Workplace Stress: Signs, Symptoms and Embedding a Wellbeing Culture

文章來源：Kate Pritchard, Head of Consulting – People Insight

壓力以各種方式影響我們，來源眾多，有時會令人感到不堪負荷。儘管某種程度的壓力難以避免，但有時會累積起來，嚴重影響我們的日常生活。由於工作場所壓力是最大、最迫切的壓力來源之一，現在正是討論工作場所壓力、其成因以及為何創造更寧靜、更健康和更有生產力的員工體驗的最佳時機。

Stress affects us all in so many ways, and comes at us from so many sources that it can sometimes feel overwhelming. While some degree of stress is unavoidable, there are times when it can pile up and seriously affect our day-to-day lives. With workplace stress being one of the biggest and most pressing sources of stress, there is no better time to discuss stress in the workplace, what causes it and why it’s so important to create a calmer, healthier and more productive employee experience.

工作場所壓力是什麼？

工作場所壓力是當我們的工作要求與我們應對這些要求的能力之間不相符時所感受到的心理壓力。通常，這個詞用來描述持續存在的問題和挑戰，而不是偶發事件或”糟糕的一天”。

儘管我們對人類心理學的理解日益加深，以及科技帶給我們的種種機遇，但工作相關的壓力仍然是全球一個持續存在的問題 — 實際上，這個問題似乎正在惡化。每年因壓力、憂鬱和焦慮而失去了 1710 萬個工作日，在對 2000 名英國成年人的研究中，有 23% 的人認為工作是壓力的來源。Mind 機構表示，工作是人們生活中最大的壓力來源，其中有 57% 的人表示他們在工作後喝酒來應對壓力。

Workplace stress is the psychological strain we experience when there is a mismatch between our job demands and our ability to cope with them. The term is usually reserved to describe persistent issues and struggles, rather than isolated incidents, or ‘bad days’. Despite our growing understanding of human psychology and all the opportunities afforded to us through technology, work-related stress remains an ongoing problem throughout the world — in fact, it’s an issue that appears to be worsening. We lose 17.1 million workdays each year due to stress, depression and anxiety and in a study of 2,000 UK adults, 23% agreed that work was a source of stress. Mind has said work is the biggest cause of stress in people’s lives, sharing that 57% of people say they drink after work to deal with the pressure.

工作壓力的主要成因是什麼？

工作壓力的主要來源有許多，研究顯示以下幾點是最常見的：

缺乏支援

1. 有一份報告指出，英國有 29% 的員工認為缺乏支援是他們工作壓力的主要原因。員工在工作中常常缺乏足夠的指導、反饋或資源。他們與主管之間的溝通不足，受到的培訓也不夠，這意味著有些人無法完成他們的任務，而其他人甚至不清楚這些任務是什麼。員工通常都希望工作做得好，但若缺乏實現這一目標的方式，很可能會引起焦慮和挫折感。

目標不明確

1. 不清晰的目標可能會讓員工感到挫折和困惑，他們只是想好好地完成工作。在這方面缺乏明確性會阻礙員工的進展和生產力。這也可能妨礙員工感受到任何成就或成就感。對於那些以成果為導向的高績效者來說，在這種環境中他們會感到無法應對，感覺失去了方向。

過重的工作量

1. 當員工開始感覺像西西弗斯一樣，永遠地將巨石推上山，然後又滾下來，壓力水平自然會上升。無論員工多麼敬業、技術優秀或充滿熱情，他們都只是人類。當他們不斷被各種任務和責任壓得喘不過氣時，他們會開始感覺到自己的工作無法做好 — 此時壓力追上他們，燒盡餘生已成必然。

主管培訓不足

1. 員工與主管之間的關係的重要性不言而喻。主管佔員工參與程度的 70% 變異。當員工感覺得到主管的支持和欣賞時，他們會茁壯成長。當他們感覺被邊緣化或被遺忘時，表現就會一落千丈。Metlife 的一項研究發現，69% 的員工認為他們的主管行為直接影響到他們的壓力水平 — 這一發現得到了 CIPD 的支持，該組織顯示了糟糕的主管和糟糕的心理健康之間的直接聯繫。

物理環境

1. 不要忽略我們的環境對我們的心理健康和壓力水平的影響 — 例如糟糕的照明、不舒適的座椅或持續的噪音都可能積聚起來，成為壓力的潛在源頭。

缺乏彈性

1. 一項研究顯示，有 43% 的受訪者表示，由於工作與生活平衡不佳，他們出現了壓力、焦慮和倦怠的症狀。保持工作與個人生活之間的健康平衡可以讓我們有時間和機會照顧好自己的身心健康。當我們的生活全都圍繞著工作時，福祉不可避免地受到影響。

缺乏自主權

1. 當員工在工作中缺乏自主權時，他們也無法控制工作中的壓力來源。自我決定理論認為人們有一種對自主權的真實需求。當這種自主權受到威脅時，創造力和福祉會受到影響 — 相反，當我們給予更多自主權時，通常可以看到員工找到更高水平的工作滿意度和動力。

快節奏、以截止日期為導向的環境

1. 當沒有歇息的時候，並且不斷有壓力要滿足緊迫的截止日期時，員工可能會發現他們不斷面臨著增加的壓力水平和高血壓，這對任何人都不是長久之計。

There has been a great deal of research into the main drivers of workplace stress, and the following are generally agreed to be the most common:

A Lack of Support

1. According to one source, 29% of UK employees have cited a lack of support as the lead cause of their stress at work. Employees simply aren’t given enough guidance, feedback or resources to do their jobs well. They struggle with a lack of communication with their managers and insufficient training, meaning some aren’t able to achieve their objectives, while others are not even clear on what these objectives are. Employees generally want to do a good job, and lacking the means to do so is likely to cause anxiety and frustration.

Unclear Goals and Objectives

1. Unclear goals can cause frustration and confusion for employees who simply want to get on with their jobs. A lack of clarity in this area keeps employees from progressing and being productive. It can also get in the way of the employee feeling any sense of achievement or accomplishment. High performers who thrive on results will feel unable to cope and will feel rudderless in such an environment.

Unreasonable Workloads

1. When employees begin to feel like Sisyphus, eternally rolling boulders up a mountain only for them to roll back down, it’s only natural that stress levels will rise. No matter how dedicated, skilled or passionate an employee is, they are only human. When they are continually overloaded with tasks and responsibilities, they will begin to feel that their job is impossible to do well — it is at this point that the strain catches up with them, and burnout is inevitable.

Inadequately-Trained Managers

1. The importance of the employee-manager relationship really can’t be overstated. Managers account for 70% variance in employee engagement levels. When an employee feels supported and appreciated by their manager, they thrive. When they feel sidelined or forgotten, performance plummets. A study by Metlife found 69% of employees said their manager’s behaviour directly impacted their stress levels — a finding echoed by CIPD, which has demonstrated a direct link between bad managers and poor mental health.

Physical Environment

1. Don’t underestimate the impact of our surroundings on our mental health and stress levels — things like poor lighting, uncomfortable seating or constant noise can all build up and become potential sources of strain.

Lack of Flexibility

1. A study showed that 43% of respondents experienced symptoms of stress, anxiety and burnout due to a poor work-life balance. Maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life allows us the time and opportunity to look after our physical and mental health. When our lives revolve around work, it’s only inevitable that well-being will suffer.

Lack of Autonomy

1. When employees lack autonomy over their work, they also lack control over their sources of stress at work. Self-determination theory posits that people have a genuine need for autonomy. When this is threatened, creativity and well-being suffer — conversely, when we give more autonomy, we often see employees finding higher levels of satisfaction and motivation.

Fast-Paced, Deadline-Driven Environments

1. Employees can find themselves facing escalating stress levels and hypertension when there are no breaks and there’s constant pressure to meet tight deadlines, which is unsustainable for anyone in the long term.

工作壓力的徵兆和症狀

知道工作壓力的來源是一回事，但如何判斷某人是否正在承受壓力則是另一回事。事實上，有些壓力的跡象在工作中可能不容易被發現。比如，你很難知道員工每晚睡了多少小時，是否飲酒過量，或是否對曾經熱愛的愛好失去了興趣。但是，有一些行為和指標會在工作中表現出來。

以下是一些工作壓力的徵兆和症狀：

• 煩躁、憤怒和情緒波動
• 明顯的悲觀主義
• 錯誤次數增多
• 無法集中注意力
• 記憶力下降
• 創造力減退
• 工作表現下滑
• 對問題反應過度
• 社交孤立
• 經常遲到
• 缺勤次數增加
• 對他人過度苛刻
• 看起來疲憊不堪

最明顯的工作壓力跡象之一是員工主動向你表達他們無法應對壓力 — 如果出現這種情況，應立即採取適當的行動。員工應該感到有能力尋求幫助並獲得支援。

Knowing the causes of stress at work is one thing — but how can you tell if someone is struggling? The reality is, there are signs of stress that might go unseen at work. For example, it’s unlikely you would have any idea how many hours of sleep your employees get, whether they are drinking more than usual or whether they’ve lost interest in hobbies that once gave them a lot of joy. But there are some behaviours and indicators that will present themselves at work.

Such signs and symptoms of workplace stress include:

• Irritability, anger and mood swings
• Overt pessimism
• Making an increasing number of mistakes
• An inability to focus
• Lapses in memory
• Diminished creativity
• A drop in work performance
• An overreaction to problems
• Social isolation
• Continually arriving late to work
• An increase in absenteeism
• Being overly critical of others
• Looking tired and worn out

One of the most obvious signs of workplace stress is when an employee opens up and tells you that they are unable to cope — if this is the case, appropriate action should be taken immediately. Employees should feel empowered to ask for help and receive support.

建立支持與健康的企業文化

為了防止壓力在企業中蔓延，我們需要主動行動。我們需要將健康納入公司文化和員工體驗，並將其作為優先事項，因為這將帶來更快樂、更投入和更高效的員工。

要創造一個更具支持性、健康的環境並減少企業內的壓力水平，您可以考慮以下幾點：

1. 將心理健康作為公司價值觀
   明確表達心理健康對企業的重要性。讓員工知道您重視他們的福祉，不希望他們為了工作而犧牲自己的健康。將這一點融入企業文化中，讓員工感受到心理安全，並能夠坦誠地談論他們的問題。
2. 定期進行一對一交流
   定期的個別交流可以讓員工坦誠地談論壓力和壓力來源，同時也為您提供反饋和認可他們辛勤工作的機會。
3. 鼓勵開放溝通
   鼓勵和允許員工提出擔憂和建議。讓員工知道他們的聲音被聽到，並在適當時採取行動。當員工感覺自己對工作環境有影響力時，壓力會減少。
4. 管理工作負荷
   確保員工的工作負荷合理，並確保他們擁有完成工作所需的資源和培訓。
5. 促進工作與生活的平衡
   允許彈性工作時間、混合或遠程工作，並尊重休息時間，可以創造一個更積極的工作環境。管理層需要以身作則。如果員工看到管理層在工位上吃午餐或長時間工作，他們也會效仿，壓力水平必然會上升。
6. 識別壓力症狀
   管理者需要接受適當的培訓，以便及早發現壓力的跡象，並及時做出適當的反應。
7. 鼓勵社交互動
   我們在工作中的社交聯繫非常重要。我們需要彼此聯繫並建立關係。企業應該提供員工社交和建立信任的途徑。
8. 提供培訓和發展機會
   提供成長、晉升和學習的機會可以大大提高工作滿意度並從長遠來看減少壓力。
9. 提供健身房會員
   一些企業了解體育鍛煉對心理健康的影響，為員工提供補貼的健身房會員資格。
10. 提供心理諮商
    許多現代企業提供免費的心理諮詢，以幫助員工應對壓力。事實上，這已經成為高績效員工尋找下一份工作時看重的福利之一。

減少工作壓力並不容易，但那些成功的公司會大大受益於降低的員工流動率和提高的工作表現。逐步採取小步驟並慢慢引入變革，會讓員工看到您對他們的關注、對他們福祉的重視以及對他們在公司未來的承諾。

To prevent stress from running rampant within our organisations we need to be proactive. We need to incorporate wellness into our company cultures and employee experience and prioritise it, knowing that the payoff is happier, more engaged and more productive employees.

To create a more supportive, healthy environment and reduce levels of stress within your business, you can consider:

1. Promoting Mental Health as a Company Value
   Be clear about how much mental health means to your organisation. Let your employees know you value their well-being and you don’t want them to compromise their well-being. Build it into your culture and employees will feel the psychological safety to open up about their issues.
2. Incorporating Regular One-on-Ones
   This frequent contact allows for open, honest communication about pressures and strains, while providing an opportunity to deliver feedback and recognition for hard work.
3. Encouraging Open Communication
   Employees should be encouraged and permitted to voice concerns and suggestions. Show your employees they are being listened to and act on their feedback when appropriate. Employees will feel far less stressed when they feel they have a say or some influence over their work environment.
4. Managing Workloads
   Ensure employees have workloads that are reasonable, and make sure they have the resources and training they need to do their jobs well.
5. Promoting Work-Life Balance
   Allowing for flexible work hours, hybrid or remote working and respecting time off can contribute to a more positive work environment. Management needs to lead by example here. If employees see management eating lunch at their desks or working all hours, they will follow suit and stress levels will inevitably rise.
6. Recognising Symptoms of Stress
   Managers need appropriate training in order to detect signs of stress early, so they can respond appropriately and quickly.
7. Encouraging Social Interaction
   Our social bonds at work are important. We need to connect with one another and build relationships. Companies should provide avenues for employees to be social and develop trust.
8. Providing Opportunities for Training and Development
   Opportunities for growth, advancement and learning can greatly improve job satisfaction and reduce stress levels in the long run.
9. Providing Gym Memberships
   Some companies, understanding the impact of physical exercise on mental health, offer subsidised gym memberships for their employees.
10. Providing Access to Therapy
    Many modern businesses are providing free counselling to their employees as a way of helping them deal with stress. In fact, this is becoming a prized benefit for high performers looking for their next role.

Reducing workplace stress isn’t an easy endeavour, but companies that get it right benefit in a major way with reduced turnover and improved performance. Making small steps and introducing change slowly will show your employees you are dedicated to them, their well-being and their future at your company.

 本文獲得美國EAPA的授權同意翻譯。

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