How does work pressure impact on employees?

Time Management

The positive side of stress is that it can jump-start your adrenalin and motivate you to perform your tasks more quickly in response to impending deadlines. An overwhelming workload, lack of peer support and too many demands at once, however, contribute to a sense of frustration and panic that there isn't enough time to complete the work. According to the authors of "Performance Under Pressure: Managing Stress in the Workplace," if these conditions routinely result in overtime or having to take work home, the stress of being unable to manage time efficiently can fuel employees' resentment toward the company as well as negatively influence their commitment and loyalty.

Relationships

Stress is a major contributor to job burn-out and strained interactions with peers and supervisors, says Bob Losvyk, author of "Get a Grip!: Overcoming Stress and Thriving in the Workplace." The combined feelings of helplessness and hopelessness generate heightened sensitivities to any and all forms of criticism, defensiveness, depression, paranoia about job security, jealousy and resentment toward co-workers who seem to have everything under control, short-fuse tempers, diminished self-esteem and withdrawal.

 

Focus

Stress affects your ability to remember things you already know, to process new information you are learning and to apply both to analytical situations and physical tasks that require concentration. When you are mentally exhausted from all of the worries, anxieties and tension brought on by a stressful environment or lifestyle, you are more easily distracted and prone to make costly, harmful or even fatal mistakes on the job.

Health

In addition to headaches, sleep disorders, vision problems, weight loss/gain and blood pressure, stress affects cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems, says Richard Weinstein, author of "The Stress Effect." If you're not feeling well, you're not going to do your best work. Further, the amount of sick leave taken to rest and recuperate from stress-related illnesses often means that the work only accumulates during your absence and, thus, generates even more stress about how to catch up once you return.

While some workplace stress is normal, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and impact your physical and emotional health. And your ability to deal with it can mean the difference between success or failure.

You can’t control everything in your work environment, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless—even when you’re stuck in a difficult situation. Finding ways to manage workplace stress isn’t about making huge changes or rethinking career ambitions, but rather about focusing on the one thing that’s always within your control: you.

For workers everywhere, the troubled economy may feel like an emotional roller coaster. "Layoffs" and "budget cuts" have become bywords in the workplace, and the result is increased fear, uncertainty, and higher levels of stress. Since job and workplace stress increase in times of economic crisis, it’s important to learn new and better ways of coping with the pressure.

 

Your emotions are contagious, and stress has an impact on the quality of your interactions with others. The better you are at managing your own stress, the more you'll positively affect those around you, and the less other people's stress will negatively affect you.

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Stress in the Workplace

Given the fast-moving priorities of modern business practices, workplace stress is increasingly common. Implementing a good stress management policy is key to providing a positive working environment and this includes understanding how stress manifests itself and how stress affects personnel of all levels.

Who Suffers from Stress?

The short answer to this is that anyone can suffer from stress. There is not a single demographic or profession that is immune from stress, although some professions are prone to burnout, and as such when looking for symptoms of stress or building a stress management plan it should cover all areas of the business from the most senior of managers through to the most junior of staff.

How Does Stress Affect People at Work?

Stress affects people at work in many different ways. If there were one single way of identifying it, then stress management plans and programs would be much simpler to operate. However, unlike a physical complaint such as a broken leg that is easy to spot and identify, stress can have a multitude of symptoms and affects different people in different ways. When asking the question"how does stress affect people at work" there are some key features to look out for. This list is by no means exhaustive and different work environments or other external local factors may result in different symptoms.

The effects of stress can be broken down into three core areas.

Emotional

When people suffer from stress it is often their emotions that show the first signs that something is wrong. This might include people who don't normally cry becoming prone to tears or otherwise placid members of staff losing their temper or becoming irritable. While everybody suffers from a bad day every once in a while, ongoing changes in a member of staff's well being could very well be an indication of stress and the matter should be explored in more detail and any necessary action taken..

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Motivation

Sufferers from stress may find making decisions difficult or have an erratic thought process. Ordinarily dynamic staff may become apathetic or disinterested in their work. This is particularly common in stress cases where the stress comes from a feeling that 'it is all too much' and a person is feeling overwhelmed. Line managers are in a good position to recognize these symptoms and should be trained in stress management.

Behavior

Changes in behavior can also be an indication of stress. This might include someone turning to drink or recreational drugs as a release, or extreme dieting or eating resulting in dramatic weight gain or loss. Sometimes the behavior can become destructive including cases of self harming in extreme cases. Self harming, fasting or other self destructive traits are often a symptom of someone trying to regain control over some element of their life.

Other Effects of Stress

There are many other symptoms that are an indication of stress in the workplace. These include tiredness which is a result of a stress sufferer not being able to sleep or having disturbed sleep, or someone becoming depressed. The good training of line managers and other staff can help in identifying the wide range of stress symptoms.

Identifying Stress

A good stress management program will ensure that all staff are aware of the stress management policy and know how to report cases of stress that they may personally be suffering, or that they suspect in a colleague. For this to be effective it is paramount that there is no 'stigma' attached to stress - that it is not seen as a sign of weakness - and that positive action is taken. Workplace presentations to staff, which explore the main causes of stress in more detail and perhaps stress reduction workshops are useful ways of communicating the stress management policy to staff.

With bad leadership and bad communications helpful tool is a Employee desktop alert software system to get employees attention and break through the clutter with messages that matter most. It helps keep employees informed and engaged. 

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