How to spot and help stressed employees

It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to make us realise that nobody is immune to stress.

As an employer, you have a legal duty to prevent and control workplace stress. In a recent poll by employee benefits platform Perkbox, 59% of employees said they were stressed because of their work.

But while work was the biggest cause of stress, it was far from the only one—45% of respondents felt stressed over family pressures, and 45% over money worries.

How to spot stressed employees

• It’s not always to tell when someone is stressed, but there are a few key identifiers you can look for:
• Lateness: chronic lateness isn’t always a sign of stress, but if an employee suddenly starts being late much more than usual, that’s cause for concern
• Working overtime: they may have too much work, work may be taking longer because stress makes it hard to focus, or they may be avoiding going home
• Absence: repeated absences are a strong sign that an employee is struggling in some way
• Isolation: if an employee avoids interacting with colleagues, especially if they used to be sociable, something is wrong
• Low performance: a sudden drop in performance means something is wrong
• Changes in mood: an employee seems down, irritable or anxious

When you realise an employee is stressed, the next step is to understand the reasons so you can work out how to support them.

Common causes of stress at work

• Mental or physical illness
• Problems at home, e.g. illness in the family, a breakup or divorce, financial difficulties
• Major life event, e.g., a wedding, exams, or moving house
• Workload has increased beyond what they can cope with
• An approaching work deadline or event

Supporting your stressed employee

The final step is to create a plan of action. Start by arranging a 1:1 with your employee, explaining up front that they’re not in trouble. Explain to them what you’ve observed and why you’re concerned, and give them a chance to tell you why they’re stressed. This will open up a discussion that allows you to decide together what actions to take to help the employee reduce their stress and cope better at work.

Some examples are:

• An employee who is stressed because of illness in the family may need compassionate leave.
• An employee who is going through a big life event may need more flexible hours or home working.
• If an employee is overwhelmed by their workload, consider spreading the work among colleagues or hiring an extra person. If the issue is clearing a backlog, try hiring a temp.

Even if employees are stressed about something outside work, there are always things you can do as an employer to help them. Stressed employees can make more mistakes, struggle with productivity and bring down the morale of the team, so it’s important to make their mental health a priority.