Chronic stress and stress reduction at work

Chronic stress and stress reduction at work

We are all so busy, busy, busy. Not good. Because long-term stress is harmful to health. And it comes at the expense of job satisfaction and productivity. Stress paralyzes. At least in the longer term. As an HRM worker, how do you deal with signals of excessive stress among employees or teams?

Everyone needs a little stress. This is also evident from research. For example, Daniela Kaufner of Berkely University investigated the effect of stress hormones in rats . The rats were placed in a stressful situation. The stress hormones they produced caused stem cells to develop into new neurons. Thanks to these neurons, the rats appeared to be able to exercise better. Kaufner’s conclusion: a certain amount of stress makes you alert and stimulates you to perform better. We all need to build tension and relax again. But if the tension is constantly increasing and you have too little relaxation, over-tension will arise.

Work-related stress versus personal stress

Work-related stress arises when the burden exceeds your carrying capacity for a long time. This can have various causes. Such as too little freedom to determine how you do your work, little appreciation, difficult customers, too complex work, bullying or lack of transparency in the workplace. A lot of structural work does not have to be a problem. As long as you get something in return.

Personal stress arises from a major life event, or from a combination of events. Such as loss of a loved one or an important transition: getting married, having a child, moving or changing jobs. Personal stress has an effect on the capacity at work. It is often said that you should separate work and private life. But that is difficult in such situations. You shouldn’t want to, because it’s important that we can be ourselves at work. That saves stress.

The consequences of excessive stress

Everyone has to deal with excessive stress from time to time. That’s okay. It gets more annoying when there is chronic stress. Because that can cause physical complaints such as cardiovascular disease and RSI and mental complaints such as depression and burnout. Do you recognize this in one or more employees or a team? Then it is important that you, as a manager, supervisor or HRM professional, take a critical look at your organization. What stress factors are there? How are the employees doing? And also pay attention to this:

Are there enough people to do the job?

The fewer people, the greater the workload. You see it in healthcare, where there are too few staff and the work supply is growing. While society is complaining about the quality of care. The same with the police. More and more work has to be done with fewer people. And here too it is society that complains: ‘Go catch crooks instead of handing out fines’. They want to, but there is no time. As an employer you have to do something. The government has determined that more money will go to healthcare and the police. But you won’t get there with more money alone.

Do we set realistic goals?

Another important question is: what kind of assignments do we give to our employees? Are the employees prepared for this? And are the goals we are pursuing realistic? We are not very good at that, setting realistic goals. For example, many young people who have a child expect themselves to live as before. The work, the sport, the social contacts. But that is not possible. Having a child is an important change. You have to adjust your life. A lot of people don’t. Stress! The same thing happens at work. And we all participate.

Is planning well (and not delayed)?

Encourage employees and teams to make good, realistic plans. Think forward. And don’t delay. People tend to procrastinate on difficult tasks. But the more you procrastinate, the more stress you get. That is not only annoying for yourself, but also for your team. Only if everyone plans their work properly and does not postpone it, cooperation runs smoothly and you achieve goals.

Do employees take good care of themselves?

You can arrange it so well for the employees, in the end it is also important that they take good care of themselves. Get enough exercise, eat well. But also: being assertive. Does everyone dare to say ‘no’ or are there employees whose work piles up because they just accept everything?

What about employee resilience?

Every person needs resilience in life and in work. The more resilience, the better you can withstand difficult situations and radical events. If you have resilience, then you are in balance. And then you are a more pleasant and better colleague. Certain situations can lead to a decrease in resilience. Such as chronic stress. What about the resilience of the employees? How firm are they in their shoes? Talk to them about that. Ask them. Read

more about resilience here


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Read more about sustainable personnel policy

Stress reduction is an important part of a sustainable personnel policy. Would you like to read more about this topic? Download our free e-book ‘Wise with grey’. Here you can read more about harnessing the strength of older employees. You will receive tips and background information.

Are there older employees in your organization who will be retiring soon? Or are you curious what else Essenburgh can do for you? Then take a look at our retirement in sight training.