Can Stress at Work Actually Be a Good Thing for Your Business?

By Laura Hamill

Stress. Just hearing the word can make you feel anxious. It dominates the workplace and lives of many employees, and destroys health and office morale. This much we know.

While chronic stress can be a major problem in the workplace, small amounts of stress can actually be beneficial. Stress can motivate employees to complete their best work and push them to the next level. But how much stress is too much?

Here’s a look at the science behind stress--both healthy and unhealthy--and how to manage it in the workplace:

The Healthy Side of Stress

Although stress is often villainized, it’s actually an old-school survival tactic. Stress triggers a fight or flight response to help us adapt to our environment and stay alive in the face of danger.

Although we aren’t typically warding off predators and constantly fighting for our survival, stress still plays an important role in everyday life. We still have that fight or flight instinct, making moderate amounts of stress powerful.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley studied the effects of stress in rats. They found that short periods of stress stimulated stem cell growth, which can form neurons or new brain cells. A few weeks after the rats were exposed to stress, their alertness, learning, and memory had improved.

The researchers believe that stress can have similar effects on humans. Think about it. Stress at work is often a motivating factor that pushes us to meet deadlines, memorize presentations, or close a sale.

Not only does stress have the power to boost brain power, it can also prepare us to better manage challenging situations in the future. Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco studied this effect on a cellular level in a 2013 study. The results indicated that small bouts of stress keeps our brains resilient and can condition us to persevere under pressure.

When Stress Is Too Much

Although moderate stress can be beneficial, too much stress can have negative effects. This is the side of stress we hear a lot about, and there’s science to back it up.

As the Mayo Clinic explains, when we feel stress, hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, are released. Once the perceived threat has passed, our hormone levels return to normal. But when stressors are always there, the stress-response system stays active, exposing us to an unhealthy amount of hormones.

In humans, this type of persistent or chronic stress impacts every system of the body, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems, according to the American Psychological Association. The impact of such intense stress can lead to changes in appetite, loss of sleep, panic and asthma attacks, heart disease, weight gain, and more.

Chronic stress is unhealthy, and employees are feeling the strain at work. In a study conducted by Monster.com, 42 percent of respondents said they had left a job due to a stressful environment. In addition, 46 percent said they have missed time at work due to work-related stress, while 61 percent said they believe stress at work caused an illness.

Employees should feel some stress at work, but chronic stress runs rampant in offices, damaging performance instead of enhancing it. Where is the line between healthy and unhealthy stress at work?

Finding the Right Balance

Without any stress at work, employees can become bored and disengaged, but too much can take a toll on their health. The right amount of stress can boost brain power and improve performance. But stress is felt differently by each individual. You need to work with each of your employees to understand their perceived stress and particular balance point. Here are a few tips on how to do that and find the sweet spot of stress:

Set manageable deadlines. Stress is more manageable when we feel like we are in control. When employees feel like they are in control of their deadlines, stress isn’t overwhelming. Talk with employees and listen to their views on manageable deadlines. How can a project be broken down and when should each part be due? Work with them to create a reasonable timeline so they’ll be motivated to meet their deadlines, instead of feeling helpless under the weight of work they can’t feasibly finish.

Assign one large responsibility at a time. Big tasks like preparing a report, leading a meeting, or giving a presentation are events that cause moderate amounts of stress, pushing employees to improve. But if employees are tasked with more than one large responsibility at a time, their stress levels can quickly breach healthy levels. Slowly introduce more responsibilities so employees can adjust and manage the stress.

Give employees a break. Check in with employees regularly to gauge their stress levels. When they’re feeling too much stress, let them take some time off to relax. A 2015 survey of employees published by Quantum Workplace and Limeade (my company), found that 76.7 percent of employees want time off to recharge.

In addition, 71.1 percent of employees want their employers to provide stress relief breaks, including naps, massages, required breaks, and more--but just 28.4 percent of employers do so. Give your employees time throughout the day to take much-needed breaks to better manage stress.

Although stress is seen as a major problem in the workplace, moderate amounts can actually be a good thing for your employees. The sweet spot of healthy stress keeps employees healthy and engaged.