Work-related stress

Describes the physical, mental and emotional reactions of workers who perceive that their work demands exceed their abilities and/or their resources (such as time, help/support) to do the work. It occurs when they feel they are not coping in situations where it is important to them that they cope.

A certain level of stress or challenging work can be motivating for workers and can increase performance. However, overly challenging work, which is beyond a person’s skill level, can create excessive stress resulting in performance decrements. Stress follows a curved relationship, such that low and high levels of stress are associated with lower levels of performance whilst moderate levels of stress usually result in a higher level of performance.

Health effects

When stressful situations go unresolved, the body is kept in a constant state of stimulation – which can impact on your health (physiological and/or psychological). Common health outcomes linked to stress include cardiovascular disease, immune deficiency disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and mental health conditions.

Where to get help

Dealing with stress at work can be hard, but it is easier if you seek help. Talk to your doctor, or see below for online programs and tools that can help you.

Learn how to deal with stress with This Way Up's stress management course
ReachOut.com's Breathe app
Mindspot's wellbeing course which aims to reduce stress and anxiety.

Resources for managers and supervisors

Managers and supervisors play a vital role in the identification and management of work-related stress and are in the best position to notice any changes in behaviour, signs and symptoms in their workers.

The Health Safety Executive in the UK has developed the Line Manager Competency Tool which allows managers to assess how effective they are at preventing and managing work-related stress through their management style and behaviour.

Other resources

Tips for managers around supporting others

When a staff member experiences a mental health condition, it can affect the entire team. Communication is the key in these situations: firstly, by encouraging general discussion about psychological health and well-being before a staff member is affected. Secondly, ensure that you keep staff updated on emerging issues or matters affecting staff. Without clear communication from managers, there is a risk that colleagues may judge a person who is dealing with psychological issues to be ‘slacking off’ or not pulling their weight. It is important to clarify the situation with other staff so that they do not pre-judge the person or alienate them further. However you need to protect the employee's right to privacy, you will need to communicate what's going on without providing specific details of their condition.

It’s important to:

Protect the employee’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Ensure all staff are educated about mental health to address any misconceptions team members may have about mental health. You could do this by putting educational information and/or posters around the workplace, delivering a series of short educational talks, such as the tool box talks, watching webinars as a team or listening to personal stories and case studies.
Communicate information to the team regularly, giving them updates about how a situation is being managed or how emerging issues are being handled.
Manage the impact of any absences on the team and distribute the workload appropriately. If someone is unwell for a period of time, ensure you check in regularly with the other team members to review their potentially increased workload, and re-prioritise things as required.
Consider swapping tasks within the team to avoid other colleagues taking on excessive workloads.
Recognise when conflicts, gossip, alienation/isolation or bullying occur and be proactive in dealing with the situation. As a leader you should demonstrate zero tolerance to this type of behaviour and remind your staff to be respectful of each other at all times.