Dealing with stress at work
Last updated: October 4, 2022
Even in this day in age, there is still stigma surrounding mental health, including stress at work. We know this can make it difficult to talk about, but you are not alone. Hundreds of thousands of workers in the UK experience work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. As your union, we are here to support you.
Stress is defined as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”.
Some people can benefit from a small amount of pressure at work as it can keep them motivated. However, if too much pressure is placed on a person, it can result in being overworked and lead to you becoming stressed.
While stress is not technically an illness, it has a detrimental psychological impact on those who suffer from it. It manifests in a few ways, including panic attacks, fatigue, insomnia, headaches and irritability. If not treated, these can lead to long-term mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Stress, depression and anxiety can lead to reduced productivity and performance issues.
Stress can be caused by a number of issues, both inside and outside of the workplace. This can include:
You are not alone. Firstly, you should speak to your union Rep or employer about the issues that you are experiencing at work as they may be able to help you address the root cause.
If you are experiencing issues with workload, responsibility, work-life balance or even issues outside of work which are causing you to be stressed, make sure to follow these steps:
If you are being bullied, harassed, or discriminated against at work, you should immediately report this to your union Rep or employer.
If you are still stressed and feel you require professional support, you should immediately speak to your doctor to find a professional mental health service.
Stress doesn’t have a simple fix. It is something you must personally work on to identify and manage. Here are some tips to help you cope with stressful situations at work:
Your workplace may offer free or discounted mental health or counselling services as part of your employee benefits – this will be identified in your employee handbook or intranet.
As a Community member, you have access to hundreds of free courses to support you with stress identification and management, including managing stress, techniques on reducing stress, reducing stress through meditation and visuals, improving your mental health and more. Click here to contact our Community Learn team who will be happy to signpost you to the relevant courses.
Employers have a legal obligation to support and manage employees’ mental health and wellbeing, including work-related stress. As a part of this, they must conduct regular risk assessments, which should identify areas of stress for employees and put measures in place to prevent stress-related illness.
Under the Equality Act 2010, if you are experiencing stress at work, your employer should put reasonable adjustments in place to ensure that you are not disadvantaged in carrying out your duties.
If your stress is related to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment or discrimination at work, your employer must prevent this.
If your employer is aware that you are stressed, they should regularly check in with you to see if any changes that they have implemented are helping or if you need further support.
If your employer is unsupportive, or if they are a cause of your stress, contact Community immediately for support.
That’s great that you want to support your colleague(s) going through stressful times. If you are concerned about your colleague being stressed, here are some ways you can help them:
At Community, we are dedicated to tackling ill mental health in UK workplaces – that’s why we offer courses for our members on becoming mental health first aiders. Click here to find out more.
We also offer training courses on managing stress, techniques on reducing stress, reducing stress through meditation and visuals, improving your mental health and more. If you are interested in taking any of these courses or sign posting your colleague(s), click here to contact our Community Learn team who will be happy to help.
You may also be interested in encouraging your employer to create a safe working environment where employees are encouraged to discuss their mental health and offer support to those who become unwell through stress. If you are interested in looking after the health, safety, and wellbeing of your colleagues at work, find out more about becoming a Community Health and Safety Rep.
If you need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.