Top 5 Causes of Work Stress And How To Manage Them

The first step is to examine your job. You might just have an increased workload that is becoming tough to handle, or you may be overworked with longer than usual hours.​

These are often common causes of work stress, but they also happen to be temporary.

On the flipside of that coin, you might find yourself or your employees stressed if the workload isn’t challenging enough. Human beings crave a challenge, and their work will ultimately suffer if they feel as though their potential isn’t being met on the job.

Other causes might include:

Any of these may be a sign that it’s time to find another career path, but it never hurts to talk to your coworkers or manager about these issues first. Assess what the causes of your work stress are, then ask for the opposite. If you’re a manager, then talking with your employees about the root of their stress can help you create a better, more productive working environment through minor changes.

Most people complain about their bosses, but some people have a toxic relationship with their next-in-command. This stressor is easier to identify, but it isn’t always as simple to get to the root of why you can’t stand your boss.

Some find their bosses intimidating, worrying about pleasing them to keep their position. Others might notice that their manager has poor communication skills, treats employees disrespectfully, or that they have an incompatible managing style with another manager. Finally, many workers feel increased levels of stress when a manager has inconsistent expectations.

This can be a tough stressor to eliminate, but the best course of action is to thwart any problems before they escalate. Openly communicating your issues to your manager in a calm discussion, explaining the reasons you feel stressed. If nothing changes, or you receive backlash, then you’ll need to talk to their higher up.

Other conflicts take place between co-workers for a variety of reasons. Most issues can be traced to poor communication or a lack of collaboration. Once again, the best thing you can do is eliminate a problem before it spirals out of control.

Take steps to work together as a team with your coworkers, not in competition with them. Keep things from escalating further by trying to see their side of the argument and keeping the goal of compromise in mind as you talk with one another to resolve the issue at hand.

For managers, taking care of these problems as quickly as possible is crucial to the success of your business. You might want to include conflict resolution as part of orientation for new employees or hold a meeting for your current workers with team building exercises. Providing time for employees to have informal discussions and creating a minimally competitive can help as well.

When significant changes take place, people often find adapting to them is more stressful than they first thought. The same is true for a long series of minor changes. This is unavoidable in the workplace, with stressors including:

If these types of changes are sudden or implemented poorly, you can bet that the majority of your coworkers are going to panic. Employees and managers alike might fear how these changes will affect their job and personal lives.

The best way to implement change is to involve everyone affected by it. Companies can gather feedback to help them make new aspects of the job have less of an impact on their workers. Fostering open dialogue helps to reduce suspicions, allows employees to understand why changes are being made fully.

If you’ve gone through this list and haven’t identified your stressor yet, then the problem might be you. That is, your stress is more than likely stemming from factors in your life outside of work. Maybe you’re struggling financially at the moment, or have debts creating a dark cloud over your head.

You might find yourself working long hours, which severely affects your social relationship and ability to do the things you love. Maybe you’re having problems with family, a personal relationship, or are struggling to take care of your children. Diet, exercise, and sleep schedule can all play a part as well.

Numerous aspects of everyone’s lives can quickly turn into a source of stress, and managing them isn’t always an easy task as many can be outside of your control. What you can do, however, is seek out professional help for each of these different factors before they manifest as work stress.

If you’re feeling overworked and are unable to pay attention to other vital areas of your life, talk to your boss about making your schedule more flexible. Explain your situation to them, detailing the areas of your life that are falling by the wayside. Then, create boundaries to ensure you have enough time for your other obligations in the future.

A financial planning consultant can help see you through a tough few months, creating a plan to avoid similar situations later on. They can also help you create a plan to become debt free. Ask if your company offers any support benefits for financial planning. You might be surprised.

Eating healthy, exercising, and following a healthy sleep schedule are all excellent ways to manage your stress when you’re feeling overwhelmed. You may also want to undergo stress management training or incorporate a meditative practice like yoga into your daily routine. Together, these can work wonders on your current outlook and mood.

Finally, you might want to consider a therapist if your relationships are on the fritz. Whether it’s family, a significant other, or a close friend, a therapist can help you sort through your issues in a healthy, positive way.