In-house workers in particular were found to have 1.5 times worsening work-related stress and anxiety compared to remote workers.
Without a doubt, the pandemic’s lingering effects don’t just include long-haul COVID. Some are still grappling with being back in the office, work-life balance, staff shortages, anxiety, and other life and work stressors. Even pre-COVID, the American Psychological Association found work to be one of the top stress sources for Americans.
Below, learn more about the top work-related stressors that may be impacting your employees and how to help them better manage work-related stress.
Workplace stressors vary from organization to organization, but almost every employee at one point or another experiences it. The severity of it depends on a multitude of factors, too: Everything from a person’s natural temperament to management styles and available stress reduction resources.
A few reasons for work stress:
Other sources of work-related stress may include personality conflicts, lack of support, and even a toxic work culture.
It’s important to not underestimate the role stress can play on one’s health and overall well-being. Many people often shrug it off as part of life, but left unchecked, it can have devastating impacts on the body’s various organs, tissues, and systems.
Key body systems that are impacted by long-term and even short-term stress include the nervous system, respiratory system, musculoskeletal system, endocrine system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, and reproductive system. From a pounding heart to headaches and tense muscles to high blood pressure, stress can make the body react quickly and intensely.
Here’s a look at how it can impact the body:
The physical and mental signs of stress vary person-to-person. Consider them as “warning signs” your body is giving you to slow down. Long-term stress can turn into chronic health conditions if left unmanaged.
Note: Stress and anxiety may feel very similar — a faster heartbeat and heavy breathing, for example — but are different. Stress is often a short-term response to a recognized threat whereas anxiety can linger longer and may not always have an easily identifiable trigger.
Related: Anxiety vs. Stress: Why Employers Need to Know the Difference
Because of the amount of physical and mental energy stress can take from the body, individuals have fewer resources and means to focus on other important activities — like work. This means they may be more prone to mistakes, judgment errors, or even have more injuries. Their mind, essentially, is “elsewhere” making it hard to concentrate on doing anything other than surviving the stress.
Stress isn’t simply an “emotion” to sweep under the rug. In the workplace, leaving stressors unattended can have devastating impacts on workflow, loyalty, employee satisfaction, and production.
An employer who takes stress prevention seriously will see reduced symptoms of poor mental and physical health, increased productivity, increased work engagement, and improved employee health and community wellbeing.
Managers may have more control over how stressed-out their employees feel than they might think. Without a doubt, it is one of the many challenging aspects of being a leader — managing your team in a healthy way.
Ways to tackle work-related stressors:
As for individual employees, it’s also on them to understand what their stress thresholds are and how to avoid exceeding those. It can be easy to take excessive stress out on colleagues or loved ones, but that is also damaging to relationships. When employees and employers work together to keep work stress minimal and manageable, it creates a healthier workplace and community in the long haul.
How do you help your employees deal with work stressors? Share your advice down below!