Stress Management

2. Recognise Workplace Stress

Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed upon them - it is not the same as pressure.

People facing challenges which they perceive they will have difficulty coping with may experience stress. The sooner stress is recognised as a potential problem, the sooner you can do something about it.

2.1 Stress can lead to behavioural changes in your employees. For example, those affected may:

• Feel constantly rushed and unable to concentrate.
• Not be able to switch off from work, or feel tired all the time.
• Dread coming into work.
• Lose their sense of humour and become moody and irritable.
• Change the pattern of their working day (eg they might start staying late and consistently refuse to take breaks).
• Start taking more sick leave.
• Drop the standard of their work.

2.2 Employees may show signs of physical illness. For example, they may:

• Complain of nausea, frequent headaches and migraines or other unexplained aches and pains.
• Admit to sleeping badly.
• Seem jumpy, or you may notice they are shaky or trembling.

2.3 Experiencing consistent levels of stress may lead to longer-term illnesses.

• Stress has been linked to asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, strokes and even cancer.
• It can also cause mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression.