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Stress and its symptoms
Dr Sayeed Khan's
guide to the symptoms that may indicate stress among employees:
Stress has always been around in one form or
another, as is demonstrated by this quote attributed to the British Medical
Journal of 1875:
“Fatigue is common in jobs that require either
unflagging devotion or a high degree of stress. Widespread tiredness among the
educated middle classes is attributed to the pace of modern life”.
More recently, stress and mental ill-health
has taken over from musculoskeletal disorders, such as back pain, as the main
reason for cases of incapacity benefit.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE),
as many as one in five people are suffering from high levels of work-related
stress in the UK. That's around 5 million workers. But what exactly is stress,
and what are the symptoms? http://www.hse.gov.uk
The HSE defines stress as “the adverse
reaction people have to the excess pressure or demands that are placed upon
them”. The factors which lead to someone feeling stress are unique to that
person. But experience shows that the main stressors, especially if prolonged or
accumulative, are:
- Relationships within the family
- Financial difficulties
- Work
- The individual’s personality
- The lack of a social network (friends)
- Health problems.
Symptoms of stress
These are numerous, and it may be difficult to
distinguish between reactions that cause stress, and those that are associated
with it. But look out for changes in behaviour, mood or bodily symptoms.
Behavioural changes include forgetfulness,
procrastination, hurried speech, making simple mistakes, becoming unkempt or
drinking excessively and smoking constantly. Mood changes can range from a sense
of sadness to clinical depression and anxiety, as well as the acute reaction of
a nervous breakdown.
People commonly notice that an individual
seems unusually irritable or quiet, or the person overreacts to situations.
Individuals who are normally confident become indecisive. Bodily symptoms can
include the exacerbation of a quiescent problem, such as migraine, or the
development of new symptoms. For example, if someone regularly suffers headaches
on a Saturday morning or insomnia on every Sunday night, is there some new
stressor(s) at work?
Individuals with stress can also suffer with
unexplainable neck stiffness or pain, back pain, irritable bowels, chest pain,
overbreathing (and thus a sense of light-headedness or dizziness) and the
classic symptom of feeling tired all the time. All of these symptoms can be
brought on by stress.
Work is increasingly described as being
synonymous with stress. But this is a gross oversimplification as many
businesses recognise that a good employer can be a major part of the solution.
Yet, it is essential to have some sense of pressure in life as this presents us
with challenges and, if we respond positively, we are rewarded with a sense of
achievement and satisfaction. People worry about burning out, but it is equally
important not to start rusting.
Managing stress
The key to managing stress in business is
straightforward. It relies on good management practice. Risk assessment is the
key tool with which to manage workplace stress. For more help, look for the
Engineering Employers’ Federation’s ‘Managing stress at work’ guidance
www.eef.org.uk
Many managers recognise they are responsible
for the effective working of their people, but not many realise that an
employee’s ineffectiveness may be due to a mental health problem. Good
management controls stressors and helps to minimise the risks of stress arising.
Remember, it may be difficult to rehabilitate a worker, and a sick note is not a
magic cure; it simply avoids and delays the need to face up to the problem and
tackle it.
If you are dealing with a stress sufferer, it
is important for both employee and manager to take note of persistent
behavioural or mood changes, and to identify any new or prolonged stressors that
may be responsible. If problems continue even after stressors have been
resolved, then it is worth the employee having a word with their GP.
Managers can tactfully raise persistent mood
or behavioural changes with an employee, but some may find it difficult to
kickstart such a conversation. For guidance on how to talk to an employee with
stress problems, look to Mindout’s website
www.mindout.net.
It covers topics such as what to say if someone becomes tearful, or how to
engage a person who is reluctant to talk.
As a manager, always bear in mind that people
are afraid of talking about mental health issues. If someone suffers a broken
arm, people may even joke about the incident. But mental health problems carry a
stigma, so it is vital for employers to accept that stress must be addressed
seriously and sensibly. Collectively, we need to create a culture in which
employees’ mental problems can be openly discussed and managed, rather than
hidden.
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