Understanding ‘good’ and ‘bad’ stress at work

With three-quarters of adults saying they are often stressed to the point of feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope, employers need to make tackling workplace mental health a priority. A good way to start, argues Lisa Gunn, is by understanding the difference between positive and negative stress.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, 17 million days are lost in the workplace each year due to stress, anxiety and depression.

Research commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation (and even before the impact of the pandemic at that) has also concluded that almost three-quarters of adults often feel stressed to the point that they feel “overwhelmed or unable to cope”.

Our workplaces can be a key source of this stress and therefore it is important for businesses to take this into account if they want to recruit and retain top talent.

With these alarming statistics in mind, however, it is encouraging to learn that short, small, bursts of stress at work can be beneficial, or ‘positive stress’. Harnessing this energy can boost emotional resilience when circumstances become challenging.

What is ‘positive stress’?

When we view the demands placed upon us as close to/exceeding the resources we have to cope, the situation is seen as threatening and our bodies produce a stress response.

The body releases adrenaline and cortisol to prepare us to cope with the perceived threat. This is often referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response.

The first question you may be asking yourself might be: “Is there really such a thing as ‘good’ stress?”. And, moreover, when does this reaction takes place?

Well, according to medical research, there is a type of stress known as ‘eustress’ – literally translated from the Greek term ‘good stress’ – which has both emotional and physical health benefits.

It differs from ‘distress’ because it only lasts in the short term and often feels energising or motivating. Eustress is seen as something within our coping ability and, so, it enhances our focus and performance.

Employing ‘eustress’

We all know everybody responds to stressful situations differently. This is known as your emotional resilience. When we are feeling resilient, we can adapt to change and stress, but sometimes our resilience is challenged and we may have a harder time dealing with stress.

However, in some circumstances, the effects of eustress can be beneficial to help us succeed. Although the response is usually temporary, it can help when we need to complete a specific task, as it reduces our tendency to procrastinate. This is where we delay a task perhaps due to the energy it may take to complete or to prevent experiencing any negative emotion the task may produce.

A way in which we can harness this positive stress response is by working for short periods. Our brains often respond better to tasks when we know a break is coming. For example, we may take a task on our to-do list and set a timer for 25 minutes and start the task.

When the 25 minutes is up, take a short break, move your body to change your physiological state, then either continue for another 25 minutes or start a new task. This can also prevent us from feeling overwhelmed and prevents a build-up of stress by allowing our bodies to rest.

How is chronic stress different?

The reaction of eustress differs from a chronic stressful reaction significantly. When we are chronically stressed, the negative impact can be long term, and causes us to feel that we are unable to cope. This starts to negatively impact our physical and mental health. Prolonged feelings like this are what result in ‘chronic stress’.

Working in an environment where employees constantly experience chronically elevated stress levels can lead to, or exacerbate, conditions such as anxiety, obesity, insomnia, high blood pressure and depression.

Not only can chronic stress affect physical and mental health, but it can result in a decline in work performance too. Some common signs someone is having difficulties managing stress in the workplace include problems in decision making, mood swings, procrastination, and sometimes increased absenteeism and presenteeism.

If you think an employee may be experiencing difficulties, it is important managers know how to have sensitive conversations with the person concerned and how to encourage them to seek professional help.

Before entering any conversations, read up on your organisation’s wellbeing and mental health programmes to make sure you’re aware of all workplace policies and the support options available.

Supporting employees

The first step to encouraging staff to speak about stress at work is to create an open culture, where employees feel comfortable sharing their difficulties with line managers and HR. This can often be done by managers sharing their own experiences of stress and useful coping mechanisms to encourage open dialogue.

Increasing the dialogue around stress and wellbeing encourages people to access support and reduces stigma. This helps businesses record and monitor the landscape of mental and physical health in the workplace meaning that targeted interventions and support can be put in place.

Tailored interventions are key. In fact, according to research, for every £1 spent by employers on mental health interventions they get £5 back in reduced absence, presenteeism and staff turnover.

For example, where signs of burnout are recognised, employers should signpost employees towards the emotional wellbeing support available to them.

This may include employee assistance programmes or cognitive behavioural therapy sessions, which give individuals direct access to a specialist who can help them explore and understand the factors which are impacting their health and wellbeing.

Emotional literacy training – ensuring staff have a common language to discuss distress – can improve managers’ abilities to support their employees, equipping them with knowledge, self-awareness, and empathy, making them better listeners.

At Nuffield Health, more than 12,000 employees have completed emotional literacy training, with 94% stating they would now more feel confident supporting a colleague showing signs of emotional distress.

As a company, we’ve also developed our network of mental health champions who, in combination with line managers, are empowered to raise understanding around mental wellbeing and to help others access the right support at the right time.

You could also consider introducing additional stress management techniques to help with less serious day-to-day issues. These could include mindfulness workshops and internal seminars on topics like time management, good sleep habits and money worries.

Whatever the needs of your organisation, effective support strategies for stress should include a range of options that show employees a dialogue about stress is both welcomed and expected.