The Telegraph

Career advice: 'I'm really struggling with work stress since being promoted'

Work stress is common
Work stress is common Credit: Alamy

I was promoted at the start of this year but I’m struggling to deal with the pressure of both the expanded workload and extra responsibility I now have. My team’s performance is measured through regular targets which are supposed to be motivating but instead just terrify me. Small decisions send me into a panic about whether I’m getting it right. I feel really emotional and on edge, and although I’m exhausted at night after 12 hour days in the office I’m finding it really hard to switch off. And when I eventually sleep, I mostly dream about work. How can I turn it around?

I’m sorry to hear about the stress you’re experiencing as a result of your new job. Workplace stress can be triggered by many different scenarios including relationships (for example confrontation or bullying), organisational challenges, salary worries, excessive workload and pressure to succeed. Stress occurs when these pressures become overwhelming, and triggers physical and emotional responses such as fatigue, tearfulness, a rapid heartbeat, headaches and loss of appetite, odd aches and pains, amongst others.

Many people experience stress at some point during their working life, and it’s one of the leading causes of sick leave in the UK. According to the Office for National Statistics, a total 9.9 million working days were lost due to this condition in 2014/15, whilst stress accounted for 43 per cent of all working days lost due to ill health.

Work stress

Your office’s use of regular targets to guide and monitor performance is a classic motivational tactic, as you identify. Thanks to our ‘fight or flight’ instinctive reactions, humans are behaviourally adapted to cope with modest levels of stress. Creating deliberate pressure is designed to encourage employees to generate naturally-occurring performance enhancing chemicals such as adrenalin and cortisol, heightening short-term ability and improving focus. But whilst this may work for some people and in moderation, it’s when we experience too much pressure without enough of an opportunity to recover that we can start to experience stress.

So although some workplace stress is normal, and indeed can be beneficial to performance, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and cause your health and wellbeing to deteriorate – particularly when an individual is exposed to excessive stress levels over a prolonged period. When stress at work interferes with your ability to perform in your job, manage your personal life, or adversely impacts your health, it’s time to take action.

Your wellbeing

You need to start by paying close attention to your emotional and physical wellbeing. Even if it feels unnatural and you struggle to find the time, try and carve out periods in your week when you do something other than work. It is well known, for example, that exercise can radically improve your sense of mental wellbeing. If you look after yourself – which includes making sure you have a balanced and healthy diet - you’ll become stronger and more resilient to stress. As you begin to feel better, you’ll be better able to manage work stress without becoming overwhelmed.

Here are some good strategies to help you to manage your response to stress at work. However, please seek help from your GP or healthcare professional if you’re experiencing emotional or physical symptoms that are stopping you getting on with life; having a big impact on the people you live or work with; or affecting your mood over a prolonged period.

Tips

·       Establish new boundaries. Your busy workload has crept into your home life which is affecting your ability to relax and wind down in the evenings, and to sleep at night. There are some useful tips here on how to ensure you can go home at a sensible time. If you need to check your emails in the evening, pick a set time each day to do this and once you’re done, put your phone or blackberry away - until morning.

·       Take ten. If there are moments in the day when the pressure gets on top of you, take some (mental) time out to refocus your thoughts and gain perspective and clarity. Being ‘mindful’ - paying attention to the present moment and letting go of negative thoughts - can be a great way to help yourself through challenging situations. There’s a good app called Headspace which uses meditation and mindfulness techniques, and you can read more about mindfulness here 

·       Give yourself real ‘downtime’. Now you’re leaving work a little earlier, make sure that when you get home, you put your evenings to good use, enabling your mind to detach from the office. Relaxing in front of the TV may not do the job you hope it will of distracting you from your busy day at work. As I mentioned earlier exercise is a great stress reliever, and of course spending time with friends and family can provide you with a listening ear, and be a boost to your confidence.

·       Trust yourself. Currently, small decisions at work are troubling you as you strive to get everything right. It’s easy to overthink the range of possible outcomes from each decision, and in doing so to ignore your natural instinct. Remember why you were promoted, and why you felt this step was right for you, and trust in your own ability to make good decisions at work. And importantly, resist the urge to be a perfectionist – it’s often OK to be ‘good enough’ rather than perfect.

·       Reassert control. You cannot control everything that happens around you or to you at work, but you are in charge of yourself. Try to redirect your anxiety away from problem areas you cannot control, and focus instead on the things you can. So if you’re currently dreading the moment your boss drops in for her weekly update on your team’s progress, practice in advance what you’re going to say and how. If your workload is becoming unmanageable, consider how you can improve your productivity, delegate tasks and source additional resource to support you better.

·       Talk to your manager. Whilst there is no specific law aimed at dealing with stress at work, employers have a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure the welfare of their staff. You’ve been in your role for three months; if you haven’t had a review with your boss yet, now is the time to ask. Seek their feedback on how you’re doing, and use the opportunity to share any concerns you have, along with your ideas for practical solutions.

Lastly, don’t forget that your friends and family, social life, hobbies and interests can also be huge boosters to your overall wellbeing, raising your resilience to stressful situations, and providing stability and enjoyment away from work. Take things one step at a time.

Louisa Symington-Mills is CEO of the Cityparents network. She was named UK Social Enterprise Entrepreneur for 2015 and included in the Global Finance 50. Email your work and business questions to: work.advice@telegraph.co.uk. 

Louisa cannot print answers to every single question submitted, but she does read all your emails. Please note that by submitting your question to Louisa, you are giving your permission for her to use your question as the basis of her column, published online at Telegraph Women.  All questions will be kept anonymous and key details, facts and figures may change to protect your identity. Louisa can only answer based on the information you provde and her advice is not a substitute for legal advice.