{"id":72325,"date":"2023-02-13T07:59:05","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T13:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=72325"},"modified":"2024-04-06T06:12:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T06:12:02","slug":"managing-stress-at-work-three-things-your-employer-could-do-for-you","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/managing-stress-at-work-three-things-your-employer-could-do-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing stress at work: three things your employer could do for you"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"Earning a living can be stressful. Whether it\u2019s time constraints, difficult colleagues, a lack of autonomy, or an unreasonable workload, it\u2019s hard to think of a job that doesn\u2019t come with a certain\u00a0amount of pressure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This can have a negative impact on a person\u2019s\u00a0mental<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0physical<\/a>\u00a0health, and is a major cause of\u00a0long-term absence<\/a>\u00a0from work. An excessive level of stress is bad for people, and it\u2019s also bad for the organisations\u00a0they work for<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Often though, the responsibility for managing stress is left with the employee. Employers tend to think their role lies in helping staff better manage their own individual situations, perhaps by changing their own behaviour or perceptions.<\/p>\n

This may involve things like time management workshops or mindfulness classes \u2013 ideas directed at the individual with the aim of enabling them to be better at their job.<\/p>\n

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But these kinds of interventions place the burden of ultimate responsibility on the employee. And in doing so, organisations feel less obliged to alter the stressful environment by increasing resources, reviewing job descriptions or improving manager training.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To get an alternative view, I spoke to employees about their experiences of attempts to reduce stress levels in the work place. And here are three things your organisation could actually do for you to reduce work related stress.<\/p>\n

1. Identify stress points<\/h2>\n

It is impossible to tackle the causes of stress if an organisation doesn\u2019t know what they are. During\u00a0my research<\/a>, participants spoke of the importance of initiating and maintaining dialogue between various groups including employees, trade unions, human resources and senior management.<\/p>\n

This can be done by regular \u201cpulse checking\u201d, using surveys or one-to-one reviews and a continual observation of staff wellbeing. One housing association employee told me that at their work place, \u201cthe union was hammering on the door to [hold] a stress survey\u201d. She added: \u201c[Management] know it\u2019s a top issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Train managers<\/h2>\n

My research suggests that the role of managers is a key part of employee wellbeing. Managers tend to be the ones in charge of setting deadlines, communicating expectations and dealing with employees\u2019 successes and failures.<\/p>\n

Due to their crucial role, it is vital that any employee with managerial responsibilities receives proper training. This could cover aspects of making deadlines reasonable, being educated on the various help mechanisms that the organisation has in place for their employees and tools to help managers identify stress in their teams.<\/p>\n

Management training can \u2013 and should \u2013 look different in every organisation and department due to their unique qualities and challenges.<\/p>\n

One major management quality that was underestimated (but considered by many to be invaluable) was compassion. Although some of my participants had very demanding jobs and personal circumstances, having a compassionate and well informed manager made all the difference to their day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n

Someone who works in higher education commented:<\/p>\n

\n

Management skills are not just about delegating the work \u2013 [they are about] building a team, recognising when people are struggling, and [being able] to approach that. It\u2019s really personal.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Another said: \u201cSome managers can be very supportive and understanding, but some managers would just say: \u2018Do this, and I want it done today.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And one respondent noted: \u201cI think I\u2019ve got the best manager going. She\u2019s not only my manager, she\u2019s my friend as well, and that\u2019s nice. I can talk to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compassionate management can be as simple as asking how an employee is doing, properly listening to them, and perhaps a small gesture like having a cup of coffee together. It sounds simple, but compassion towards employees and colleagues tends to depend on individual behaviour rather than being something that is encouraged systematically at an organisational level.<\/p>\n

3. Make someone responsible<\/h2>\n

When I asked who was responsible for managing stress in an organisation, many of the people I spoke to gave conflicting answers. Some (after much thought) said it was the HR department, while others (including a member of an HR department) said it was occupational health professionals.\"\"<\/p>\n

A housing association employee described a situation where \u201cthere\u2019s lots of work to be done [around stress] but no one is leading on it, no one is joining it up\u201d. They added: \u201cIt\u2019s all been very hit and miss.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lack of clarity is an obvious cause for concern. If nobody knows who is in charge of a particular aspect of employee wellbeing, it is unlikely to be properly addressed. There needs to be clarity \u2013 and accountability \u2013 around who is responsible for managing stress, so that initiatives can be put in place, and so that people know where to turn when they need help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio<\/a><\/div>\n
Photo by Tara Winstead<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Original Post THE CONVERSATION<\/a><\/div>\n
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Author<\/h3>\n

\"\"Marina Boulos<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Teaching Associate in Human Resource Management, University of Manchester<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Disclosure statement<\/h3>\n

Marina Boulos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earning a living can be stressful. Whether it\u2019s time constraints, difficult colleagues, a lack of autonomy, or an unreasonable workload, it\u2019s hard to think of a job that doesn\u2019t come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":72330,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[139],"tags":[136,137,138,141,143,145,155,147,151],"class_list":["post-72325","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-life-blog","tag-ais","tag-american-institute-of-stress","tag-anxiety","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-relaxation","tag-research","tag-stress-management","tag-workplace-stress","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nManaging stress at work: three things your employer could do for you - The American Institute of Stress<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/managing-stress-at-work-three-things-your-employer-could-do-for-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Managing stress at work: three things your employer could do for you - The American Institute of Stress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Earning a living can be stressful. 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