Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 19
Stress can be caused by a number of
factors, both inside the workplace
and in your personal life. However,
regardless of whether your stress
comes from personal or professional
pressures, support through an
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
can help you manage your stressors
and work through your challenges.
We all know someone who is
overworked and tired but seems
stuck in the same monotonous cycle.
Perhaps that someone is you. This
pattern can almost certainly lead to
psychological stress. Here’s a
scenario of one worker who was
stressed and the techniques she used
to manage it:
What Is Psychological Stress
in the Workplace?
Alice is a middle manager at a fintech
firm. She works very long hours, has
a high workload, and unrealistic
deadlines are causing her sleepless
nights. She also feels tension in her
muscles, has frequent headaches,
often feels like crying, and her
anxiety has worsened. Alice realised
the stress was a result of her job
demands. To manage her mental and
physical responses, she began
setting boundaries, delegating tasks
to others and recognising her limits.
Psychological stress in the workplace
can be defined as the cognitive,
physical and emotional exhaustion
caused by work demands and
pressures. When they build up, it can
feel impossible to cope.
Low levels of stress can help you feel
more motivated and engaged, so
small amounts of stress can actually
be beneficial. However, if stress
becomes overwhelming, that’s when
it’s time to seek support.
Once stress peaks, it can trigger a
physical and cognitive response,
including muscle tension, headaches,
fatigue, anxiety and burnout. Some
of the reasons you might experience
psychological stress at work include:
Lack of resources
Unrealistic deadlines
Poor support from colleagues and
managers
Ambiguous tasks
Unrealistic responsibilities and
pressures
Micromanagement and low job
control
She also spoke to her manager and
her EAP and explained that her stress
was causing burnout. Her EAP
counsellor shared breathing
techniques and self-care strategies,
such as switching off after work and
exercising. Her manager had been
unaware that she was experiencing
chronic stress and made adjustments
to spread the workload and take
some of the pressure off. The result
was a more manageable workload,
reduced burnout, and more creativity
and productivity. Alice even started
producing more innovative work.
The takeaway: you don’t have to
manage stress on your own, and
speaking up early can make a real
difference.
