Work-related stress is a major cause of occupational ill health which can cause severe physical and psychological conditions amongst employees. It can also lead to poor productivity and human error, increased sickness absence, increases in accidents, high staff turnover and poor performance in your organisation.
2018-19 figures taken from the Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey estimate approximately 16,000 persons suffered from stress, anxiety or depression caused or made worse by work.
Stress is not an illness but it can make you ill. Early recognition of the signs and symptoms will help employers and employees to put in place measures to reduce the impact of work-related stress sooner rather than later.
If an employee is having problems associated with work-related stress they should be encouraged to talk to someone, whether it’s their line manager, work colleague, trade union representative, GP or their occupational health team.
If employees start acting differently, it can be an early indication that they might be suffering from work-related stress. Managers should look out for signs of stress in teams and employees.
There are various signs that may indicate employees are experiencing work-related stress both in the context of individuals and teams.
A change in the way someone acts can be a sign of stress, for example they may:
A change in the way someone thinks or feels can also be a sign of stress, for example:
There may be signs of stress in a team, like:
