As any seasoned member of the workforce can attest, fulltime employment can be a stressful undertaking. Devoting a minimum of 40 hours each week to any job can take a toll on even the most diligent employee. As such, it’s important for both workers and bosses to get a handle on workplace stress. If left unchecked, on-the-job stress can adversely impact both mental health and physical wellbeing, so it’s in every business’s best interest to keep common stressors in check. Companies who want to create comfortable workspaces for their employees are urged to keep an eye out for the following stressors.
- Feeling Overlooked
Many members of the workforce feel overlooked in their professional lives. Despite spending the majority of their waking hours behind a desk, workers often feel as if their efforts count for nothing. In the absence of positive reinforcement from managers and other higher-ups, employees can become de-motivated and lose any passion they once held for their jobs. Businesses can easily remedy this issue by providing thank you gifts for employees, offering kind words at every available opportunity and arranging anniversary celebrations for longtime team members. In addition to making employees feel valued, this approach helps give them a sense of belonging and makes reporting to work feel like less of a cumbersome obligation.
- Internal Conflict
You’d be hard-pressed to find a workplace that isn’t home to some form of internal conflict. Employees come into conflict with one another for a wide range of reasons, including poor communication, certain team members not pulling their weight and outright incompatibility. If left to simmer, certain conflicts can have a negative impact on the overall atmosphere of an office and make it an all-around unpleasant place to work. This is why it’s important for every company to have a solid H.R. department and for managers to keep an eye out for interoffice conflict. The earlier conflict is identified, the less damage it’s likely to do.
- Unreasonable Hours
Long hours are among the most prevalent workplace stressors. There’s no question that work is important, but having time to enjoy one’s personal life is essential for mental health. In recent years, many businesses have seen success in giving employees more control over their work schedules. Letting people work from home and set their own office hours often leads to increased productivity, heightened motivation and a greater sense of loyalty to employers. Flexible scheduling can be a particularly big boon to workers with children and family obligations. If an employee’s physical presence isn’t actually required, there’s little sense in forcing them to report to an office on a daily basis.
It’s no secret that working is often a stressful experience. When asked to identify their foremost stressors, most people’s minds are liable to go straight to work. The first step in getting a handle on workplace stress is understanding the most common forms it takes. Through coming to understand the working world’s worst stressors, members of the workforce and employers can take measures to minimize them – and in some cases, stamp them out entirely.