765 Managing Workplace Stress

Stress as a Continuum

Negative Stress (Distress)

Negative stress, or distress, occurs when the demands of the job exceed what the employee thinks they can handle.

If someone believes they don't have the right knowledge, skills, or support, they can feel like they’ve lost control—and that’s when stress becomes harmful.

Symptoms

Left unaddressed, distress not only reduces productivity but also increases the risk of accidents and long-term health problems. Common symptoms include:

• Increased blood pressure or headaches
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• Making mistakes or taking unsafe shortcuts
• Inattention to detail
• Irritability or anger toward coworkers

Possible Outcomes

Distress can have serious consequences. Over time, distress affects both health and job performance. Common outcomes include:

• Burnout – Workers may feel emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and detached from their job. For instance, a nurse working repeated double shifts begins to feel numb toward patients and loses motivation to provide quality care.
• Accidents and safety risks – Stress reduces focus, increases fatigue, and encourages unsafe shortcuts. For example, a warehouse employee, rushing to meet unrealistic deadlines, ignores safe lifting practices and suffers a back injury.
• Lower job satisfaction – Employees under constant stress may feel unappreciated or trapped, leading to frustration and disengagement. To demonstrate, an office worker dealing with constant last-minute changes begins to dread coming to work and starts looking for a new job.
• Health problems – Chronic distress weakens the body’s ability to recover, increasing the risk of illness. For instance, an overworked truck driver develops high blood pressure and frequent headaches due to ongoing stress and lack of rest.
• High turnover – Workers who cannot manage ongoing stress may eventually leave the job, creating higher costs for the employer. For example, a retail employee quits after months of stressful customer conflicts and little support from management.

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