#ToolboxTuesday - Workplace Stress
What is Workplace Stress?
CCOHS defines Workplace stress as, “the harmful physical and emotional responses that can happen when there is a conflict between job demands on the employee and the amount of control an employee has over meeting these demands.”
The Effects
Stress can negatively affect a worker’s health and safety and cause significant damage over a long period. Feelings of stress usually increase when people believe the demands of a situation are greater than their ability to deal with it.
When under much stress, some may find it hard to concentrate, make decisions, and feel confident. Many people experience physical sensations like sweating, a racing heart, or tense muscles.
Common effects of stress on the body include:
Headache
Muscle tension or pain
Chest pains
Increased heart rate and blood pressure
Weakened immune system
Fatigue / insomnia
Stomach and digestive issues
High blood sugar
Increased cholesterol and fatty acids in blood for energy production systems
From an organizational stance, research has also shown that workplace stress may also cause:
19% of absenteeism costs
40% of turnover costs
55% of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) costs
30% of short- and long-term disability costs
60% of workplace accidents
10% of drug plan costs
How to Minimize Workplace Stress
Due to COVID -19, most companies shifted daily operations to remote work. Two years ago, the idea of remote arrangements would not have been considered. Providing this flexibility is a great start to reducing worker stress.
Providing workers with more autonomy over their daily tasks and their direct working situation is also very beneficial. Workers with higher control over their daily tasks feel more empowered and often experience less stress.
Benefits Of Flexible Working Arrangements
The Sloan Center on Aging and Work completed an age and generations study that examined flexible work options. The following benefits were found for employees given work-location flexibility:
Greater employee engagement
Lower perceptions of work overload
Better physical health and mental health
Increased satisfaction with work-family balance
Check out this “Burn Out Test” to see where you land on the stress scale. If you and your coworkers are experiencing signs of burnout, consider ways you can implement flexible working arrangements at your organization.