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We spend a third of our lives at work and this time doesn't include commuting, overtime, or the time we spend thinking about work when we get home. For most people, work is where we can express our skills, help define who we are, and do something useful for ourselves and for others.
Work has become just as necessary to our good mental health as it is to our wallets. But when work is overly stressful and demanding, it can harm our mental health.
Good stress, bad stress
Some stress at work is normal. It's often what provides us with the energy and motivation we need to meet our daily challenges and achieve goals such as making deadlines,
hitting sales or production targets, or finding new clients.
When that feeling of satisfaction turns into exhaustion or frustration, however, or when the challenges at work become too demanding,
we may experience the negative aspects of stress, which can have a major impact on our mental health.
Stress in the workplace can have many origins or it can come from one single event.
It can affect both employees and employers alike.
According to researchers at Laval University, the five most significant sources of stress in organizations are:
- work overload
- lack of recognition by peers
- poor relationship with supervisors
- lack of participation in decision-making (individual and organizational levels)
- lack of information.
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A lot of stress at work is caused by my manager's negative attitude toward her job.
She treats certain staff especially poorly due to her frustration. The staff then become very stressed and they begin to live up to the low expectation placed upon them.
This creates a lot more problems for the manager who has been heard several times saying "Why can't anyone just do things properly?"
Jill K., age 19
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Balancing it all
High levels of stress also commonly happen when people have difficulty balancing the demands of work and the demands at home.
Even if work is not stressful, people often rate balancing work and family as more important that any other employment factors.
The combination of job and home stressors can indeed be a major factor when people talk about what causes them stress.
Work/life balance initiatives can help to bridge the gap between work and home responsibilities.
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Separating work and family time reduces stress
One large company has a ban on work emails and phone calls from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
It met with a lot of resistance in the beginning as it was a big change in the workplace culture, but the employees now consider it a huge success.
Management has also seen an increase in performance.
At the same time, the company introduced a policy of no meetings after 4:30 p.m. Their goal is to allow people time to get back to their desk and 'clean up' before they go home – they hope that less left undone at work will be less to stress about at home.
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Stress overload has many costs
For individuals, stress in the workplace can result in many health or safety problems including:
- injury
- anxiety, depression or hostility
"Work/life balance initiatives can help to bridge the gap
between work and home responsibilities."
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- greater chance of catching
infectious diseases (due to the physical changes stress has on the body)
- cardiovascular disease
- dependence on alcohol, tobacco and/or prescription and over-the-counter
drugs.
For the organization, the costs of stress include:
- employee turnover
- absenteeism
- reduced productivity
- indifference and apathy
- lack of motivation and creativity.
Stress in the workplace also has costs that go beyond one person or one situation and affect our broader society, including:
- increased costs of physical and mental health services (taxation/insurance)
- reduced productivity for employees and their informal caregivers (family and friends)
- social exclusion (people feeling that they are not part of society because they may not enjoy or have a job, may have fewer friends and less social support,
or generally feel like they are "left out" of community life.)
Reducing stress in the workplace depends on everyone
Managing stress and promoting good mental health at work is something that can, and should, be managed by individuals and organizations alike.
What workers can do for themselves and each other
Self-management of stress |
Reducing personal, or individual stress can go a long way to creating a less stressful and more positive environment overall. The important thing is to find what helps you – what works for one person may not work for everyone.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of being overstressed
- Don't be afraid to ask for help. Many employers offer services that are completely confidential
- Clarify your roles and responsibilities
- Set realistic expectations, goals and objectives for yourself.
Creating a positive atmosphere doesn't have to be complicated. It begins with encouraging support and appreciation by, and for colleagues.
Acknowledgement, not always by awards or bonuses, but by simple everyday gestures can go a long way.
If you feel appreciated at work, you are generally more satisfied and motivated. And, in general, you are less likely to experience mental health problems.
As a team member, you can also influence what is going on around you at work – talk to your co-workers, team members, and supervisors. See what can be done to make pressures like deadlines and tight schedules a bit easier on everyone.
The relationships you have with people you work with are very important, and go a long way towards alleviating some of the everyday difficulties of working life.
That's why it's so important to have co-workers you can trust and who are good at their jobs.
Gale G., age 45
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What organizations can do for employees
The Laval University research outlines effective steps organizations can take to reduce stress in the workplace:
- Hold regular team or group meetings so everyone knows what is going on.
- Encourage participation.
- Offer training.
- Define each job so employees clearly know what their responsibilities are.
- Conduct an annual review – including positive contributions!
- Publish articles on mental health at work in the in-house newsletter.
- Hold lunch and learn sessions on the causes and prevention of mental health problems at work.
Healthy living reduces stress
A Canadian nursing and retirement home embarked on a six-week program to help staff increase their physical activity levels and learn about healthy food portions. They gave out step counters and 'Walk this Way' calendars so participants could track their own progress. They had presentations and events through out the six-week program.
More than half the staff participated and the program was a success.
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Have you ever watched those performers who juggle plates? Sometimes they have six or eight or more plates in the air, all spinning on sticks.
I wonder how they do it.
We sometimes just have too many spinning plates – right now, I've got unexpected work deadlines, a hole in my car's muffler,
the hydro bill from the summer heat wave, and a few other things all combined with a grumpy brother who moved in as the result of his job loss over two years ago and he is still having trouble getting re-established.
Sometimes we have a whole bunch of plates spinning in the air and each one is different.
Jan C., age 39
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You will never get rid of all the stress you have at home or at work.
You may not want to, as some stress can be motivating, but to maintain good mental health at work it's essential to know when you are stressed,
and what you – and your employer – can do about it.
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This article was prepared by the 
