Occupational stress indicators help measure employee stress and identify stressors in the workplace. These indicators can fall into categories such as role, relationships, and work environment. Recognizing and addressing these indicators can increase employee health, happiness, and productivity while reducing workplace injuries.
An occupational stress indicator is something that serves as a measure of employee stress in the workplace, or an example of something that has been known to cause stress in the past. Psychologists and researchers have developed these occupational stress indicators to share with business executives and leaders of organizations, who may then be able to notice these indicators and take steps to reduce stressors as much as possible. This can help increase employee health, happiness, and productivity; they can also reduce workplace injuries. In general, an indicator of occupational stress will fall into one of a few relatively broad categories relating to an employee’s role at work and their relationships with co-workers and management.
It’s important to recognize that job stress can arise from many different aspects of the job. Frequent conflicts with colleagues or managers are one common source, but there are many others. One indicator of occupational stress that is often overlooked is an employee’s feeling that they are not in control or that their skills are not being recognised, appreciated or utilized. An employee who feels underappreciated will often experience more stress at work than one who feels that his strengths and hers are being noticed, appreciated, and put to good use. This type of appreciation also contributes to a feeling of job security and reduces employee stress.
Another common indicator of professional stress is when an employee feels their role is unclear. This person may not be sure what the job specifically entails or may often receive conflicting information from superiors about what they should be doing. This speaks to general poor management of the organization. A workplace that provides frequently changing workloads to employees, or that does not appear to be interested in career development or offers employees opportunities for advancement, is also a frequent source of occupational stress.
Unsafe work environments, or even work environments that are simply unpleasant, noisy, or in any case not conducive to productive work, can also cause work-related stress. This is not a complete list of the various occupational stress indicators that can be present in a workplace, but they are some of the more common examples. Workplaces may not be able to directly measure every indicator of occupational stress in their employees, but a general understanding of these issues can facilitate problem resolution and ensure a happy and productive workplace.
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