Work-Related Stress

Work-related stress is common, affecting many of us during our working careers. Work-related stress is not always a bad thing. Sometimes stress can help us to become more active; to help us work towards a certain goal or to become more productive. However, if left unmanaged, work-related stress can be quite debilitating and has the potential to have longer term consequences if not addressed early. This brief article will highlight some of the symptoms to look out for when considering work-related stress and importantly, what can be done to effectively manage this problem.

When people are stressed, several symptoms usually begin to appear. People can become less tolerant, they struggle to deal with interruptions, they lose patience and some people become irritable and snappy. Others retract and become more isolated. The key feature of stress is that a person feels like they don’t have the physical or psychological resources to cope with the demand, in this case being their workload. When stress becomes heightened, often people complain of physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach pain, shortness of breath, flushed face or panic like (increased heart rate) symptoms. People often say they become less productive the more stressed they become.

Physiologically, when a person is stressed, adrenaline and cortisol are released from the adrenal glands to prepare the body to manage the stressful situation. If the individual remains in a constant state of stress with no respite, then this can have serious consequences in terms of their physical health.

At Headway, we specialise in assisting individuals to identify and better manage work-related stress. Our view is that there are generally some important factors that need to be taken into consideration when treating work-related stress.

• Lack of movement. Physical exercise, pleasurable events and other activities such as diaphragmatic breathing, mindfulness or yoga have the potential to offset some of the physical symptoms of stress.
• Poor job design. If the role has not been designed properly, lacks clarity or involves frequent exposure to stressful situations, then this can create prolonged stress.
• Poor organisational support. If the individual is exposed to repetitive stressful situations and does not have reasonable organisational support, this can intensify the person’s experience of stress. Effective people leadership can mitigate the experience of stress in the workplace.
• Expectations or standards. If an individual has excessive or unrelenting expectations of themselves and others, this can predispose them to chronic stress as often others won’t be able to live up to the unrelenting standards.
• Lack of assertiveness. If a person lacks the ability to ask for help or does not have the assertiveness to implement boundaries, this can lead to the experience of prolonged stress.

Often, we find that a combination of personal and work issues can lead to the experience of work-related stress. If you feel you or an employee may be suffering from work-related stress, feel free to give us a call on (08) 9226 4489 or make a booking online.