From learning how to identify different stress styles to providing meaningful rest and recovery, successfully addressing stress in the workplace requires a whole-of-organisation approach.
Australia is currently home to one of the most stressed out workforces in the world.
Recent research from Gallup shows 48 per cent of employees are experiencing stress on a daily basis, a figure greater than the global average, and over 40 per cent are actively watching for or seeking a new role.
Workers’ compensation arising from psychological claims, including from work pressure and stress, have nearly doubled in the past five years, according to research by Allianz Australia.
For employers, addressing workplace stress is more imperative than ever as psychosocial hazard management becomes a stronger focus for employers over the coming months with many workplace stressors, such as job demands and poor support, identified as hazards by Safe Work Australia.
“When there’s too much [stress], that’s too fast and for too long, we put people at risk. That’s where stress becomes the problem,” says Dr Michelle McQuaid, wellbeing expert and founder of The Wellbeing Lab.
There’s a fine line between stress and burnout, adds Dr Jemma King, an organisational behaviour specialist and stress researcher.
“Sometimes you can be stressed and all of a sudden it ends up in burnout. When people have [experienced] burnout, they [might] avoid taking on more work and their tolerance shortens.
“People around them might lose trust in their integrity to work hard and [their ability to] cope. It has enormous negative physiological and psychological ramifications,” says King.
Below, King and McQuaid share best-practice advice to help HR practitioners and employers identify and devise individual and holistic strategies to mitigate workplace stress and contribute to a healthier, energised workforce.
3 types of stress styles
While our reactions to stress can oscillate depending on the environment, people typically default to one of three styles, says King.
These include:
1. Somatic stress
Somatic stress shows up in the body as physical symptoms caused by emotional or psychological strain. People might feel tension in their shoulders, frequent headaches, or subconsciously clench their jaw.
It’s our body’s way of manifesting stress when the mind is overwhelmed, often leaving people feeling physically drained.
“These are people who often feel a bit distant and disassociated. They feel stress physically. They might get a sore throat or bronchitis, or have sleep issues,” says King.
2. Emotional stress
Many of us probably recognise emotional stress. It manifests through visible behavioural responses such as changes in mood, frustration and outbursts. People may lash out at others or withdraw from friends, family and colleagues when they’re under a lot of stress.
“These people can get very expressive. They might cry, get angry and irritable.”
“We have to be thinking about [stress] in the same frame as that physics formula. I’ve been under pressure for six weeks… and now I have to find my decompression chamber.” – Dr Jemma King, organisational behaviour specialist and stress researcher
3. Cognitive stress
Cognitive stress is mental strain caused by overwhelming thoughts, information overload, or challenging tasks that exceed one’s perceived ability to cope.
For this group, “the stress can manifest in a lack of memory. They might feel foggy and like they can’t make decisions,” says King.
People who exhibit this stress style may find it difficult to focus or find motivation, and may experience a drop in their usual productivity at work.
Helping employees to identify their stress style allows you to help them develop an individual plan to manage that stress, says King.
She draws an analogy between the need to decompress from work, with the physical necessity for deep sea divers to spend time in a decompression chamber to acclimatise to avoid sustaining injuries from the rapid change in pressure.
“We have to be thinking about [stress] in the same frame as that physics formula. I’ve been under pressure for six weeks getting that bid proposal ready and now I have to find my decompression chamber to get rid of my nitrogen bubbles.”
A ‘decompression chamber’ will look different for everyone, she adds. For example, those who experience somatic stress might find physical movement and exercise helpful for releasing stress from their bodies, whereas emotional stress might be relieved by crying or debriefing with a colleague.
These signs can also serve as a warning indicator for managers and leaders, adds McQuaid. For example, if you notice an employee who usually displays somatic stress responses has been off sick for a few days, that could be your nudge to check in.
Empowering managers and leaders to address workplace stress
In addition to training managers to recognise signals of stress in their teams, HR can also empower managers and leaders to create the conditions for a flourishing and productive workforce – one that can distinguish between good and bad stress.
One of the most effective defences against stress, says McQuaid, is building in adequate space for rest and recovery.
See HRM’s infographic on the 7 different types of rest that we need.
“Our bodies need a clear somatic signal that the stressor has passed; to reset and stand down. [But] what happens for a lot of us is that we stay in a hyper-vigilant mode and the stress compounds over time,” says McQuaid.
Research shows 42 per cent of our time needs to be spent resting, whether in leisure or connecting with others, in order to complete the ‘stress cycle’ and restore our bodies to a healthy baseline.
Finding opportunities for recovery might take the form of paid leave, practising micro-recovery throughout the work day and monitoring for unsustainable workloads through regular check-ins.
We should be matching the right kind of rest to our stress, adds King, as this can help HR in developing a comprehensive approach to stress management.
Manage stress contagion
Another consideration is supporting managers to be conscious of their own stress, and equipping them with techniques to manage their own mental health.
Given that managers tend to have a disproportionate impact on their teams‘ mental health, it’s important to recognise that stress is contagious, says King.
Read HRM’s article on ’emotional contagion’.
“Physiology changes perceptions. When we’re stressed, we release cortisol. We have receptors in our skin, in our paranasal sinuses, that are very good at picking up on the stress of the people around us,” says King.
“Most systems already have the answers within them… The challenge is that we’re not great at surfacing those conversations at scale.” – Dr Michelle McQuaid, wellbeing expert and founder of The Wellbeing Lab
If you head into a meeting feeling stressed, employees are likely to subconsciously sense it and may mistakenly assign your mood to something they’ve done. One way to avoid this, King recommends, is to acknowledge the stressor and adopt a teacher’s mindset when approaching the meeting.
“Call it out and say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry, I’ve just had a difficult conversation. But I’m here now with you and my attention is on you.’”
Combating workplace stress using a systems-level framework
Effectively addressing workplace stress in the long-term requires a holistic approach that goes beyond individual check-ins and the HR function alone.
McQuaid’s team uses a four-part LEAD framework to help HR teams take a bird’s eye view of the workplace environment.
The four steps include:
- Literacy: How is stress framed in your workplace? Having a shared language, such as understanding different kinds of stress, can drive conversations beyond ‘bad’ stress.
- Evaluation: Identifying rates of stress, their causes and monitoring risk levels through tools such as psychosocial risk assessments and employee surveys.
- Activation: What behaviours or changes can help minimise the stressors?
- Determination: What mechanisms can help sustain the impact and longevity of any wellbeing solutions?
While specific activating behaviours are dependent on the cause and organisational context, it’s important to pay close attention to the elements of work that are within an organisation’s control, says McQuaid.
“How are we being realistic about priorities, and about what we can and can’t control?
“Have we got supervisors on the ground that people can get feedback and counsel from? Another control could be an agile change management approach. For example, can we set up a strategy to take it in short sprints, rather than trying to complete the whole [change] in one go?”
A quick-win could be updating your role descriptions to make roles and responsibilities really clear, as role clarity is one of the most commonly reported psychosocial hazards identified by SafeWork.
“Most systems already have the answers within them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be functioning at all.The challenge is that we’re not great at surfacing those conversations at scale.”
Successfully identifying those strengths goes hand in hand with cultivating psychosocial safety, so employees feel confident to speak up about potential pain points.
This whole-of-organisation lens is especially critical when removing stressors is unfeasible against commercial realities, says McQuaid.
“That ability to keep having conversations with each other is the key. When you’re in that level of stress, it’s hard to put your hand up.
“Sometimes, there’s no way to stop the stressor that is unfolding, and all we can do is talk to each other. Let’s acknowledge it and keep checking in on each other.”
Gain the skills to design an effective wellbeing strategy and implement targeted interventions with AHRI’s Implementing Wellbeing Initiatives short course, and help cultivate a healthier workplace culture.