An employer’s guide to dealing with stress at work

Stress can serve us well and act as a motivator to give us the burst of energy we need from time to time. But there can be a fine balance between healthy, motivating responses and unhealthy stress reactions.

When we feel pressured, out of control or in fear, stress can manifest itself both physically and mentally – impacting our work, relationships and other aspects of life.

Developing a workplace culture that promotes mental health, and equips all colleagues to identify and manage stress effectively is central to inclusion. Obviously, as employers, we have a duty of care to protect colleagues from stress at work, but clearly, stressors are not all work-related.

What are the main causes of stress at work?

Understanding individual differences, as with so many aspects of our work, is key to anticipating/avoiding or dealing with unhealthy stress.

Managers who take the time to get to know their colleagues play a pivotal role in the organisation’s ability to deliver on its duty of care and create an inclusive culture.

Simple interpersonal skills such as listening (properly), building trust and psychological safety, having empathy and accepting that we are all different go towards creating a low/lower stress work environment.

Why does workplace stress matter?

Workplace well-being and stress are inextricably linked, and overall well-being should be prioritised. Stress is frequently linked to other issues in the workplace that must be addressed.

Workplace stress is extremely important and should not be overlooked or dismissed. It not only has a mental and physical impact on your employees, but it can also have an impact on larger teams in terms of workloads and relationships.

The challenges of having stressed employees

Employees who are stressed face numerous challenges. Here are a few examples of how stress can affect your employees and the workplace.

People won’t work to their full potential

If a member of your team is stressed, they will not perform to their full potential. Stress can be a distraction, which means their mind will not be in the right place to perform their duties.

Mental health can be impacted

Importantly, for many stressed-out employees, their mental health can suffer. Workplace stress, as well as emotional stress, can be harmful to one’s mental health. Although an employee may appear to be fine, there could be a variety of factors affecting them.

Relationships can change

People who are stressed may become irritable or demotivated. This has an effect not only on the stressed-out individual, but also on the rest of the work team. Stress can cause people to act out of character, causing relationships to shift and dynamics to change.

How to manage stress at work

Managing stress at work and being aware are hugely important. Here are our recommended top tips for dealing with stress at work:

Be pro-active

Be pro-active and during induction ask new colleagues what you need to know about them to help them thrive in their role.

You could use the Inclusion Passport to support this discussion. Knowing that, for example, a particular time of year is difficult or that getting outside every day for fresh air is essential for that person equips managers with information that will enable them to really practice everyday inclusion.

Create spaces to share feelings

We are mindful that what is happening in the outside world can impact colleagues significantly. We can’t absorb what we see in the news without having an emotional response.

Make time for people to share their feelings so they are not carrying them alone, which is much more of a risk in the virtual world that so many people now inhabit.

Tell colleagues that you are standing by the metaphorical water cooler if anyone wants to speak about what’s in the news… offer a pressure valve.

Raise awareness of stress and recognise the signs

Stress is not an illness, but it can make you ill and often employees can panic and not know the processes for going off with stress. Recognising the signs of stress will help employers to take steps to stop, lower and manage stress in their workplace.

Become stress aware; learn about healthy stress responses and unhealthy stress reactions and the practical support you can seek.

We have a wide range of Members’ Resources on this topic or you could consider becoming a Mental Health First Aider or explore our webinar programme for related events.