The workforce related to any industry or business has the usual woes when it come to stress and fatigue from the daily tasks they do. You will find this issue affecting people all over the world. Unfortunately, management takes it very lightly. The problem can be too severe within a short time period and when the situation goes, out of hand company’s productivity takes a hit; only then, the management takes notice of this. The employees need an environment where they can work freely with no extra burden on them which can put unnecessary stress on them. The work fatigue can also lead to stress as an employee who is overburdened can result in low or nil productivity in extreme cases and can become a liability for the company. In this article, I will talk about 6 warning signs of work stress that can negatively affect the employee or workers and how to handle it aptly.

1. People Turning Harsh, Yelling and Becoming a Bully

If you notice a particular person becoming harsh with the fellow colleagues or even the supervisor and yelling at others without any proper reason, then something must be wrong. People usually turn harsh and show their anger towards others when they are being harassed or being bullied. A hostile work environment is the last thing that an employee wants and definitely brings down his productivity to an all time low. The employees going through this harsh treatment may not be able to tell or can be afraid of the consequences. That’s the reason why frequent team meetings and talking to every employee in person is good for a manager to know exactly what is happening with his subordinates. In case, the manager is responsible for the concerns of an employee, he must review his behavior or working style to make his subordinate work better and without any fear.

2. Poor Work Quality and Avoiding Responsibility Leading to Low Productivity

The performance issue has always been the top priority for managers as they are regularly quizzed by the upper management for lack of sales growth and eventual profits. The employees who provide consistently poor results and the ones who avoid responsibility are the problem areas which needed to be addressed by a manager. A task management software can be of good help to the person at the helm of the affairs. A simple solution is to sit down with the employee and develop an improvement plan by discussing how it can be done. However, sometimes the problem is not easy to resolve. A manager may experience it the first time. A troubled employee may turn out aggressive or unwilling to cooperate. Before the situation would go out of control, drastic measures by the management are required to prevent such situation to occur in future.

3. Late Arrivals, Early Leave and Long Breaks

You must have encountered at least one such fellow employee in your lifetime with whom you can relate all the above mentioned symptoms. While an employee may not be doing it deliberately, it quickly can become a habit that is hard to change. The employer think about such employees as having lack of moral values and lack of respect for the fellow employees who need his assistance, the manager and the company as a whole. If only one such employee is present in a company, you can handle it easily. If a bunch of people or whole department indulges in such activities, then probably it is a sign of work stress or fatigue too. The role of the management in rectifying this problem or talking to the employees in person is of great importance because even a slight delay can result in dire consequences for the company.

4. Going on Leave Frequently without Notice and Prolonged Leaves It is another sign or warning of stress as an employee can be having severe mental / physical stress so that he can’t attend the office. The reasons can be aplenty related with what kind of stress he is experiencing. The benefits the employees get can be a factor in this regard. Few leaves or no annual leave can force the employees to choose this path. When they know that their salaries will be deducted, their stress will only increase. Addressing the work performance and leaves for the employees is the best bet in this regard. Certainly it’s not a scenario which can be easily taken care of in a day or two. But the first step in the right direction both from the employee and the employer is necessary for the problem to be solved. A stressed out employee is not a good omen for the company and drastic measures are required.