We’re all guilty of taking work home with us at the end of the day—whether that means thinking about your to-do list while making dinner, responding to emails on your phone, or pouring over spreadsheets on your laptop.
According to a 2020 Gallup study, 57% of Americans and Canadians are stressed out by their jobs on a daily basis, an 8% jump from the previous year. Overwork is just one of the many sources of stress in the modern workplace and, while we may have accepted constant attachment to internet-connected devices as a fact of life, we shouldn’t accept the stress brought on by a poor work-life balance. In fact, stress is more than just an unfortunate part of the job. It’s a safety hazard.
According to MySafetySign’s 2015 Health and Safety Industry Survey, stress is the most overlooked workplace safety concern, with overwork coming in as a close second. Of the health and safety professionals surveyed, 24% of respondents cited stress as the health and safety concern not given enough consideration by superiors, while 20% listed overwork as the top concern.
Whatever your industry, it is more important than ever to know how to discuss stress with those who have the power to change it—namely, your boss. These five tips will help you start a dialogue about stress and overwork with your higher-ups.
1. Find The Source Of Your Stress
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Identify the specific stressors that are most concerning. If a particular situation doesn’t immediately spring to mind, take a moment to write down everything you do at work and how much time you spend on each activity, including favors you do for co-workers and responding to emails.
2. Get The Timing Right
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Know when it’s time to go to a superior. If this is something that can be resolved before speaking to your boss, such as a disagreement with a colleague, try addressing the stressful situation at a lower level first.
3. Schedule A Meeting
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Send your boss an email to set up a meeting. Simply ask for a 15-20 minute conversation to discuss your job performance. It is important to have these discussions face-to-face so that your concerns are given the weight and attention they merit. The email you send will form the beginning of a paper trail to prove, if need be, that you’ve taken steps to address the stress.
4. Keep It Short
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Keep the meeting short and to the point. Be clear about what is worrying you and give examples. Are you short-staffed? Do you feel pressure to attend to work after hours? Focus on addressing these concerns, and only these, in the meeting while doing your best to keep your emotions out of it. (Now is not the time to ask for a raise or promotion!)
5. Be Prepared
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Come to the meeting armed with some solutions to your workplace stress. Express your gratitude for your work, and ask for permission to carry out your suggestions. Your boss may have other solutions they’d like to implement, but by suggesting your own fixes, you show you are serious about improving the stressful situation, whatever it may be.
Once your employers know that stress is a concern, they may do a better job of keeping your workload to a manageable level in the future. If after a week or two you feel just as stressed out as when you had your initial discussion, don’t be afraid to schedule a follow-up meeting. Remember, your health and safety may depend on it.
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