Signs of Stress in the Workplace

Recognising the signs of stress in your employees or teams can help you to deal with the underlying causes before they become unmanageable or, at worst, lead to lost time absenteeism or resignations.

If employees start behaving differently, it can be a sign they are stressed.

Managers should look out for signs of stress in teams and employees, listed below.

It is important to consider whether the stress could be linked to work pressure as this is bound-up in your duty of care.

Acting early can reduce the impact of pressure and make it easier to reduce or remove the causes.

If managers are worried that an employee is showing some of these signs, they should encourage them to see their GP.

These signs can be symptoms of other conditions such as anxiety disorders or depression and need to be addressed.

If there is something wrong at work, and this has caused the problem, business owners should take action.

If you are unsure about what needs to be done, or how to go about it, then you should get in touch with us as we can help you.

Signs of Stress in Teams

Your teams may demonstrate signs of being under stress by:

• Arguments that go beyond mere discussion.
• Higher staff turnover and frequent resignations.
• More reports of stress going to your HR department.
• More sickness absence and lost time.
• Decreased performance at all levels.
• More complaints and grievances

Employers have a legal responsibility to assess the risks of work related stress in their workplace and take action to protect employees.

Signs of Stress in Individual Staff

A change in the way someone acts can be a sign of stress, for example they may:

• Take more time off.
• Arrive for work later and later.
• Be more twitchy or nervous in general.

A change in the way someone thinks or feels can also be a sign of stress, for example:

• Frequent mood swings and unpredictability.
• Being withdrawn from others.
• A loss of motivation, commitment and confidence in themselves.
• Increased emotional reactions – being more tearful, sensitive or aggressive.

Solving Work Related Stress

Work related stress tends to be dealt with in one of two principal ways;

• Employers who provide support after the employee has become too stressed to attend work (crisis management), and
• Employers who provide training and support before employees become too stressed (mental health prevention).

Although the second option is clearly the best solution, many employers fail to recognise the advantages of preventative, proactive support and tend to offer support (if at all) only once the employee has become absent from work.

Research into the cost v benefits of providing preventative support shows unequivocally that the costs associated with employees who are absent are significantly greater than the costs of proactive training.

Resilience Training

Lee Psychology have been delivering Resilience Training sessions to the NHS Integrated Care Boards (Sandwell & West Birmingham, The Black Country and Birminham & Solihull ICBs) since 2018.

Our training programmes are based on scientifically proven CBT pronciples and can be delivered as both group training seminars (half and full-days) as well as one-to-one personalised programmes (face-to-face or remotely using Zoom).

CBT Support

If you have employees who are struggling with work related stress (for whatever reason) we are also able to provide support using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Our 10 session CBT course is available in the following formats:

• Self-directed Online course over 10 modules.
• Clinically supported CBT course using our Online course with either 2, 5 or 10 face-to-face sessions (in-clinic or suing Zoom).

If you’d like to find out more about how we can support you and your organisation, then get in touch with Paul.

Business Psychology Support Services

If you’re looking to support your staff with their mental wellness, resilience or general wellbeing, then why not get in touch with Paul to find out more about how we can help.