Understanding what they are is a prerequisite to taking mitigating action.īroadly speaking, the most common workplace stress drivers are: Understanding the Common Sources of Workplace StressĪlthough every office and business has its own unique work culture, there are some common things that employees everywhere report as the key drivers of workplace stress. Here is a primer on the leading causes of workplace stress and 7 broadly-applicable ways that managers can facilitate a stress-free work environment. So, it’s not a good idea to simply expect them to invent anti-stress solutions on their own. It is also those managers who will best be able to convert the feedback they receive from rank-and-file employees into common-sense policy decisions aimed at creating a healthier and happier – and therefore more productive – workplace.īut most managers haven’t been trained in matters relating to workplace stress. It is those managers that are in the best position to know what will work best for the employees working under them. Instead, businesses should be empowering their managers to help facilitate whatever changes they deem necessary to tame workplace stress for the broader workforce. Worse still, they’re avoiding the responsibility to take a more active role in providing a stress-free work environment.

But by placing the burden on employees to reduce their own stress in the workplace, they may be inadvertently making the problem worse. In response, many business leaders have begun to encourage employees to practice various forms of stress management techniques. In today’s productivity-obsessed work environment, employees face unprecedented pressure to perform.Īnd in many ways, that’s self-defeating because it creates the conditions for a stressful workplace that makes high output all but impossible.Īccording to data compiled by the healthcare industry analysts at Health Advocate, the cumulative effects of workplace stress cost US businesses up to $300 billion per year in lost productivity.

Free stressers that work