What are the main causes of stress at work?

It’s no secret that the workplace can be a very stressful environment. Recent figures from Friends Life showed that in 2012 alone, 5 million workers were affected by stress. There are a few different aspects of work that tend to make us more stressed than others, however. And equally, there are ways to deal with stress. Take a look below to see some of the biggest stresses at work, and the stress management techniques and advice we’ve asked around for:

Long hours

Spending all day in work without a break isn’t ideal. Whether you’re working late all of the time or your hours are just longer in general, spending our day sat in an office can really take its toll on your body. Not to mention the feeling that you spend your whole life at work. 

Workload

One of the most common causes of stress at work, an increased workload is something that many marketers will have had to deal with on a regular basis. Project management is a skill that comes with experience on the job, so the sooner you pick up how to manage a heavy workload, the easier it will be to accommodate.

Excessively high workloads with unrealistic deadlines however, should be communicated to your manager at the earliest convenience. Work with them to identify your priorities and what tasks could potentially be delegated to someone else. 

Changes within the organisation 

Unexpected changes to the company are always unsettling, which can bring about alot of worry surrounding job security, change in workload, company culture and a change in management. When something like this occurs, it’s important to ask as many questions as possible to gain full clarity on the situation.

So how can you manage stress at work? Read below to find out more:

Improve Communication

Working in marketing is a job that comes with all sorts of stressful situations. Stress can easily be onset by a lack of communication within the workplace. It could be that you have too many deadlines to juggle, or a design task has gone wrong, or you’re worried about hitting your targets. We all experience stress for different reasons, and if there is something that you are stressed about, you should not hesitate to talk to someone about it, whether it’s a colleague or your manager, or just a friend or family member at home. 

Other smaller things like not responding to emails, not having the ability to sign off on tasks outside of your control or even lazy instructions can all contribute to an unnecessary level of stress. The chances are your boss hasn’t realised they aren’t helping things as they are busy themselves, so a gentle discussion about how you are feeling could help.

Manage your workload

Another massive contributor to high stress levels is work overload. You are human, not a machine, and you will probably find your to do list is growing as the days go on. Eventually, the list will become impossible, which can result in underperformance at work, and more importantly, high stress levels. This isn’t right. 

Working in marketing presents alot of opportunities to juggle your workload appropriately. So ask yourself which tasks are of a higher priority (not your priority, the client’s or company your working with, ideally) and which tasks better cooperate to the company’s success. From this point, you can see the tasks that can be pushed back while you focus on the big wins

Additionally, it is okay to ask for help if you feel yourself struggling. And there is no shame in admitting that you are too busy. Your employers would rather you spoke up about it before you get signed off due to stress!

Give and take

It is important that everyone on your team pulls their weight. If you are a hard worker, and everyone knows this, you can get pulled into doing more than you expected. Having an efficient and independent team of people around you takes a massive weight off your shoulders, so make sure that your colleagues are putting in the same amount of work and effort as you. 

If you seem to be the only one taking on a huge workload, and as a result are suffering from stress, then something needs to be done. This needs to be raised in a meeting or privately with a senior member of staff. Make sure you take some form of evidence along just in case, but the chances are they will know what is going on within the office and will do their best to help resolve the situation. Remember, work is all about compromise.There’s no harm in going above and beyond your job description, but make sure you aren’t doing everyone else’s job for them! 

Stress is not idea in any situation, work or at home. But with clear communication it can be resolved or at least improved. 

Make sure if you are feeling stressed that you speak to someone you trust and that you tackle it as best as you can. Then you can crack on with work to the best of your ability.

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