Workplace Stress

Workplace Stress

Chances are if you are in employment there are areas of your job that cause you stress- be it fellow staff attitudes, management styles, lack of progression, thoughts on the wage you earn or sheer frustration at not being heard. As we are all individuals, what causes us stress varies greatly; what’s a trigger for one person may not rate at all for another person.

Staywell Occupational Health’s website reports that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health concern in their lifetime https://www.staywelloh.co.uk/ .

Q: So, when does a general workplace problem become a mental health problem?

A: When symptoms become prolonged and damaging to your functionality.

Spotting the signs

We all get annoyed at mis-treatment such as strategy arguments that become personal, you may disagree wholeheartedly with a business decision impacting your department, you may dislike your peers for any number of reasons- these things all happen weekly in the workplace but when the associated feelings and thoughts about them start to affect your functionality then something is going wrong for you:

• Does the thought of being sat at your desk cause palpitations?
• Do you worry excessively?
• On a Sunday are you dreading Monday morning?
• Do you experience erratic breathing?
• Do you have panic attacks?
• Do you encounter mind fog frequently (confusion and forgetting simple, well-learned tasks or names)?
• Have you noticed a change in your emotions- are your easily angered or upset over trivial issues?
• Are your motivation levels low?
• Has your sleep pattern changed- either increased or decreased?
• Has your appetite changed- either increased or decreased?
• Have you rapidly gained or lost weight lately?
• Has your interest in having sex changed?
• Do you feel like being alone all the time or spend excessive time with friends to avoid being alone?
• Has this been going on for longer than 6 months?

If you are answering ‘Yes’ to some or lots of these questions and it has been going on for 6 months or longer then you could be experiencing either anxiety, depression or a combination of both.

Not everyone who is unhappy at work is depressed, anxious or suffering from stress, so it would be wrong to make that assumption across the board. People have different thresholds depending on past experience, current support networks, current state of mind and what is happening in their personal lives. Many problems at work are short- lived and it is normal to feel annoyed, frustrated and upset, for a reasonable amount of time during and afterwards. What separates all this out between individuals is the impact and duration; if you have been suffering for months then this needs addressing.

If your job is changing you and impacting on you negatively then you have some options:

• A frank discussion with your line manager- they may be able to make reasonable adjustments to your workload or working day
• Contact your HR or occupational health department in confidence
• EAPs/ Employee Assistance Programs if your company offers them as an employee benefit
• National charity helplines such as Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/, Anxiety UK https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/ or Mind https://www.mind.org.uk/
• Contact your GP for an appointment for a health check
• Your GP can signpost you to your appropriate local health services
• Book an appointment with a Counsellor in confidence