Breaking Point
Stress in the workplace is alive and well. Despite at least a decade passing since it was identified as a problem, businesses are increasingly requesting training interventions to manage it.
Although workplace stress is not peculiar to the Channel Islands, there are particular restrictions on businesses here that add to the pressures on staff. The cost of doing business in the Islands means that organisations have to be lean machines and the perception, both inside and outside of business, is that despite an increasing workload there is little additional recruitment going on.
Common Stress Points
Other more general causes of work-related stress include poor communication, a bad working environment and skills not matching those that are needed for the job. Bullying is another cited reason. None of these should, of course, should still exist in a prevailing business environment where levels of management training and development are superior. Sadly, this is not the case, as the frequency of requests for intervention in this area bears testament.
While a certain amount of pressure is part and parcel of all work, and indeed home, situations, and helps to keep us motivated, excessive pressure can lead to stress, which undermines performance, is costly to employers and ultimately can make people ill.
A Big Problem
According to statistics compiled in the UK, 12.8 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2004/5; over one third of all incidences of ill health are down to stress; and each case of stress-releated ill health leads to an average of 30.9 working days lost. A TUC survey put the number of people suffering from stress at three in every five.
Of course, it’s not just the time off work with illness that affects business performance. Left untreated, stress will ultimately lead to higher staff turnover and poor performance generally.
Recognise the Symptoms
But how can managers recognise stress amongst their team? Many of the symptoms of stress can also be indicators of other things. Warning signs of stress can, for instance, include headaches/migraine, iritable bowel syndrome, lower back pain and ulcers. As it relates to a person’s work, stress can manifest itself through an ability to make decisions, becoming forgetful or making mistakes.
Stress might also affect people’s behaviour both in the office and hat home. They might fly off the handle more easily than previously, or become flippant, sarcastic or impatient with members of their team. Unable to cope with their workload they might take work home where their increasingly erratic behaviour might also be caused by stress, by, for example, taking no interest in family matters and becoming forgetful, for instance by forgetting important dates.
Some people recognise when they are suffering from stress early enough to be able to devise strategies of their own to cope with it. But for others, the situation often creeps up on them over a period of time before they or anyone else realises what is going on.
Stress. The Managers Role
So what is the role of manager in all of this? Firstly, by recognising that work-related stress is a serious problem stress and that it is a management issue which a manager can help resolve; there are practical things that can be done to prevent and control work-related stress; tackling it effectively can result in significant benefits for the organisation.
Sadly, there still exists much misconception and ignorance about workplace stress. Many managers believe that any stress that people feel is something they have brought with them from the home situation rather than their work environment being the major cause. Because there are so many different causes of stress and because it manifests itself in so many different ways, it is such a difficult subject for managers to get their heads round.
The key to managing workplace stress is to understand how staff respond to different pressure points. By learning to identify the signs of stress which often manifest themselves by what we ‘hear’ or what we ‘see’, the manager can then offer the right level of support for individuals. Effective managers will discuss the pressure and staff response and help staff to achieve the correct perspective and strategy to deal with the issues.
Remember, the words ‘stress’ and ‘pressure’ originated in the 19th Century by engineers when referring to beams and girders and how much they could take before bending and breaking.
Everyone has a breaking point!
