{"id":2060,"date":"2023-11-30T15:51:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T15:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learn.brightbreaks.com\/learn\/?p=2060"},"modified":"2023-02-01T22:33:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T22:33:30","slug":"how-to-reduce-employee-stress-in-meaningful-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learn.brightbreaks.com\/learn\/blog\/how-to-reduce-employee-stress-in-meaningful-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Reduce Employee Stress in Meaningful Ways"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u00a0<\/p>

We are more stressed out than ever. <\/span><\/p>

The number of people who suffer from stress has rapidly increased since the start of the pandemic. <\/span><\/p>

Whether the stress comes from home or it\u2019s work-related, one thing is clear: Stress affects your employees and your workplace. <\/span><\/p>

Stress: A Breakdown<\/span><\/h2>

When you experience a significant challenge or change, your body has a physical and mental response, known as fight or flight. <\/span><\/p>

And if a situation can\u2019t be resolved immediately, you can become mentally and physically frazzled. This experience is stress. <\/span><\/p>

Stress is completely normal. Human beings are designed to experience stress, react, and manage it accordingly. <\/span><\/p>

But when you have prolonged stress \u2014 meaning an issue has not been managed or resolved \u2014 the body is robbed of rest. Being constantly stressed puts your body\u2019s RPM in the red zone. <\/span><\/p>

When your body can\u2019t relax and recharge properly, a variety of symptoms can start to appear. <\/span><\/p>

Why We Need To Reduce Stress<\/span><\/h2>

Prolonged stress in the body can manifest as mental illness, migraines, and fatigue. And stress can lead to even bigger problems \u2014 including <\/span>serious illnesses<\/span><\/a> like diabetes and heart disease. <\/span><\/p>

But the good news is that stress can be managed and reduced with simple approaches. And helping to keep your stress levels down helps \u2014 well, everyone. <\/span><\/p>

How Stress Manifests<\/span><\/h2>

The Negative Health Impacts Of Stress<\/span><\/h3>

Stress can affect your body, your thoughts, your feelings, and your behaviour.<\/span><\/p>

In the body, <\/span>stress<\/span><\/a> can be experienced in a variety of painful ways, from pounding headaches to full-blown migraines, and muscle aches creeping all the way down your neck and back. <\/span><\/p>

Over the long term, stress can also cause high blood pressure, gut and digestion issues. <\/span><\/p>

Your thoughts and feelings can also be disrupted by bouts of stress. Irritability and anger, restlessness, sadness and depression, and anxiety are all side effects of stress. <\/span><\/p>

These may show up as an uncalled-for angry outburst, social withdrawal, lethargy, and changed eating patterns. <\/span><\/p>

In women, the <\/span>symptoms of stress<\/span><\/a> can be even more harmful. <\/span><\/p>

Headaches and migraines are far more common for stressed women than stressed men. Women who are experiencing stress may also have difficulty becoming pregnant and may lose their menstrual cycles. <\/span><\/p>

And if stress is chronic, recovery can take weeks, months, or even longer.<\/span><\/p>

The Cost of Stress to Your Business<\/span><\/h3>

A stressed employee is an expensive employee.<\/span><\/p>

According to a <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> by the World Health Organization, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, which can be caused by stress. <\/span><\/p>

That\u2019s a grand total of $1 trillion US in lost productivity per year due to stress. <\/b><\/p>

In a <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> by Gallup, stress can cause absenteeism, accidents, quality defects, shrinkage, and higher turnover, which can lead to major reductions in financial performance.<\/span><\/p>

It\u2019s even more expensive to <\/span>lose an employee<\/span><\/a> completely. <\/span><\/p>

Mental health issues caused by stress \u2014 including anxiety, depression and burnout \u2014 factor into employees\u2019 decisions to leave their jobs, if not the entire industry.<\/span><\/p>

When is Workplace Stress Too Much?<\/span><\/h2>

Stress At Work: Warning Signs<\/span><\/h3>

It can be hard to identify stress in an employee because everyone experiences mental and physical stress differently, which makes the symptoms harder to spot. They\u2019re not easily quantified.<\/span><\/p>

One metric that can be measured for employee stress is your employees\u2019 well-being. <\/span><\/p>

Employee well-being<\/span><\/a> is the overall health and wellness of your company\u2019s people. Employees with increased well-being experience the least amount of stress. <\/span><\/p>

It\u2019s impossible to be relaxed and stressed at the same time. <\/b><\/p>

Employees with low well-being can feel disengaged and isolated, and they may worry about insignificant details. None of these symptoms tend to \u201clook like\u201d stress. <\/span><\/p>

And the challenge of identifying stress is elevated with remote and hybrid work environments. What you see on screen is often not a complete picture.<\/span><\/p>

Strategies for Managing Stress<\/span><\/h2>

Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can help you manage them.<\/span><\/p>

Body, Thought, Feeling, and Behaviour Recognition<\/span><\/h3>

When you are able to recognize symptoms of stress in yourself, you will be able to recognize them and help others who are also experiencing stress. <\/span><\/p>

Here are some tools that you can use when you are dealing with a challenge or change: <\/span><\/p>