We live in anxious times — and this is as true of the workplace as anywhere else. Analysis published last year by the European Trade Union Institute suggests that workplace stress kills 10,000 Europeans annually, while Harvard Business Review recently described employee stress as “a business risk — not an HR problem”. Reports of burnout and occupational mental health crises abound. Clearly, it’s a huge issue. But what can you do on the ground if you are managing a team? How can you keep your direct reports’ — and your own — stress in check?
Break it down
Helping your team deal with stress falls into two basic areas. The first is creating a low-stress working environment and building resilience. The second is dealing with stress when it occurs and helping your staff get through the tough times. It goes without saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Remember that not all stress is bad
There’s a difference between good stress — the kind that drives people to work hard and keeps them engaged — and destructive stress that affects mental health. The former is where you see people working hard towards a goal. They will often say they’re stressed, but it’s clear they’re enjoying the challenge, and the pressure is actually making them more productive and driving them to succeed. As a manager, you should learn to differentiate between good and bad stress because you can use pressure to achieve goals and boost productivity. However, you need to be careful — endlessly piling on pressure can lead to destructive stress where people are overwhelmed and can no longer cope.
Maintain transparency
People become stressed when they’re kept in the dark. Particularly when change is afoot, rumours swirl and uncertainty spreads, feeding anxiety. People will worry about their jobs and their futures and feel that their employer doesn’t care about them. So, keep team members up to speed with company news. Hold meetings where you explain to staff what is happening and how it affects them. Make sure you join the dots between high-level changes and your team’s goals. People tend to be most concerned about the local impacts of change — whereas high-level changes can feel removed and abstract. Try and decode changes for staff and be positive — but realistic.
Create an empathetic, supportive environment
Employees should feel comfortable talking to you if they have a problem, whether it’s a difficult client or not being able to cope with a heavy workload. When staff come to you, listen to their problems and try to help to resolve them. Strategies might range from altering objectives to offering coping strategies to letting people vent. Be firm where necessary but reasonable and accommodating where possible. More generally, you should not set impossible goals, nor should you penalise failure excessively. You want to create a workplace where people are not afraid to try new things and where they learn from failure, rather than one where nobody takes any risks.
Keep your antenna up
You shouldn’t always wait for staff to come to you. If someone appears to be stressed and struggling, ask them if everything is OK. You could do this by taking them out of the office for a coffee, so they feel less vulnerable and exposed. This proactive approach can be particularly helpful if they’re having problems outside of work — for example, family or health worries. Here you will often be able to help quite easily, by making allowances for them or giving them time off. They will likely repay with loyalty when the problem is resolved.
Resolve conflicts
Festering disputes between team members can be a big source of disruption and anxiety. Talk to the affected staff, listen to both sides, and try and outline the problem. Keep your focus on the dispute and depersonalise it, while acknowledging the issue. Make a list of the areas of disagreement and potential common interests. Use the common areas to make a plan — one which will allow the two people to move forward. Then implement it and ensure you follow up later.
Be tough when you have to be
Sometimes resolution may not be possible. This often happens when a toxic team member is dragging the entire team down. Here, if you cannot get the individual to change their behaviour, you may have to look at dismissing them. This should not be done lightly, but toxic staff can make everyone they work with anxious and unproductive. Often when such a person is removed, the transformation is swift and very positive.
Encourage healthy, mindful living
Being fit, healthy, and well rested will not make staff immune to stress. However, it will help them cope with the rigours of the modern workplace. So, nudge your staff in the right direction. This might be as simple as allowing people to come back from lunch 15 minutes late if they’re using the gym or taking a meditation class, for example. Or it might be steering them towards a corporate wellness programme. It might be encouraging them to use mindfulness and relaxation techniques.
Ensure staff take time off
Encourage your staff to leave and arrive on time and don’t ask people to work on weekends (except in exceptional circumstances). Allow people to take breaks — and encourage people to get away from their desks at lunchtime. Plus — and this is a really big one — encourage them to take all their holiday days (and when they’re on holiday, they should only contact the office in emergencies). People need breaks. They come back refreshed, relaxed, and better placed to cope with stress.
Lead by example
If you want a workplace where staff do everything they can to build resilience and proactively tackle stress, you need to be doing it, too. People will feel much more comfortable going home on time, practising mindfulness, and talking openly about problems if their boss is walking the talk.
Rhymer Rigby is a business writer and columnist. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Oliver Rowe at Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.
LEARNING RESOURCE
Next Steps Series — Development: Moving From Employee to Manager to Leader
First-time supervisors face unique challenges as they transition to management. This course will give new supervisors, managers, and leaders the skills and understanding needed to successfully navigate the transition.
COURSE
MEMBER RESOURCES
Articles
“Employee Respite Dimmed by Work Pressures”, FM magazine, 23 May 2025
“Leadership Strategies to Enable a Team’s Success”, FM magazine, 12 May 2025
“Manager Disengagement Leads to Productivity Decline”, FM magazine, 29 April 2025
“No End in Sight: Employees Struggle to Disconnect From Work”, FM magazine, 12 November 2024
Podcast episodes
“Mind the Gap: Two Key Steps for Connection, Team Development”, FM magazine, 19 February 2025
“Keep Calm: Where Stress Can Help Us Carry On With Confidence”, FM magazine, 6 November 2024