5 Steps to Identify the Source of Your Workplace Stress

By Suzi Craig, Vice President of Workplace Mental Health at Mental Health America

According to The World Health Organization , 83% of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress and 54% of workers report that work stress affects their home life.?

Not surprisingly, work stress can have an impact on well-being. Four out of five workers in unhealthy work environments report that workplace stress affects their mental health, according to? Mental Health America’s Mind the Workplace research .

Identifying the source of stress at work is essential to knowing what types of actions you can take to avoid harmful stressors, advocate for change, or create the healthy boundaries needed to protect yourself from the things you can’t change. Keep reading to learn five steps to recognizing and facing your biggest stressors.

Want to participate in MHA’s 2024 Mind the Workplace research? Click here to help us understand how your workplace impacts your wellbeing.?

STEP 1: Take time to reflect

Author Flannery O’Connor said, “I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say. ” Even if some of the stressors at work are obvious, documenting your experience can be cathartic and revealing.?

To start, choose your favorite way to transport thoughts: write in a journal, record audio files on your phone, laptop or video, dictate to your bestie or a therapist, or do anything that will help you download thoughts and feelings from your brain.?

Consider these questions as you document your reflections: What are all the stressors at work? Do they leave me feeling paralyzed, angry, hopeless, annoyed, or something else? Which of these can I control, and which of them are in someone else's hands? How long have these stressors been in my life, and are they related specifically to my work situation? What types of physical health issues are these stressors causing? Did a specific event or experience cause one or more of these stressors? What are my coping mechanisms? What are my expectations and needs for working in a healthy and supportive environment?

No matter how obvious, try to document everything that comes up. Once you feel as if you’ve exhausted all ideas and experiences, give your brain and body a break. If possible, go for a walk, take a nap, eat a healthy meal, or hang out with friends.?

STEP 2: Organize your data

Review what you documented and start to compile your thoughts into different categories, such as:?

• Things I have agency over
• Things in someone else’s hands
• Emotional responses?
• Things too big or overwhelming to deal with right now

Maybe you have different ways to organize your thoughts? However you categorize your reflections, make sure you get a clear picture of the things you might be able to tackle on your own, versus the things you will need help with.

STEP 3: Live in an alternate reality - for brainstorming? purposes

Now that you’ve painted a picture of what your situation looks like today, what do you want it to look like??

There could be some very real barriers you are experiencing that you may not be able to control, such as a toxic manager or working more than one job to get out of debt. Try your best to dream about a future time when you have agency over your situation. The purpose of dreaming big is to get perspective. That perspective might help you close the gap between even one challenge you face today and where you want to be in the future.?

STEP 4: Circle back to the now

Take a big sheet of paper and draw a circle. Have your documented reflections of workplace challenges you created in Step 1 at the ready (or re-listen and re-watch them if they were recorded).?

Identify two or three stressors that came up as the most prevalent. Even if some or all of them are things you can’t control, put them in the middle of the circle. And then put the rest in the outside of the circle. Which of these do you have agency over? What is the source of these stressors? Which stressors can be brought to the attention of someone you trust - your boss, a therapist, your bestie or a coworker? How big is the gap between today’s stressors and your dreams for the future?

Workplace stress can be overwhelming, and it can be difficult to move forward until you’ve gained clarity on what the stress is and where it’s coming from.?

STEP 5: Choose one thing?

Now that you’ve spent time reflecting, documenting, and identifying your top stressors, choose one thing you can tackle. Identify whom you can turn to for help and then decide on taking one step forward, such as texting that person to set up a time to talk, emailing someone, or reaching out to a warm line or take a mental health screening . Your one step might be to take one week and observe how a particular stressor impacts your health.?

Check out our resources on specific ways to deal with workplace stressors here and learn about ways to find a healthy work-life balance here .?

Awareness of stressors is the first step towards understanding how to tackle them. Documenting your workplace stress can also help you know the difference between typical work stress, like meeting deadlines, versus harmful stress, such as experiencing workplace toxicity or microaggressions.?

Taking actions one step at a time can lessen the feelings of overwhelm and hopelessness. Persistent stressors left unaddressed can cause mental health challenges, and they can activate your body’s survival response (flight, fight, freeze, or fawn mode). Knowing and facing your stressors with a game plan that works for you is an important step in preventing the long-term harmful effects of workplace stress.