We Asked You “What is Causing Your Workplace Stress?”

Guess which 3 factors are contributing to HR Insider readers workplace stress?

We asked and you told us what is causing you the most workplace stress right now.

Each of us has different tolerances for stress and different abilities to address and manage our stress. The data tell us that the biggest stress for most Canadians is not the state of their family or personal life, not their health nor the economy. The biggest contributor to the ‘stress’ for most Canadians is their workplace. According to a stats Canada report 6 in 10 Canadian workers reported that work was their main cause of stress in life.

We recently asked the HR Insider readers what it is about the workplace that is causing them the most stress. This is what we learned:

Poll: What is the Top Cause of Your Workplace Stress Right Now!

  1. Buried under piles of too much work
  2. Not appreciated for my contributions
  3. Fearful of company future or my own job security
  4. Problems with co-workers, employees and/or management
  5. My stress comes from my personal life/health
  6. I am not experiencing too much workplace stress

The Stress Trifecta: Too Much Work, Fear of Job Loss and Lack of Appreciation

For the majority of HR Insider readers stress is not caused by problems with people or by their personal lives. Zero percent of readers claimed either of these as a cause for stress. Instead, readers claimed their stress is caused primarily by 3 factors. These factors include too much work, fear of future, and a lack of recognition for contributions.  At 44%,  a lack of appreciation was by far the greatest workplace stress. Contrarily, 12% indicated they were not feeling much workplace stress at all. 22% of readers claimed fear of company failure or job loss as their biggest stress factor. Recently, we shared an article on the health problems associated with  job insecurity.

Lack of Recognition

If employees feel they  lack recognition at work, this  contributes to many workplace struggles including reduced workplace performance, increased absenteeism and decreased retention of the top employees. Feeling that you lack of recognition at work may be  situational or personal.  This lack of recognition may be tied to an individual’s own feelings and perceptions. Other times, there really is a lack of effort on the part of a manager or employer to recognize the contributions made by their employees. Either way, real or imagined, going unrecognized is something employers can address by building opportunities for recognition into the workplace.

Human resources professionals often play many roles within an organization. Often these roles are behind the scenes, tied to managing the daily grind of unglamorous operational management, or involved in situations of conflict and negativity. HR operates to keep many things functioning smoothly. Sometimes, however, these efforts go unrecognized and HR becomes an overlooked contributor.

Receive The Recognition You Need

Sometimes you have to ask for what you need. This does not mean you have to stand on a chair and ask for recognition, this  means that you have to create opportunities to showcase your value to others. Celebrate your own successes by sharing some of the things you have accomplished. Identify and track your own contributions and note them, share them at meetings, point them out to supervisors, and generally, just discuss them.

If you want to be recognized for your contributions you need to recognize and celebrate them yourself so you can enable others to see all that you do.

Sources

What’s Stressing the Stressed? Main Sources of Stress Among Workers

Resources:

Is Job Insecurity Making Your Workers Sick

Fun, Informal Employee Performance Recognition