Stress can be harmful to our health and increase mental health challenges.
Mental health challenges can include clinical mental illness and substance use disorders as well as other emotions like stress, grief, feeling sad and anxious, where these feelings are temporary and not part of a diagnosable condition. While there are many things in life that induce stress, work can be one of those factors. However, workplaces can also be a key place for resources, solutions, and activities designed to improve our mental health and well-being.
Workplaces can have many stressors. Issues in the workplace can exacerbate the risk of experiencing mental health challenges. Combined, these stressors can make it more difficult for workers to get their tasks done; threaten their productivity, happiness, and well-being; and lead to burnout. Because of the many potential stressors employees may be experiencing, a comprehensive approach is needed to address stressors throughout the community, and employers can be part of the solution. More than 85% of employees surveyed in 2021 by the American Psychological Association reported that actions from their employer would help their mental health.
The goal is to find ways to alleviate or remove stressors in the workplace to the greatest extent possible, build coping and resiliency supports, and ensure that people who need help know where to turn. Reducing workplace stress benefits everyone across an organization. It can improve morale and lead to increased productivity and better focus, fewer workplace injuries, fewer sick days, and improved physical health. All these factors can also lead to reduced turnover among an employer’s workforce.
In fact, the World Health Organization estimate that for every dollar U.S. employers spend treating common mental health issues, they receive a return of $4 in improved health and productivity. Employers can make a difference when it comes to helping their staff manage stress. Key things they can do include:
- Be aware and acknowledge that people can carry an emotional load that is unique to their own circumstances. They may be experiencing heightened levels of loneliness, isolation, uncertainty, grief, and stress; and some may face additional demands, such as parents caring for children or elderly household members; and those with existing mental health or substance use challenges.
- Identify factors are making it harder for workers to get their jobs done and determine if adjustments can be made.
- Show empathy. Ensure workers that 1) they are not alone, 2) their employer understands the stress they are under, 3) there is no shame in feeling anxious, and 4) asking for help is important. Employers can reassure employees they are open and receptive to discussions about employees’ work stress, by creating a safe and trustworthy space.
- Provide access to coping and resiliency resources, workplace and leave flexibilities without penalty, or other supportive networks and services. Research from the American Psychological Association suggests 50% of employees find that a lack of paid time off or sick leave has a negative impact on stress levels at work.
Understanding the Problem
Loneliness. Isolation. Uncertainty. Grief. Fear. Stress can increase these and other mental health challenges and can be harmful to our health. The amount and type of stress experienced varies from person to person due to many factors, including those experienced at work.
While there are many things in life that induce stress, work can be one of those factors. Workplace stress and poor mental health can negatively affect workers through their
job performance and productivity, as well as with their engagement with others at work. It can also impact worker physical health, given that stress can be a risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases. However, workplaces can also be a key place for resources, solutions, and activities designed to improve our mental health and well-being.
Work has always presented various stress. Workers are constantly dealing with new stressors introduced to the workplace, and in some instances, these stressors have amplified other issues at work. More than 80% of US workers have reported experiencing workplace stress, and more than 50% believe their stress related to work impacts their life at home.
There are many work-related stressors can take a toll on a person’s sense of well-being and negatively impact their mental health. For some, these stressors can contribute to serious problems, such as the development or exacerbation of mental health challenges. Psychologists and psychiatrists are sounding the alarm about a mental health crisis forming, and data supporting their concerns have started to emerge. As one example, survey results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that about 40 percent of U.S. adults were experiencing negative mental or behavioral health effects in June 2020, including symptoms of anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, trauma-related symptoms, new or increased substance use, or suicidal thoughts. An article published by the National Safety Council in August 2020 detailing a spike in opioid overdoses further highlights the need for more mental health resources.
Because of the many potential stress- or’s workers may be experiencing, a comprehensive approach is needed to address stressors throughout the community, and employers can be part of the solution. More than 85% of employees surveyed in 2021 by the American Psychological Association reported that actions from their employer would help their mental health. The goal is to find ways to alleviate or remove stressors in the workplace to the greatest extent possible, build coping and resiliency supports, and ensure that people who need help know where to turn. This toolkit offers resources and tips that employers, workers, and co-workers can use to support each other. Unions and worker organizations can also use these resources to support worker mental health.
OSHA has many resources that provide guidance to help employers alleviate workplace stress and support mental health at OSHA.gov/workplace-stress.
