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Occupational Stress

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What is occupational stress?

Occupational stress describes the ongoing or progressing stress team members experience as a result of their workplace. There are multiple types of occupational stress that vary depending on circumstance. Examples of occupational stress include trauma from a workplace injury, exhaustion from working too many hours, poor mental health due to abusive co-workers, and shift work sleep disorder due to working during sleeping hours. Occupational stress affects worker productivity and wellness.

Why is occupational stress important?

Managers must monitor their team for occupational stress because it is bad for team morale, productivity, and employee retention. Team members that work in stressful environments due to poor management are more likely to turnover. Some workplaces are more prone to certain occupational stress, such as healthcare workers. However, occupational stress can still be managed and treated. Certain types of occupational stress can be prevented altogether, such as scheduling a team member for too many shifts.

How can occupational stress be treated?

There are many types of occupational stress which require different solutions. Here are some examples below:

  • Incomplete training: Preparing new team members for their roles is vital for their success. When expectations are unclear and little time is spent on training, this increases occupational stress. Take time to improve your onboarding process by getting feedback from team members on what they felt was missing. Ask team leaders if there are any gaps in performance that are common with new hires. Incorporate the feedback by adjusting your onboarding accordingly. Training processes need to be updated regularly to reflect business needs.
  • Little occupational direction: Goal setting and performance reviews give team members direction and a sense of accomplishment. Confusing or rapidly changing direction is a source of occupational stress. Give regular feedback to limit occupational stress. Managers who are present and supportive can completely change a team member’s experience. It can also prevent problems such as buddy punching or employee absenteeism. 
  • Interpersonal conflict: Harassment or bullying in the workplace is a source of occupational stress. Office politics, favoritism, and nepotism also lower company morale and increases occupational stress. If you suspect a specific interpersonal conflict to be a problem in your workplace, consider having a one-on-one conversation with the individuals involved. On bigger culture problems, create an anonymous feedback form to get honest thoughts from your team members. It can be difficult to open up about a cultural problem if there is a fear of retribution.
  • Lack of upward mobility: When team members feel there is no room for growth in their role, that is a source of occupational stress. Consider creating an education fund or creating a mentoring program within your organization. Get to know team members and pay attention to what their potential for growth is.

  • Burnout: Exhaustion from being overworked is harmful to a team member’s health and detrimental to their performance. If your team is constantly burnt out, the quality of their performance drops. Potential solutions include better scheduling practices. Team members who work back-to-back opening and closing shifts typically do not get enough sleep. Another solution is to encourage days off, vacations, and sick leaves. Team members with a strong work-life balance can be more productive when they are on duty.
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