|  | Mental Health | Stress Management

What Are the Causes of Work-Related Stress?

Stress caused at the workplace can result from one or more factors. Conditions outside the workplace may also play a part in work related stress by adding to it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, work-related stress can negatively affect the health of people who work, and stress can adversely affect the company those people work for.

  1. Being Overworked

    • Working for hours on end without taking breaks is one cause of work-related stress. Stress can also arise if a worker is given more work than he can handle, since he may work harder and faster to get the work done in a timely manner. Fear that he could lose his job if he cannot keep up with the work is a stress factor, too, and so is the fear of making a mistake.

    Insensitivity to Personal Needs

    • Having to fear taking a day off to tend to personal matters of importance can be nerve-racking. Some companies do not want to hear that you need to take time off to take care of an ailing family member. Their main concern is that you come to work and do your job. A situation such as this can be twice as stressful if a worker feels obligated to be by her loved one's side, as well as at her place of employment.

    Personality Conflicts

    • Working with people who are uncooperative in the workplace can make for a stressful work environment. When a worker cannot get the support she needs to get a job done, tension can mount. Stress on the job can also manifest when two or more workers compete against each other for a promotion to a higher position. The hiring of a new manager can create work-related stress if the new manager decides she wants to force certain workers out of the workplace so she can replace them with workers of her choice.

    Layoffs

    • Sometimes a company may need to downsize for one reason or another. There may no longer be enough work to keep the workers busy, or a company may no longer be making enough of a profit to cover salary costs. When a company downsizes, workers get laid off. Talk about possible layoffs in a company can fill workers with anxiety and fear of losing their job. Witnessing the layoff of a coworker may trigger work-related stress as well.

    Undesirable Working Conditions

    • Noise can cause work-related stress, especially when a person works in a noisy environment for many hours a day. Working a job that puts one's life in danger can also be stressful. Knowing that certain chemicals in the workplace have been known to cause serious illness can put one in a stressful state. A police officer may experience work-related stress knowing that his life at risk.

Stress Management - Related Articles