What is occupational stress?

Occupational stress is the negative psychological and physical effects that an employee experiences due to workplace responsibilities, environment, or other pressures.

Since each individual's ability to tolerate stress is different, its intensity is affected by the individual employee, their specific role, the company culture, etc.

What are the different types of occupational stress?

If you find that your employees are constantly stressed, you should find out what kind of stress they are facing. Doing so will help you find the root cause of their stress and take action to address the situation.

Here are five common types of workplace stress:

• New job stress:  New employees   can easily feel overwhelmed during  the onboarding process . They simultaneously have to learn about their job responsibilities, build relationships with their co-workers and adapt to a new company culture, all while trying to perform at a high level to make a good first impression.
• Acute stress:  This is situational and is caused by problems like an upcoming deadline or a big presentation. Usually, acute stress passes once the stressful event is over.
• Workplace conflict stress:  Workplace conflict  can be caused by disagreements over business decisions or personality clashes. This can manifest as gossip or bullying which can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of your employees. Other consequences include decreased productivity and increased absenteeism.
• Fear-based stress:  Situations that threaten employees' job security can make it difficult for them to perform well. Examples include potential layoffs, a difficult relationship with their boss, or additional responsibilities they were not prepared for.
• Burnout:  Employees  experience burnout  when they become physically and emotionally exhausted from working long hours, which affects their performance. Burnout can be caused by a variety of factors such as being on an understaffed team or constantly having unreasonable deadlines.

Major causes of occupational stress

Although the sources of occupational stress may vary from individual to individual, employees in all organizations – no matter how large or small – can be affected by occupational stress.

Some common examples of occupational stress include:

• Strict company policies and protocols
• Performance expectations that exceed an employee's training and qualifications
• Little or no professional guidance or instruction
• overwork
• Limited opportunities for professional and personal growth
• Poor time management
• Conflicts between team members or different departments
• Micromanagement and Mismanagement
• Lack of support from their HR department
• personal, situational, or professional issues
• Bullying or discrimination
• Loss of pay, reduction in salary, or benefits
• Regular threats of being fired

Regardless of the cause, the effects of occupational stress can be very damaging to an employee’s productivity and overall well-being – in both their professional and personal lives.

Occupational stress scale

The Occupational Stress Scale,   also known as the Occupational Stress Inventory , is a questionnaire used to assess the level of stress in the workplace. It measures 14 characteristics that fall into three main categories:

1. Occupational stress (e.g., role ambiguity)
2. psychological stress (eg, depression)
3. coping measures (e.g., self-care)

HR professionals can use this data to identify areas of concern and take action to reduce job-related stress, increase productivity and job satisfaction, and improve employee well-being.

Occupational health stress at work

Knowing the symptoms of work-related stress can help leadership address problems before they become intractable.

Employees may not feel comfortable saying they're tired, so  look for  these common signs :

• Lack of motivation to perform basic job requirements
• missing a deadline
• feeling inferior to coworkers
• inability to function or communicate productively
• Persistent feelings of general stress, chaos, and confusion
• burn out
• Lack of sleep and irritability
• Abnormal feelings of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, frustration, and failure

Employees suffering from occupational stress typically display symptoms of the stress reaction.

 There are  three phases of the stress response :

1. Alarm:  Physical, emotional or mental stress can cause symptoms such as increased heart rate, anxiety or fear. This stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and sends a surge of adrenaline throughout the body, also known as the ""fight or flight"" response. In the context of normal life stress, this stage is often short-lived. However, with occupational stress, this stage can be long-term which triggers the second stage.
2. Resistance:  The body tries to regain balance by increasing chemicals such as melatonin in the brain to counteract the “alarm” response. However, with prolonged stress, the alarm phase overpowers the resistance phase; this toxic cycle can lead to sleep deprivation, fatigue, irritability, and concentration problems.
3. Exhaustion:  After cycling between alarm and resistance for a long period of time, the body succumbs to the stress and begins to shut down. Once the body's mental and physical defense systems are compromised, it can quickly fall prey to illness and infection.

Many people who suffer from untreated, long-term occupational stress are susceptible to a number of health problems such as viral and bacterial infections, increased hormone levels, certain illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, and serious skin conditions. For these reasons alone, it is important to treat occupational stress.

How to deal with occupational stress

Some degree of occupational stress is unavoidable throughout our careers, but fortunately, there are many ways employees and HR departments can treat it and prevent it from recurring.

Tips for employees

When things get overwhelming, relaxation techniques like meditation and deep breathing exercises   can help calm the body and mind. It can be helpful to have a “toolbox” to use in stressful moments that can include words of self-affirmation and a journal to jot down negative thoughts.

Tips for HR departments

HR departments can prevent occupational stress among employees by creating a positive and proactive workplace culture. It is important to quickly eliminate bullying, discrimination, and harassment behaviors, as well as promote an open-door policy in which individuals feel safe and comfortable reporting such behavior.

Additionally,  implementing  employee assistance programs (or making employees aware of existing programs) can help them effectively resolve matters such as workplace conflicts, personal issues, mental health issues, and substance abuse.

What is occupational stress management?

Occupational stress management is a program that both employers and employees can follow to reduce stress at work. While the program may include some of the steps mentioned above, it may also include more formal stress-relief efforts such as:

• Clearly defining job responsibilities so they don’t overwork themselves
• Ensuring that an employee's workload is commensurate with his or her abilities and resources
•  Empowering employees to have more control over their day-to-day responsibilities
• Improve communication between fellow employees and leadership
• Providing social opportunities for employees to become more familiar with their co-workers and managers
• Reducing uncertainty about job security and internal growth opportunities