Stress has a variety of effects on our lives, most of which are negative. It has a negative impact on the neurological system and brain function. It has a negative impact on our ability to learn. Anxiety and headaches are common side effects. It’s been called a mental health emergency. Fatigue. Tension in the muscles. Problems with the stomach. Relationship issues Problems in life.
In sum, there is a veritable stress epidemic raging all around us. Preventing and decreasing work-related stress should be your top priority if you want to feel and perform at your best. Everything from your physical health and sleep to how you react to everyday challenges can be improved by doing so.
Here’s why you’re stressed at work—and what you can do about it right now.
What does being stressed at work entail?
A little bit of worry now and then isn’t going to do you any harm. The issue arises when the source of stress, such as your workplace, becomes chronic. And for the most part, this is exactly what occurs. 77 percent of respondents say they’re stressed to the point where it’s affecting their physical health.
It’s one thing if you generally enjoy your job and only have the occasional project problem. However, if your daily routine has become a tedious chore that is affecting your life outside of work, you may be experiencing stress, which necessitates long-term remedies.
Understanding the signs and symptoms of work-related stress
Let’s take a look at what stress is before we get into what this means. The stereotype of stress is that we are overworked, agitated individuals who rip our hair out whenever we receive unpleasant news. However, pressure manifests itself in a variety of job stress symptoms, including:
- Anxiety and irritability: While we may chalk it up to being “hangry” from time to time rather than being worried at work, irritability and anxiety at work might be an indication of stress.
- Sadness: Have you ever had a case of the “Sunday night blues”? Many people struggle with it as they face the looming weight of another workweek. It’s possible that you don’t identify this sensation with stress. According to the Cleveland Clinic, even minor physical signs such as general sorrow can indicate that stress has taken hold. It could still be a less typical symptom of chronic stress if you’re unhappy (but not nervous) at work.
- Physical symptoms: include high blood pressure, muscle tension or clenching of the jaw, aches and pains, tiredness (while also having problems sleeping), and so on. Few of us are accustomed to mental pressures generating physical symptoms, but most medical experts believe that stress can be a contributing factor in a variety of physical illnesses.
However, stress isn’t just about how it affects you. It could be a sign of an issue with your work connection. A majority of respondents were ready to quit their professions owing to stress in a 2019 study conducted before the epidemic.
As a result, stress can be a source of poison with bad consequences everywhere.
What are the most common sources of stress at work?
Stress can have a variety of causes for different people. However, there are a few common explanations that can help you understand why so many people are experiencing work-related stress.
There are far too many tools
The incessant rings, pings, and buzzes that serve as the soundtrack to our workweek are all too familiar. According to a 2019 research, 54 percent of employees have at least five separate computer programs running at the same time, and 56 percent interact using at least three different tools.
At the end of the day, technology should make our jobs easier and less stressful. However, it appears that the contrary is more common. According to the same report, 59 percent of employees believe they waste time switching between apps.
Employees should not feel buried in these tools, even if they are vital in today’s workplace. For effective processes, they should be smoothly connected, and the entire team should use a single project management solution that serves as a single source of truth.
Emails are drowning me
The sense of overwhelm is one of the most powerful and predictable stressors. You know how it feels when there’s a lot to do and not enough time to accomplish it in. As a result, people’s decision-making energy is taxed repeatedly as they try to fit square pegs into round holes in their lives.
It’s difficult to believe that a few pixels on a screen could have such power over our life. The email inbox, on the other hand, is our connection to our work in the digital world. The fastest way to overwhelm is to have more demands on our time than we have time to do our chores.
Workplace stress
The sense of being overwhelmed isn’t limited to your inbox. It might also stem from whatever demands we feel our circumstances have placed on us.
A major source of work-related stress for 35% of respondents is their employer. This is especially true for employees who believe their supervisor is overly demanding without adequately rewarding their efforts.
We don’t like to admit it, yet this can have a long-term impact on our life. What if, for example, you had children to raise? Parenting duties, a bad financial condition, or other personal life difficulties all contribute to the sensation that you have too much to do and not enough time to do it.
Meetings that are ineffective
Why do you feel like you’re running behind schedule after a meeting? According to a poll conducted by the University of North Carolina, nearly 70% of meetings are ineffective. When a meeting is actually a waste of time, it even has the potential to be counterproductive. This increases the workload of employees while also consuming time from their day.
To put it another way, it’s a prescription for feeling drained.
Struggles with collaboration
Agile teamwork is a fantastic method to keep everyone in sync. But what if your bosses don’t care, your coworkers aren’t willing to help, and the task never seems to be done? It adds to the strain on your shoulders.
While an overly easygoing organizational culture may appear to be a good approach to relieve stress at work, it can also make individuals feel uneasy about their work’s meaning.
Management’s lack of support
There’s nothing wrong with having a full schedule if you can handle it, according to many individuals. An regular task can become a stressor if they don’t have the assistance of their colleagues, technology, or resources to get their job done. Ascertain that employees have the resources they require to operate autonomously without becoming overwhelmed.
It’s important to remember that stress doesn’t always reflect reality. Even if they do it all themselves, if a person believes they have the assistance they need, they may avoid the emotions of overwhelm that come with a busy schedule of work.
Challenges of working from home
When the COVID pandemic struck, some realized the benefits of working from home. They soon discovered, however, why offices were created in the first place.
Workdays might be disrupted by distractions at home, causing you to fall behind. When you get behind, overwhelm sets in, and you soon find yourself expending all of your effort just to catch up, much alone go ahead of your work.
How to Reduce Workplace Stress
Stress is a long-term issue. One day of hard labor isn’t going to solve all of your stress-related health issues. But it simply makes it more hazardous because it’s difficult to stop it in its tracks. That is why it is critical to build strong habits that will last throughout the year.
- Stress management at work begins with self-care and continues as long as you maintain positive behaviors.
- When you’re striving to lower stress for a full team, one crucial element to remember is to acquire the help you need and give employees the help they need.
- Reaching out to coworkers and employees is sometimes necessary. However, if you want to modify your everyday routines, you’ll need software that can help you lessen your workload right now. This should allow you to take the pauses you require while avoiding feelings of overload.
- When you put it all together, you’ll be able to get ahead of stress on a company-wide basis. You might also concentrate on what you can do at your desk to relieve stress. However, doing so will not just make your workday feel lighter; it will also make the rest of your life feel lighter.
- Book your team in for a Teambuilding retreat. Our Forest Retreat program is all about reconnecting with nature, and resetting your team in a unique environment. The experience teams take away with them is a feeling of well being and fulfilment.
Are you ready to lower your stress levels?
