Some myths around work-related stress

1.      “Stress is a mental illness”. This is a misconception. Stress is the ‘natural reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed upon them”. It is not an illness, but if prolonged or intense, it can lead to mental and physical illness, including depression, anxiety, immunological dysfunction, back pain and heart disease.

2.      “Only weak people suffer from work-related stress”. This view is plain wrong – any of us can suffer from stress, irrespective of age, ethnicity, experience, education, etc.; anyone can feel overwhelmed, and it often has more to do with pressure of work, insufficient time and overinflated expectations.

3.      “Counselling will sort out stress”. Counselling can help individuals develop better coping mechanisms to manage stress, but it cannot tackle the root causes of problems that cause stress in the organisation. Instead, frontline prevention, such as management and peer support, good communication and adequate resourcing, as well as appropriate training, are all helpful to combat and prevent stress.

4.      “There is nothing employers can do to stop work-related stress.” In fact, employers can and must take steps to prevent work-related stress in their organisations. They need to consult with experts to identify problems and work towards finding solutions. Legally speaking, employers have a duty of care towards their staff.

5. “A bit of stress is good for you.” Positive stress, which we associate with things that we enjoy, that give us purpose, can indeed motivate us and make us productive. What we are referring to here as work-related stress, however, is excessive pressure and demands over which we feel we have little or no control, which threaten to overwhelm us, and which can make us ill.

Stress in the workplace should not be ignored. It affects members of an organisation at all levels, impacting on health, performance, safety, relationships (both professional and private), staff turnover and, in the end, also the organisation’s ability to fulfil its remit.