Health and Safety

Stress in the Workplace

Workplace

People will tend to be tense, grumpy, and feel uncomfortable when they are under stress. This can be the cause of many workplace accidents, even in the most organized and productive of companies. Most of these accidents and mistakes are preventable if employees are aware of the causes of stress in their working environment and take steps to avoid them. 

Stress,

  • Results in a serious depression
  • Causes unsafe cultures that are more expensive, harmful to employees, and have the worst financial effects on a business
  • Decreases the effectiveness of the firm
  • Causes us to become aggressive, which may have an adverse effect on other employees as well

Many of the accidents that happen in the workplace are due to the stress that workers are feeling when they are working under extreme pressure. This is why workplace accidents tend to be more common in industries where employees are under a lot of stress, such as transportation, military, manufacturing, healthcare, etc.

A prevalence rate of 2,480 per 100,000 workers was documented in the 822,000 cases of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety that occurred in 2020–21.

As mentioned, employees who are under pressure at work may suffer stress, a difficult mental condition. The necessity of using behavioral approaches to lower employee stress levels is now widely acknowledged by organizations. This is because stressful behaviors can lead to health issues and accidents. For example, high-risk behaviors include alcohol consumption, substance abuse, and skipping breaks without any corresponding compensating activities. However, it might be challenging for businesses to incorporate such tactics into regular workday practices on their own. However, successful behavior-based safety training enables you to comprehend what causes employee stress, how to deal with it effectively, and how to manage stress hazards among employees at work.

Additionally, working extreme overtime greatly contributes to elevated stress levels when employers want workers to complete more work of a greater quality, which has a similar effect on workers’ stress levels.

To help reduce the risk of negative emotions affecting work performance, organizations need to identify and address unhealthy work habits before they escalate into full-blown stress disorders. Organizational demands, personal concerns, or societal issues can all lead to stress. There is a good chance that stress will result from a mix of the aforementioned factors.

Issues like shortcuts, deadlines, job pressure, loss of sleep, fatigue, etc., which are identified as the key causes of stress, are commonly linked to stress that has its roots in an organizational environment..  

The second aspect of stress is the one where stress arises from personal factors such as personality traits, moods, emotions, health issues, and stress levels that stem from other individuals or group situations also known as interpersonal stressors which may or may not be linked to the employee’s performance at work. This type of stress is more commonly known to arise when working with others in a team environment but it may also occur due to conflict in the family, in friendships, and in relationships with significant others.

Stress Management:

People who are under stress have a harder time concentrating and focusing on their work, so they tend to lose track of important details that could cause workplace accidents. Many workplace accidents are totally preventable. If you find that you are under stress on the job and you feel that it is affecting your concentration, you should take time off, go on a vacation, or even take a medical leave of absence until you are feeling better. You should also try to find ways to manage your stress so you are able to stay calm and relaxed. You should make sure that you take time to exercise and meditate to relax and get rid of stress.

An effective behavioral technique for preventing stress is to replace a stressful behavior with a positive one. Employees, for example, will no longer feel compelled to follow a firm’s policies or protocols that cause them stress and tension if employers adopt a positive approach to safety rather than using punishments, fines, etc. to reduce accidents or violations in the workplace. As an illustration, accepting personal responsibility and taking care of your own safety at work is preferable to forcing safety measures on yourself for the sake of others as well as your own gain.

Implementing stress control techniques into work routines allows employees to avoid physical, mental, and emotional health problems by regulating their emotions while at work. For instance, some employers allow staff members to take short breaks whenever they feel overstressed.

Taking short breaks allows employees to relax their bodies and rejuvenate before returning to full duties without making matters worse. Taking short breaks also prevents them from overworking which contributes to increased anxiety and anxiety disorders in many cases— especially if they have demanding deadlines or clients waiting for responses. Taking regular breaks will also reduce work pressure.

Need for BBS Training in reducing workplace hazards:

Workplace safety is crucial since it can prevent fatalities and has numerous advantages for both businesses and employees. If they want to prevent accidents, both employers and employees must consider safety very seriously. Safety culture is essential to ensuring that everyone works in a safe environment. Through the use of safety training programs, businesses may instruct their employees on how to act properly and reduce accidents.

How our BBS Training promotes safe workplace culture:

A workplace safety culture is essential for a company to be efficient and effective. A company with a poor safety culture will continuously make serious mistakes that cause major accidents or injuries. In addition, an unsafe company will focus more on punishing employees than on improving safety standards in the workplace. Punishing employees excessively for minor incidents makes it difficult for workers to feel comfortable/safe at work and again reduces overall productivity. Therefore, creating a safe workplace requires clear guidelines on acceptable behavior.

Importance of Establishing ‘Workplace Safety culture’:

Establishing a safety culture is easier when companies implement a workplace safety training program that teaches staff how to stay safe at work. This includes educating all staff on what to do if they experience an accident at work and which authorities they should report incidents to.

A workplace safety culture is fostered through a workplace safety training program. Companies that follow this model will have cohesive staff who feel comfortable reporting minor incidents without fear of reprisals from managers. This way, employers can quickly address any issues that lead to major accidents since the staff is aware of the proper channels for reporting incidents and bosses are sympathetic towards those who seek help in those channels.

Creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable reporting dangers will reduce the number of dangerous situations employers face in the long run. On the other hand, penalizing employees excessively for minor incidents makes it difficult for workers to feel safe at work. To promote a safe working culture, employers must first set guidelines on acceptable behavior at work before implementing any type of training program. Once they have done so, they must train their staff in those behaviors so they can reduce accidents and injury across their enterprise!

Why NIST?

Our BBS training aims to educate participants on the causes of negative behavior. We offer BBS training, auditing, and consulting services to help businesses create and maintain safe workplace culture. Our services go beyond simply identifying risks and dangers; they also include timely follow-ups and comprehensive data delivery on the causes of workplace accidents, hazards, etc. Goal setting and frequent feedback in regard to employees’ unsafe nebahvoius at regular intervals will lead to the most significant behavior change. Thus, these continual monitoring services contribute to the reduction or elimination of risks, ultimately improving the organizational culture of health and safety. Happy Learning! Safe Change!

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Stress in the Workplace

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