Stress is something we all face, and that’s why one of our goals at Brown Paper Packages is to try and reduce stress that people may be experiencing – particularly in the workplace. But how do you spot stress in the workplace? What are the signs of stress? What are the causes?
Signs of Stress in the workplace:
Spotting signs of stress in yourself can certainly be easier than spotting it in your colleagues, so here are some tell-tale signs to check for. Identified by HSE[1]:
- mood swings
- being withdrawn
- loss of motivation, commitment, and confidence
- increased emotional reactions – being more tearful, sensitive, or aggressive
- arguments
- decreased performance
These are only a few of the signs that you may notice. However, they won’t be visible all the time so at Brown Paper Packages we feel it’s important to emphasise how crucial it is to encourage conversation about mental health, wellbeing, and stress within the workplace. If people feel comfortable discussing their issues at work, they quickly become much easier to solve!
Causes of stress in the workplace:
There are countless potential causes of stress in the workplace. (Trust us, we know how stressful life and work can be!) Here are a few key things that we think could cause stress within your work environment:
- Long Hours
- Work Pressure
- Poor relationships within the workplace
- Poor organisation
- Low recognition and reward
And here are a few more causes, identified by HSE[2] ‘Workers may say that they:
- Are not able to cope with the demands of their job
- Are unable to control the way they do their work
- Don’t receive enough information and support
- Don’t fully understand their role and responsibilities'
These short lists don’t even begin to encapsulate how many different causes of stress there are, especially at work. It is the most stressful part of a lot of people’s lives after all! But it’s important to remember that identifying these causes is the first step to removing or mitigating the amount of stress they may be inducing. We believe that a care package from us, to an individual, or a whole team experiencing stress at work, could remove at least a few of those causes listed above, and that’s not a bad place to start!
Solutions to stress in the workplace:
We mentioned earlier that starting discussions about wellbeing and stress in the workplace was key to helping reduce stress. However, talking isn’t always enough on its own to resolve stress. Perhaps gestures of genuine interest in staff and colleagues is more effective… Research commissioned by Mind[3] found that ‘Three in five people said that if their employer took action to support the mental wellbeing of all staff, they would feel more loyal, motivated, committed and be likely to recommend their workplace as a good place to work.’ With that in mind it should be clear to employers how important taking action to combat feelings of stress at work is. Maybe one of our wellbeing care packages is an easy way to get that message of support across to staff and colleagues.
[1] https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/signs.htm
[2] https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/causes.htm
[3] https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/work-is-biggest-cause-of-stress-in-peoples-lives/
