Long-term stress at work promotes diseases and even causes them. However, this is not only a problem for the employee. Stressed employees are more likely to take sick leave because stress weakens the immune system and is also less effective at work.

Stress is nothing more than a sense of discomfort and psychological tension caused by the discrepancy between the requirements of work and the capabilities of the employee.

The main factors that have a stressful effect on the employee include:

• the level of requirements and the ability to meet them,
• low level of control over work,
• lack of support from superiors and co-workers.

Each of them can be divided into even smaller sources of stress at work. And so, in the case of the level of requirements, the cause of stress can be both too much or too little work, too high or too slow pace of work, a mismatched workplace (lack of necessary qualifications to perform it), monotony of work.

In the case of a low level of control over work, factors include lack of control over the work environment, low control over the organization and time of work, insufficiently defined professional role (lack of specific duties and requirements), lack of a clear way of assessing work, low sense of security.

In the case of the last factor, which is the lack of support from superiors and co-workers, the causes of stress include the lack of help from the supervisor and co-workers, lack of motivation on the part of the supervisor, lack of respect for the employee, mobbing.

Summarizing all these sources of stress, it can be seen that the occurrence of stress is largely related to poor management inside the company. Stressed employees work less efficiently, make mistakes more often, are more tired. In some cases, there may even be burnout, i.e. losing interest in the work performed and the employee leaving the company. Therefore, employers should take measures to reduce the level of stress or completely eliminate it.

At the beginning, it is worth starting with organizational matters in the company and internal communication. Thanks to this, it is possible to catch and remove any irregularities in management that may cause stress for employees. Nor should we forget about the equal treatment of each employee. Executives should receive special training on stress, where they will learn how to create an optimal working environment. A good idea will be special workshops about stress for employees. The company should also spread knowledge about stress management methods and healthy lifestyles, encouraging employees to actively play sports and follow a healthy diet.

Source: https://poradnikprzedsiebiorcy.pl/-stres-nie-w-mojej-firmie

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.