{"id":50739,"date":"2021-08-11T11:53:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T15:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=50739"},"modified":"2026-04-28T06:07:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:07:04","slug":"workplace-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/workplace-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Workplace Stress: Signs You Need to Step Back (And How to Do It)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The typical image of stress is someone working at 100 mph \u2014 putting out fires, fulfilling obscene demands, long hours, and the constant pressure of deadlines and jobs and angry colleagues.<\/p>\n

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Even writing that sentence was stressful. But we now know that stress can take many forms and be triggered in many ways. We are also more aware of the terrible ways it can affect our mental and physical health.<\/p>\n

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So is it possible for employees to self-monitor their stress? And even if you recognize it\u2019s time to take the foot off the gas and recuperate, how do you do it?<\/p>\n

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The state of workplace stress<\/h2>\n

Workplace stress can be smothering. It affects every foundation of your wellbeing (your appetite, your focus, your energy levels, your sleep) and the worst part is that many chronically stressed workers don\u2019t even recognize the stress.<\/p>\n

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This kind of stress can trigger a spiral of brutal anxiety, anger, frustration, and hopelessness. And the response most of us have to this? Anger at ourselves because \u201cI shouldn’t feel this way\u201d or \u201ceveryone else deals with this better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In the U.S., depression caused by stress leads to $51 billion in costs due to absenteeism and $26 billion in treatment costs, while stress causes about one million workers to miss work every day.<\/p>\n

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While the Western world is waking up to the fact that stress is a severe, potentially life-threatening condition, many still celebrate stress as a marker of effort and commitment. This leads to most employees struggling through stress and never taking the time they need to recover. Not because they don\u2019t want to, but because they just don\u2019t know that those horrible, daily problems they suffer (poor appetite, bad sleep, feeling sick, chest pain, and a total inability to shut off their thoughts) are the children of stress.<\/p>\n

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So what should you be looking out for? What are the most common markers of stress and how can you manage your time, breaks, and leave to mitigate the problem?<\/p>\n

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Signs you need to take a step back<\/h2>\n

We glorify stress. From our TV dramas to our chronic lack of vacation time, \u201chard work\u201d and grinding are in our DNA \u2014 but it\u2019s time we learned the difference. A strong work ethic is an immensely strong personal quality we can be proud of; letting stress build and dominate our headspace and physical health is not.\u00a0Just a handful of the common signs of stress are:<\/p>\n

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