Office Stress – The Top 5 Sources

It’s no surprise that the office is a pretty stressful environment to many, whether that is for its early mornings, tiny cubicles or even office bullies. A healthy work life necessitates the best approach to stressful situations, and identifying the sources of stress is the first step towards minimizing it.

These are our top 5 common sources of stress:

1. Too Much Work, Not Enough Workers

An under-staffed office can seriously take its toll on workers, especially if this happens on a regular basis. Negative emotions are guaranteed to spring from this scenario, and it can even damage one’s health. This shouldn’t happen constantly, but if it does, the best solution is to be vocal when appropriate: Let management know your concerns that this is a key issue to tackle.

It might also be a case of changing your perspective: Don’t view it as a threatening situation where you have to be super-human. Management is often secretly understanding, - and not holding any unrealistic expectations - as they can also be under pressure.

2. Office Politics

Unfortunately, politics finds its way everywhere. People at the top of hierarchies create alliances, and important decisions can be made based on favouritism. Employees who aren’t involved in this can suffer, as they aren’t given the fair treatment they deserve.

This is an issue that mainly lies outside of your control, but what you can do to rise above office politics with a clear conscience, is to improve difficult relationships and work hard on your achievements. Look for chances to shine and seize them. Also, never be afraid of raising these issues higher up the management chain or HR if possible.

3. Unsure Future

People need assurance from time to time, in order to get on with their daily duties with confidence and motivation. Even when the economy is good, a company's stability can still be questioned, and that can send waves of stress in the workplace. Employees spend their time worried about their personal future, which prevents them from dedicating their full energy to their current workload. This is something that can easily be fixed with clear communication. Asking the right question at the right time can save you many sleepless nights.

4. Demanding Bosses

One of the highest causes for stress are overly demanding bosses. They can be perfectionists who unleash hell when employees make the smallest of mistakes. Others aren’t that explicitly cruel: Maybe they fit into the passive-aggressive type, whose behaviour might seem subtle, but it still poisons the atmosphere and your work performance.

Besides causing anxiety in the workplace, overly demanding bosses can also undermine employees, making them feel like failures. This can be critical as it can quickly ruin office morale. This kind of unprofessional behaviour has to be confronted, so only communication can fix it.

5. Technical Problems

Things like a faulty Internet connection or a broken printer can be frustrating, and even delay deadlines. It's worse when the situation comes paired with the problem above (demanding bosses) or a lack of suitable technical assistance.

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