Handling Stress In The Workplace

We all know what stress does to us — we get cranky, nervous, tired, nauseous, and sometimes even uncontrollably and unreasonably angry. This occurs usually at work. Some people are stressed about their colleagues while some are just plain tired of their supervisors. No matter what the cause of their stress, the results can be from negligible to devastating in a matter of time. This is why managers must understand what causes the stress of employees, and how to remedy the problem.

Here are some of the most common and easiest to spot stressed-out employees you may have in your workplace:

Unguided. What could be more stressing than having to do a lot of work that you have zero percent knowledge of? You constantly have to figure out whether you are doing what you have been told, and more than that, you keep asking yourself what position you are in. Unguided employees experience the kind of stress that could have been easily remedied if they were just given a mentor that pays attention to them and shows them not just the ropes, but where it is tied to, and where it leads.

Everyone in the company knows how order looks like inside, but for those outside, and even for those who just got in, everything looks like mashed up jigsaw puzzles with minimal design that they can use to figure out what, who, and which goes where. Keep in mind that every organization has a different structure and culture no matter how similar its organizational chart is with other companies.

This kind of stress also happens to old employees who keeps getting placed from one department to another constantly. There is stress when you constantly have to adjust your mental state at work, especially if the work entails working within other departments with a different office culture.

Underpaid. Let’s be clear on who is underpaid — people who get the same amount as others and tasked to do things under their job description are not underpaid. Those who hold a higher position, holding bigger tasks but receive a pay that is just a hair strand higher than her subordinates are what we can call underpaid.

Check if your salaries are on a par with the position and tasks given to your employees, and make sure that there is no wage distortion going on under your nose. You can also check if this underpayment is monetary or non-monetary. Remember that some people like being treated nicely, or being thanked for a job well done.

Overworked. Sometimes it’s not about being underpaid, but rather being tasked to accomplish tasks that are simply not just to be done by one person alone. This usually happens to that rising key person — the one who is showing signs that they can take the lead, is abused. Of course, as managers, we only want them to develop their skills until such time that they can really take the lead. However, we must also remember that everyone has physical limits.

Outcast. The very first type of stress that most new employees may face in an unrelenting, highly competitive workplace is the stress of being an outcast. I see this a lot in different workplaces, and this is a culture that is generally out of the managers’ control. However, as business owners, managers, and leaders, it is our job to introduce fledglings to the pack.

Being set as an outcast can mean different things: (1) maybe the employee is just shy and still feeling the waters; (2) the employee is purposely set as outcast by the other employees because they feel threatened; and (3) the employee chooses to be an outcast because he prefers to work alone. Understand which category they belong so you can remedy it properly. If it is the first one, you might want to just wait a little and see how things develop. If it is the second or the third one, you might want to try team games in your next company team-building. Show both sides that there is nothing to feel threatened about, and that they can all work harmoniously after they get to know each other.

What was discussed is just a partial list of the many sources of stress that can wreak havoc on productivity. While they are often inevitable in the workplace, managers may have the means to eliminate or mitigate these negative influences. Knowing how to handle stress in the workplace should be part of the skill a manager should acquire.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-6, Sunday, August 30, 2015. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.