Weโve all been told at some point in our lives that a little bit of stress is a good thing. It gives you the motivation to get the job done, or so we think. In reality, stress isnโt the driving force we think it is and the health and social problems linked with stress are more problematic than we think.
There is a vital difference between stress and pressure at work, according to Ann McCracken, vice president of the International Stress Management Association.
Speaking at St John Ambulanceโs Embedding Mental Health Best Practices in the Workplace Summit 2018 and reported by HR Magazine, she asked her audience: โHow many of you think that a little bit of stress is good for you? Itโs common to hear that if weโre working towards a deadline, for instance, then stress can help us reach our goals. But everyone who knows about stress and what it actually means will tell you that there is nothing ‘good’ about stress.”
McCracken explained that the official definition of stress is when too many demands are placed on us, leading to adverse effects on a personโs physical and psychological well-being: โIf we look at the medical definition of stress, there is nothing desirable about it. The problem is that definitions of stress and pressure are regularly confused. While pressure can motivate us, stress depletes us.
โIt can be difficult to implement, because different levels of pressure work well for different people. Too little pressure can mean that employees feel bored and demotivated, and too much pressure can lead to stress and exhaustion.โ
This is not entirely employers’ responsibility however, she added: โIn order to achieve a high level of emotional well-being, we need to find coping skills, which are made up of our life skills and lifestyle.โ Life skills can include anything from cooking to being able to communicate, while our lifestyle can be dictated by factors such as levels of physical fitness.
McCracken said that employers have a duty to tackle stress by facilitating open discussion at work: โWhen you look at the consequences of stress, you realise why itโs so important that we get it right. If someone on your team tells you that theyโre stressed, talk to them, try and find out what isnโt working. The people that you work with will often have the answers, but they need prompting to be able to put actions in place.โ
In a separate session at the conference, senior associate at law firm Shoosmiths, Simon Fennell, looked at the legal implications of stress in the workplace. He highlighted that if the impact of stress is severe enough, it can be classed as a disability.
โWe know that a disability is classed as something that can have an impact on someoneโs day-to-day functioning and their ability to complete particular tasks, and mental illness falls under this definition,” he said. โSo can stress be a disability? The answer is yes, if the impact is severe enough on a personโs functioning.
โMy advice to employers would be: if someone tells you that they are struggling with stress, do not wait. If you donโt make reasonable adjustments to help an employee with stress, it could be classed as discrimination.โ
