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How can I Manage Stress in my Workplace?

What is Workplace Stress?

Stress in the workplace, whether serious or minor, is where a person believes that there is an imbalance between work requirements and his or her capability to meet these, resulting in a range of physical, behavioural and psychological responses which disrupt work and personal life.

What are Stressors?

Stressors or causes of stress are the events or circumstances that could lead to an individual feeling that physical or psychological demands may exceed their ability to cope.

How can I Manage Stress in the Workplace?

Stress is a complex interaction between stressors and stress responses with huge individual variations and multiple causes and cures.

There are two phases to stress management:

Prevention

Remember - Prevention is better than Cure

There are broad types of strategy for preventing stress:

• Primary prevention (elimination) - reduce the extent of and/or impact of stressors. Design healthy work places.
• Secondary prevention - Improve the fit between people and tasks by selection or training, and provide support for people at work.
• Tertiary prevention (minimisation) - Alter the way people perceive and deal with the demands (and the effects of these demands) placed on them - the typical “stress management” approach.

Response

• Investigate the facts.
• What does the staff member mean by 'stress' and how long has it been occurring?
• Obtain a precise diagnosis from a doctor if required (you may have to report this as serious harm)
• What work factors could have lead the employee to feel stressed? (Other employees, recent changes, work context, work content.)
• As Supervisor, what is your view on the stress cause?
• Is the stress environmental (e.g. absence data, staff turnover, negative staff satisfaction?
• Make a decision about the work relatedness of the problem.
• Discuss the results with the staff member concerned.
• Agree on nature of the problem and its severity.
• Discuss solutions.
• If work-related, try to address causes and symptoms of stress.
• Ensure additional professional assistance such as counselling is occurring if required.
• Assistance to deal with non-work issues if appropriate, to assist the employee to cope.
• Agree on how the solutions will be implemented.
• Find solutions to work stress issues (i.e. remove stressors, improve 'fit' of person to the job, assist in recovery).

Get in Touch with Jump

If you need help, or you answered no or unsure to any of the questions in the assessment tool, then Jump Business Solutions can help you. Phone us on +64 6 754 8987 or +64 27 450 5271 or email info@jump4biz.com and Jump will come to you, discover your needs, and develop a solution that will create real, long-term and positive change for you and your business.