How to Create a Stress-Free Work Environment

 What is workplace stress?

Work-related stress happens when your mind and body respond to high work demands you’re unable to cope with. Eventually, you may arrive at a point where you can’t keep up with your to-do list often because there are too many tasks on it. 

Tight deadlines and larger workloads mean more pressure, increasing workplace stress. Some work environments create a higher level of stress than others if they expect faster turnarounds or operate in high-pressure industries, but nobody is immune to job stress. (Wooll, 2022)

Where stress is not controlled and the individual and organization suffer, the following may be observed.

Effects on people may include:

Physical

Sleep disturbances, Headaches, Gastrointestinal upset, Raised blood pressure/cardiovascular disease.

Emotional

Anxiety and irritability, Depression, Labile emotions.

Intellectual

Loss of concentration, Lack of motivation, Difficulty with thought process, Loss of memory, Poor decision-making.

Behavioral

Substance (including alcohol) misuse, Decreased libido, Inappropriate display of behavior, Isolation, and Unpunctuality.

Causes of Stress at Work

• Low morale: When morale is low, workers often feel powerless. This, in turn, makes them complacent, and productivity suffers.
• Management style: Another factor in stressful work situations is management style. When a workplace has poor communication and employees are not included in decision-making processes, workers do not feel supported by their coworkers and employers. In addition, a lack of family-friendly policies can lead to increased stress due to effects on work-life balance.
•  How tasks are assigned and carried out is a big contributor to workplace stress. This includes heavy workload, infrequent breaks, long hours and shifts, unnecessary routine tasks, ignoring workers’ skills, and more. When job expectations are uncertain or conflicting, employees feel they have too much responsibility and too many “hats to wear.” (Cambridge, 2023)

How stress impacts productivity and employee turnover

Stress isn’t an individual problem; employee stress can affect a company’s bottom line. “Stress can damage one’s disposition, preventing them from being at their best when at work,” said Dominic Harper, founder of Debt Bombshell. “When an employee isn’t able to show their best self, their productivity levels tend to drop, and when such happens, their [motivation] to do and finish tasks drops as well.” 

Here’s a look at some of the repercussions of stress in the workplace: 

• Workplace stress leads to high turnover
• Employees care less about their jobs due to stress. 
• Employee absences cost employers money.  
• Stress causes other health issues.  These side effects of workplace stress compound and manifest in lower productivity and higher hostility.  (Post, 2023)

How managers can reduce employee stress in the workplace

Ideas for reducing workplace stress

Every business has different needs, budgets, and set-ups - but these ideas are all easily workable and can help boost employee morale quickly and easily.

Know the psychology.

Employees need to feel safe and supported at work to be their best. Businesses can use this knowledge to create the right workspaces that support these feelings of psychological well-being. The cornerstone requirements are:

1. To give everyone a clear set of goals and objectives (with regular catch-up and progress meetings, training, support mechanisms, and performance reviews.)
2. To ensure everyone feels that their voices can be heard - and to show that you, as a business, want to hear your employees' thoughts, opinions, and ideas. This can be stimulated through a culture of frequent open and honest communication.

Create creative and lively working spaces

Offices and working spaces can sometimes be a little bland, but it doesn't cost much to decorate the walls with inspiring artwork, pictures, or designs that your people will enjoy seeing. Why not ask your employees to get involved and submit design ideas or original artwork?

Encourage breaks and downtime

The old-fashioned culture of presenteeism and overtime is over. When people overwork, they simply experience burnout and become ill.

Encourage regular and beneficial breaks. Encourage people to leave their desks and get outdoors for a short walk. Even better, encourage outdoor walking meetings. Invite people to relax in breakout areas and enjoy a drink.

Create a culture where people talk and see each other physically and in person, rather than always being on screens.

Develop your managers

Managers also have a vital role to play in stress reduction. Train your managers so that they learn good people management skills. Set boundaries so that managers do not contact employees outside of their working hours - nothing is more stressful than receiving demanding emails during free time.

Work on values, purpose, and culture

A low-stress working environment is usually one with a clear sense of values, purpose, and drive. The kinds of stress that are acceptable are those that people feel temporarily when trying to achieve a stretch goal - and these are ideal for performance.

Look at your employee benefits

Employee benefits are another powerful driver of well-being. Offer flexible working, home working, and health support through phone counseling services and employee wellbeing packages.

Bring plants into the office to boost oxygen levels and reduce toxins, host employee volunteering days and crucially - ask your employees what they would love to see at work. That might be flexible benefits, free fruit on a Friday, or the chance to set their own working hours to suit their chronotype.

(OLARREAGA, 2022, (Stange, 2019)

Conclusion

It seems that everyone in today’s workplace is under more pressure. Managing stress is a growing challenge. People usually think of stress as something entirely negative, but as we have seen, stress has tangible benefits when managed properly.

Again, the critical task for managers is to gain a better understanding of stress in the workplace, in their organizations, and in their teams and employees. Anyone in a position of organizational or team leadership should be tracking the issue of stress. In general, good management practices will likely reduce unhealthy stress by improving employee autonomy, training, working conditions, schedules, career development, support systems, 

Managing stress is an essential part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With the right approach, the effects of stress can become less distracting. And although can’t solve everything as their employer, you can help. You can do this through stress management training or wellness programs. Either way, managing their stress levels benefits your employees. And by doing so, will improve the standing of your company.

 (Team, 2023)

References

Cambridge, U. o., 2023. Effects of Work-Related Stress. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/policies-procedures/managing-stress-and-promoting-wellbeing-work-policy/policy-statement/effects
[Accessed 16 Nov 2023].

OLARREAGA, I., 2022. How to Reduce Workplace Stress for Your Employees. [Online]
Available at: https://virtualspeech.com/blog/reduce-workplace-stress-employees
[Accessed 16 Nov 2023].

Post, J., 2023. How to Create a Stress-Free Work Environment. [Online]
Available at: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/11244-create-stress-free-work.html
[Accessed 16 Nov 2023].

Stange, J., 2019. 8 Manager Tips to Reduce Employee Stress at Work. [Online]
Available at: https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/manager-tips-reduce-employee-stress-at-work
[Accessed 16 Nov 2013].

Team, P., 21 Apr, 2023. The Importance of Stress Management in the Workplace. [Online]
Available at: https://www.pareto.co.uk/blog-details/the-importance-of-stress-management-in-the-workplace/
[Accessed 16 Nov 2023].

Wooll, M., 2022. What is workplace stress, and what are its effects?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.betterup.com/blog/causes-of-workplace-stress
[Accessed 15 Nov 2023].