Understanding workplace stress comes from knowing how the employee, management and employer roles compliment each other for recognizing, mitigating and preventing unnecessary stress at work.

1. Understanding
workplace
stress
And taking charge
Adapted from:
Canada’s National
Occupational Health and
Safety Resource

2. What is workplace stress?
» Conflict between job demands on
the employee and the amount of
control the employee has over
meeting those demands.
» High demands and low control at
work result in stress.

3. Workplace stress

4. Characteristics of
workplace stress
» Fear of job redundancy
» Layoffs
» Increased demands due to staff cutbacks
or insufficient qualified staff
» Pressure to perform with decreased job
satisfaction
» Constant demands to work at optimum
performance

5. Help!

6. Effects of workplace stress
» Job dissatisfaction
» Employee turnover
» Reduced efficiency
» Illness, sometimes leading to death
» Absenteeism
» Alcoholism
» Petty internal politics
» Bad or snap decisions
» Apathy
» Lack of motivation or creativity

7. Effects of stress

8. Healthy stress
» When a job is challenging
» When new goals are exciting to
strive towards
» When work obstacles are overcome
» When people concerns can be
resolved
» When a team goal is met

9. Group challenge

10. Physical signs of too much
stress
» Increased blood pressure
» Faster heartbeat, metabolism
» Decreased protein synthesis, poor
digestion, depressed immune and allergic
response systems
» Increased cholesterol
» Local inflammation
» Faster blood clotting
» Increased blood sugar and stomach
acids

11. Sleep deprivation

12. Awareness is the first step

13. 3 ways to notice stress in
yourself and others:
1. Physical: headaches, grinding
teeth, chest pain, shortness of
breath, high blood pressure, muscle
aches, indigestion, constipation or
diarrhea, increased perspiration,
fatigue, insomnia, frequent illness

14. Noticing stress in others

15. 2. Psychosocial: anxiety, irritability,
sadness, defensiveness, anger,
mood swings, hypersensitivity,
apathy, depression, slowed thinking
or racing thoughts, feelings of
helplessness, hopelessness, or of
being trapped.

16. Interpersonal relationships

17. 3. Behavioral: overeating or loss of
appetite, impatience, quickness to argue,
procrastination, increased use of alcohol
or drugs, increased smoking, withdrawal
or isolation from others, neglect of
responsibility, poor job performance, poor
personal hygiene, change in religious
practices, change in close family
relationships.

18. Stress and behaviour

19. Problematic stress
progression
1. Warning
2. Mild
3. Entrenched cumulative stress
4. Severe debilitating cumulative
stress

20. Stress progression

21. Dealing with workplace
stress
Job design:
- Should be reasonably demanding
and provide some variety
- Employee should be able to learn
on the job and be allowed to
continue to learn throughout career

22. Dealing with workplace
stress
Job design:
- Should have some area of decision
making that employee is in charge
of
- Provide some degree of social
support and recognition
- Employee should feel that job leads
to some desirable future

23. Employer
- Treat employees respectfully
- Take stress seriously and be
understanding of pressure on staff
- Involve employees in some decision
making and allow for direct input or
committee input
- Encourage managers to be
proactive and watch for signs of
stress in employees

24. Employer
- Provide workplace health and
safety programs
- Make sure staff have adequate and
ongoing training for their jobs
- Design jobs for balanced work load
- Keep job demands reasonable
- Provide access to employee
assistance programs

25. Employer responsibilities

26. Managers
- Do not tolerate bullying or
harassment of any kind
- Do not ignore signs that employees
are under pressure or stressed
- Remember that elements of the
workplace can be a cause of stress
and look for the root causes

27. Managers

28. Managers
- Make positive changes to the
workplace in ways that lessen stress
for everyone
- Show recognition and appreciation
- Look for ways to train for/rotate jobs

29. Task distribution

30. Employees
- Find ways to laugh! Share a joke, find humor
around you and look for the bright side
- Learn to relax in small ways: deep breathing,
stretch, take your breaks
- Take charge of your situation by taking 10
minutes to prioritize and organize your day. Be
honest with colleagues but be practical and
constructive. Look for realistic ways you can
make small changes to make your work day
better.
- Talk to someone close about your feelings
- Take advantage of Employee Assistance
programs and courses

31. We all have a role

32. 10 tips for mental health
1. Build confidence
2. Eat right, keep fit
3. Make time for family and friends
4. Give and accept support
5. Create a meaningful budget
6. Volunteer, be of service
7. Actively manage stress before it gets out of
hand
8. Find strength in others - look for allies
9. Identify and deal with moods constructively
10. Learn to be at peace with yourself

33. Together we’ll get there!