Sometimes you just have to change the plan… this post was going to cover a different subject, but yet another work-related stress article caught my attention. And there are hundreds of articles on the subject out there.
How familiar are you with the subject? How is the issue being addressed in your workplace?
We should take pride in our work, and we should work hard. Stretching our skills and achieving our goals is how we grow professionally and personally. Getting that sense of achievement sends plenty of feel-good chemicals into our brain and makes us happy.
But at what price?
15 million working days are lost each year in the UK alone due to stress. Whilst workload is quoted as the biggest cause (55%), a third of respondents quoted relationship with colleagues as a major influence on their wellbeing (Moorepay research, 2019).
Stress has an enormous impact on employees, their family, their colleagues, and the organisation as a whole. And regardless of whether an employee is signed off work to look after themselves, or coming in to work despite not being well (another article on presenteeism will be published soon), the cost to the employer is staggering: healthcare, workload replacement, diminished productivity of said employee and that of their colleagues, the costs of mistakes being made when unwell, hiring costs in some cases, the list goes on.
What can you do about it?
- Speak with your colleagues/employees/manager
- Identify the issue
- Measure the scale of the problem if there is one
- Eliminate or reduce the “hot spots”
- Put things in place that reduce the risks of burnout for you and your colleagues
- Make time to recharge your batteries
- Take time to exercise (ideally outside)
- Track your sleeping habits
- Speak to a professional if you feel you cannot cope
The statistics are not a pleasant read, and they’re just scratching the surface.
Look after yourself. Don’t be a statistic.