Workplace stress can become a dangerous situation for every worker. According to the International Labor Organization, stress has become an epidemic of modern life, especially at workplaces. There are many causes for the development of this condition; it will depend on every individual; among the symptoms, you can feel bad mood up to depression, but also exhaustion and physical conditions. Please read all about workplace stress and how to prevent or manage it!

What is workplace stress?

This is a kind of stress that happens in any work environment. Usually, it is the result of an imbalance between demands (owns and labor), and the available resources or capacity to fulfill it. However, there are many reasons behind a stress condition, It can be an external cause that the worker takes into the workplace, or it can be a mix of different reasons. 

Consequences of workplace stress

Here we show you a list of the consequences from both sides the workers’ and the company:

Workers’ point of view

-Physical conditions, such as diseases and pathologies.

-Cognitive and motor problems.

-Several disorders can vary from immunological to sexual.

-Psychological issues from anxiety to a deep depression that can lead to suicide. 

Company’s point of view

-A decline in productivity.

-Workers’ absence.

-A terrible organizational culture due to employee turnover.

-A decrease in the quality of the process, the final product, or the service offered.

Causes of workplace stress

• Excessive workload: this is the number one cause of workplace stress. Too much workload can cause anxiety, exhaustion, and conflicts within the workforce. It can lead to burned worker syndrome, which can produce worse consequences. Several solutions are a better distribution of tasks or hiring more personnel to reduce the employees’ workload. 

• Fear: this is a feeling that generates stress in every situation, but when talking about the workplace, the fear of losing the job for any reason, can be permanent stress. This can be mixed with an insufficient remuneration, resulting in fear of not providing enough for basic personal or family expenses. The best way to combat these causes is to find if the company can assume higher wages and promote job stability. 

• Monotony: workers are humans, and because of that, they will need stimulus, the same repetitive task can be tedious and can produce boredom, that will result in workplace stress. Every company needs to find ways to break the monotony, nowadays, field trips and parties with the workforce are healthy activities and a boost to the organizational culture. 

• Bad environment: every day can be hell for a worker if they are in a bad workplace. The harassment at work, known as mobbing, has become more and more regular; fighting it is a must to create a healthy and pleasant environment. Also, a lack of support or bad manners from management is another cause of bad environments and lots of stress. A good environment exists when the company promotes a courteous treatment and zero tolerance to bullying. 

• Lots of responsibilities: jobs, where the responsibility is high, will generate stress. Positions such as a surgeon, CEO, police officer, fireman, airplane pilot, and others will always present high concentration and so much responsibility. Here everyone must take into account that the mandatory break is guarantee and relaxation pathways to reduce the tension. 

• Dangerous tasks and workplace conditions: some jobs implies physical risks and a threat to worker integrity. Just like other jobs present terrible environmental conditions. These cases can generate so much stress. The solutions can be complicated because these kinds of jobs will always exist, and someone has to do it, but the most important is to ensure the worker’s life and health. 

• Family problems: family always comes first for any employee, but sometimes balancing family with a job can be hard, especially if the management doesn’t understand the needs or problems the worker is dealing with. This will always be a huge source of stress. The best solution is to provide options for the worker like teleworking or flexible hours. 

• Traveling: for many workers around the globe, the workplace is very far from home. Traveling can be very stressful, as is traffic in large cities. Here the best move is to provide a good way of transport or to facilitate a flexible schedule. 

• Stimulus: sometimes, workplace stress can appear due to lack of incentives, lack of recognition; the prospect of an improvement can be a significant motivator that will help reduce stress due to other conditions. The solutions are just a few but kind words or a good career program with excellent incentives. 

As you can read, workplace stress can be generated for so many different causes; the important part here is to recognize the symptoms and face this before it can present the worst consequences. Keep reading more interesting articles about the work environment, and follow us in our social media!

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