10 Signs Your Team Members Are Excessively Stressed

Learning how to spot signs of stress in your team members is a valuable leadership skill to have.

We tend to normalise stress at work, but when people are suffering from unhealthy levels of stress, their mental wellbeing is placed at serious risk. Stressed workers are also far less productive and can impact the performance and morale of the whole team.

Early intervention can help to keep your employees feeling happy, healthy and engaged, so it pays to understand what stress at work actually looks like.

It’s time to familiarise yourself with the 10 of the most telling signs that you’re employees are experiencing excessive levels of stress.

10 signs that your employees are stressed out

1.     They’re working longer hours: Some people are natural born workaholics, but when a member of your team starts coming in early, leaving late, and sending emails at all hours, it’s probably a sign that they’re struggling to keep on top of their workload.

 2.     They’re increasingly irritable: When we’re stressed, we can get a little twitchy. Things set us off far more easily, and we might snap in situations that require us to keep our cool. Rather than chastising your employees for an outburst, try to get to the root of the problem.

 3.     They’re visibly tired: We all have days where we never quite manage to find our ‘get up and go’, but if one of your workers is frequently showing visible signs of tiredness, fatigue or exhaustion, there could be a problem. This can be harder to spot when we’re working remotely, which is why it’s so important to have regular check-ins.

 4.     They’re becoming more introverted: The world is a beautiful mix of introverts, extroverts, and everything in between, but when people become uncharacteristically withdrawn, it’s most likely a sign that they’re going through a difficult time.

 5.     They’ve stopped taking breaks: Taking time out is essential for our wellbeing, but also for keeping the quality of our work high. If one of your workers has started working through breaks, they might be struggling to manage the weight of their workload.

6.     They’re not taking time off: If a member of your team is reluctant to take days off, it’s a sure-fire sign they’re stressed. When people feel they have too much on their plates, the idea of a holiday just means coming back to even more work, and even greater stress levels.

 7.     They’re struggling to concentrate: Stress impacts our ability to think clearly, so if you become aware of a colleague experiencing confusion, indecisiveness, or lapses in memory or concentration, it could well be an indicator that they’re not coping.

8.     They’ve become overly sensitive: When we’re stressed, we take things to heart a little more. If your employees can usually have a laugh and a joke in good humour, but suddenly become more emotional or upset, it could be a sign that things are getting on top of them.

 9.     They have very little energy: Excessive stress wears us out, so constant lethargy is telling. We all go through times where we could use a little more down time, but if one of your workers is fatigued over a prolonged period, it’s best to check in.

 10.  They’re avoiding work socials: If work is causing an employee to feel stressed, they’re likely to withdraw from anything work-related.

It’s important to keep in mind that every employee is different, and so stress could manifest itself in myriad ways throughout your workforce.

Keep these ten signs in mind, but get to know your people. Really get to know them. Learn what’s ‘normal’ for them, and what’s cause for concern. Create an open culture where people can confidently talk about stress, along with their mental health in general. And encourage your teams to take care of themselves by striving for a healthy work/life balance – something that you, as a leader, should be careful to model.

Supporting healthy workplaces

 Our job is helping leaders to create the healthiest, most productive workplaces possible; to foster a sense of community, and nurture a culture of wellbeing. If you would like to learn more about our mental health and wellbeing training sessions as well as our digital wellbeing platform with daily live stream classes then click on the button below.