Stress & Causes Of Stress In The Work Place

When we refer to stress at work and the causes of stress in the workplace, for the most part we are talking about stress at the job. But when you think about it the phrase 'stress at work' really has a dual meaning.

On the one hand, it simply refers to stress experienced while on the job, usually because of some aspect of it. On the other hand however, it can mean that stress is "at work on you" - no matter what your lot in life is stress is working on you, and usually in ways that, over time, can produce unhealthy conditions for you mentally and physically.

As you can imagine - or perhaps are currently experiencing, these two meanings are not completely unrelated. When you endure workplace stress, the results are just as harmful to your physical health and to your mental well-being as would be with any other type of stress producing environment that you encounter in your daily life. As is the case with any problem, it helps to look at the fundamental or root causes in order to enable you to work toward a long-term or permanent solution to your stress.

There are literally a hundred immediate possible causes of stress in the workplace. Work related stress doesn’t necessarily discriminate amongst the level of employee. No one is immune to work related stress. Hourly employees, mid-managers, managers, and top level executives alike often feel the pressure and stress of unrealistic deadlines to make and what they perceive as near-impossible goals.

Competition in the work place is also why there is stress in work for many individuals. Competitive fast-paced business can be fun and exciting for some, but sheer stress and anxiety for others.

Intermediate and long term goals should be clear and well defined for all individuals, as well as have measurable milestones to serve as progress markers and points of evaluation. Improving sales, optimizing work flow, enhancing communication - all should be clearly defined and have objective matrix from which to measure.

All-too-common a combination of an unreasonable boss or uncooperative co-worker or both not only causes stress not only for the aforementioned but also for anyone in contact with this type of environment.

In companies large and small there will be personality conflicts and all too frequently people in charge who are disrespectful and poorly qualified to manage and lead others.

The two factors - mis-directed or lack of clearly defined goals and expectations and managerial friction - explain the response that most people give when asked if they experience work-related stress and why: absence of control over their lives.

Unlike the home environment, where a person has top level authority or decision making power; the workplace often limits or curtails one's thinking skills and their ability to deliver a workable solution. More often, decisions and arbitration comes from above and little debate is allowed, thus increasing one’s stress level at the job site.

The most common responses for causes of stress in the workplace involve demands and resources and/or expectations and goals. When either of these seem unreasonable or unreachable, individual stress will be inevitable.