It happens every year on the first Wednesday in November. It’s National Stress Awareness Day in the U.S.
A day that reinforces that stressing over things beyond your control can be extremely harmful to your mental, emotional, and physical health.
National Stress Awareness Day is sponsored by the International Stress Management Association, an internationally recognized charity which promotes stress education and stress management best practices.
The day increases stress awareness and helps people manage and reduce stress in their lives – both at work and at home.
Causes of Stress
Fight or flight is our body’s automatic response to pressure.
The source of this pressure differs by individual, but often includes experiences such as emotional problems (ie, depression, anxiety, etc), physical ailments such as an illness or injury, a traumatic event, natural disaster, etc.
Have you ever been in a situation where you wondered why a co-worker was getting so agitated?
Whereas when you have been in the same or a similar position you reacted completely differently?
This example of different reactions demonstrates that stress triggers vary by person.
Two people can experience the same exact situation, but one gets very stressed and the other brushes it off.
This makes it even more important for you to be aware of your own stress triggers. As well as what triggers each member of your team.
For example, when I get close to project deadlines but still have a lot to get done before everything is complete, I get super stressed.
So much so that I can not focus and it takes me twice as much time and energy to complete the remaining tasks.
Yet I have a co-worker who absolutely thrives under such circumstances.
It’s almost like she gets an extra surge of energy and her brain and hands go into overdrive under tight timelines.
QUESTION: What are 2-3 of your work stress triggers?
Common Signs Of Work Stress
Forty percent of US workers admit to experiencing job stress, which can be caused by:
- Being unhappy in your job
- Having a heavy workload
- Working long hours
- Working under dangerous conditions
- Presenting in front of coworkers
- Poor management
- Not knowing about your chance for promotion or risk of termination
- Discrimination or harassment at work
With short stints of work stress, you may start to notice physical changes and symptoms like headaches, fatigue, poor sleep patterns, lack of concentration or mood swings.
But when stress is endured for long periods of time without intervention, it can lead to more serious health issues such as depression, high blood pressure, heart attack, weight gain or loss, etc.
How To Recognize National Stress Awareness Day
Leaders – There are a few things you can do for and with your team on National Stress Awareness Day. Consider the following:
1.Know your team.
As the leader, it is important for you to know each of your team members way beyond their name, job title, and work responsibilities.
It would benefit you to understand them on a deeper 6 , including how they work, what motivates them, their non-negotiables, aspirations, and pressure points.
Familiarity with each team member will position you to see potential stressors and reactions, even when your team is unable to identify them themselves.
2.Distribute the work fairly and equally.
Assign work across the entire team.
Be mindful not to overload one or two people at the expense of everyone else.
3.Create opportunities for the team to de-stress.
Since exercise and laughing are two of the top ways to reduce stress, look for opportunities to do one or both during the workday.
No, you don’t have to be the team comedienne, but you might consider:
- Hosting a team lunch (and banning all work related topics).
- Starting or ending your team meeting with music.
- Having an impromptu jam session.
- Asking the team to record 1 min videos of their favorite thing to do outside of work
- Facilitating a 2 min group meditation exercise mid afternoon.
- Encouraging your team to establish boundaries and daily work practices to better manage their time and energy.
Final Thoughts
Although stress is a normal part of life at home and at work, chronic and prolonged stress can be very detrimental to well being.
Thus, as a people manager, it is important to be aware of stressors on your team and to do whatever is in your power to minimize those stressor and clear the way for your team to be as productive and fulfilled as possible.