Workplace stress is skyrocketing and it leads to significant losses and additional costs for enterprises. Most often, stress is caused by excessive workload, too long working hours, and a lack of adequate rest, namely, the dissonance between the demands and the employees’ inner resources (Daft and Marcic 425). Relationships in the team also cause stress, that is, psycho-emotional and psychosocial factors are important. Moreover, the imbalance between work and personal life can also cause stress.
Managers are partially responsible for workplace stress and can help their employees to deal with it. They may identify the main stress factors in their enterprise and eliminate or reduce them to a minimum. However, in stress management, an individual approach is important since the stress threshold is different for each person. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the distribution of work, not overload workers, and clearly define their direct responsibilities (Daft and Marcic 427). Managers should also take care of a favorable psychological climate in the team and help to resolve emerging conflict situations. They should provide a comfortable and welcoming work environment and encourage workers to take short rest breaks.
There is no working person who does not have to cope with stress. This applies to entrepreneurs, freelancers, and employees of large companies. I think that this trend will continue since stress at work is inevitable due to the ever-increasing labor intensity, more powerful information flow, as well as new technologies. In today’s dynamic world, workplace stress has become a global epidemic that harms not only the health of workers but also the productivity of enterprises. However, proper managerial behavior can help to reduce stressful situations. It is important to find time for a confidential conversation with the employees to find out the causes of stress and work together to find a solution.
Reference
Daft, Richard L., and Dorothy Marcic. Understanding Management (11th ed.). Cengage Learning, 2019.