Although workplace stress is normal, extreme stress can hinder an employee’s productivity and performance. Undue stress can also negatively affect a person’s physical and emotional health and could cause damaging impact to one’s relationships and home life. Excessive stress could be a significant factor on whether you will fail or succeed in your job. Just like many situations in life, you cannot control everything that happens in the workplace, what you can do is to control how you react to these stressors.
While excessive stress is bad for employees, the right amount of stress could be a good thing. A little bit of pressure can help employees focus on the task at hand, be energized, and take on new challenges at work. Working under the right amount of stress helps an employee perform to the best of their abilities, ensuring that they are at the top of their game and is an asset to the business that they are working for.
The question now is what situations fall into excessive stress in the workplace? If an employee has been exposed to a traumatic event in the workplace if the employee experiences violence, harassment, or bullying while at work, and unreasonable expectations from the employee are some of the things that can be considered as stressors that cause excessive stress.
In California, employees may file a claim for excessive stress on their workers’ compensation insurance. The employee must be able to prove that workplace events or conditions are the predominant cause of the extreme stress. While workers’ compensation usually takes effect the day you get employed, compensation for stress requires an employee to be working for the company for at least six months. The reason is that stress usually develops over a period and filing for stress compensation on your first week of working means that your job is not the predominant cause of your stress.
Stress claims are some of the most challenging types of claim to win since they are difficult to prove. It’s best to keep your stress at work at a manageable level to help you avoid filing a stress claim. Here are some tips that may help you:
1. Communicate. – A burden shared is a burden lifted. The simple act of talking to someone who you trust about stressors in your work can help you. You don’t need to find someone who will fix all your problems for you, what you need is someone who will listen. Try to cultivate a reliable support system inside and outside of the workplace.
2. Start getting healthy. – People tend to overwork themselves when they are under a lot of stress in their workplace. They think that working through the stress will help them, but this could only worsen the situation. Try to make time to do physical exercises; physical exercise help produce endorphins which can elevate your moods. A healthier body also means that you’re equipped to handle stress better. Eating healthy can also help you manage your stress. Food rich in Omega-3 fatty acids can help boost your mood.
3. Manage your time. – A schedule of your daily tasks can help you become better at stress management. If you don’t feel like you’re behind schedule every day, you won’t be feeling too much stress. Do not over-commit yourself and learn to say no if you know that you won’t be able to handle tasks. Prioritize urgent tasks and responsibilities that you don’t like doing since this means that you have the rest of the workday to improve your mood. If you consider changing job due to this, there is a checklist you could refer here.
If you still feel like you’re suffering excessive stress at work, contact us at Hogan Injury for expert legal advice.
None of the content on Hoganinjury.com is legal advice nor is it a replacement for advice from a certified lawyer. Please consult a legal professional for further information.
