How to spot and deal with stress

By LBV

10 May 2010

Dr John Brazier will be answering your medical queries. Email in confidence to [email protected]

Recognising the warning signs of a stressed employee early on is relatively simple.

Taking proactive steps to tackle the problem not only curbs other issues like absenteeism and burnout, it can also create a healthy and productive working environment and have a positive impact on your bottom line.

What to look for:

An employee suffering from stress will generally not act themselves and you’ll notice an obvious change in their personality.

This could be that they are more withdrawn than usual, they are not as chatty and sociable as they normally are, there’s a loss of sense of humour that means they don’t join in as much with team dynamics and they’ll be much less communicative and have less input in meetings, often showing signs of negativity and unhelpfulness to new ideas.

Possible causes:

Heavy workloads, looming deadlines, relationship struggles and financial difficulties are all common causes of stress, but other sources often aren’t taken into consideration.

For example, someone who is suffering from physical pain or is unwell might not be sleeping well at night. This will naturally put them in a state of stress (the fight or flight reflex) before their day even starts, from that point any external stress they experience will be magnified.

Sometimes stress can be caused by an unwell spouse or partner. It’s worth considering the little things that niggle, as well as looking in the most obvious of places.

The next step:

Having an open-door policy is absolutely crucial. It makes the difference between an employee who feels he can shares his problems – and a problem shared is a problem halved – and one who bottles things up only for everything to eventually get worse.

Talking will help ease the burden, but sometimes it may require the intervention of a GP, a counsellor or a therapist.

At the Corporate Doctor, we encourage a system of professional complementary support offering management training to quickly recognise and deal with the stress, along with providing supporting treatments.

This means assessing and addressing the root cause of a problem, personal education and recovery techniques, as well as treating the stress itself. If back ache is causing a loss of sleep, only treating the bad mood that follows will have limited effect.

Treating the back ache itself will cut out stress, improve blood flow, lift the mood of your employee and see their productivity rise.

All companies reap the rewards of motivated employees.

Dr John Brazier (TCM) MSc, The Corporate Dr.
 

Enjoyed this? Read more from LBV

Latest news

1

VARS Technology team up with debt resolution specialists to fight fuel theft David Nichol John Garnett Aydan Jones and Laura Tilley

VARS Technology team up with debt resolution specialists to fight fuel theft

12 Sep 2025

2

University of Lancashire unveils Preston campus installation to celebrate name change University of Lancashire new feature

University of Lancashire unveils Preston campus installation to celebrate name change

12 Sep 2025

3

PM+M welcomes ten new apprentices for 2025 intake Lucy Field, Kate Walsh, Ellie Fisher, Zainab Aswat, Reece Jones, Aisha Bibi Patel, Finley Vila, Uzair Zariwala, Richard Prest, and Charlie Harrison

PM+M welcomes ten new apprentices for 2025 intake

11 Sep 2025

4

ROCCIA strengthens commercial division with senior appointment Andrew Grove

ROCCIA strengthens commercial division with senior appointment

11 Sep 2025

5

Final call for investors: Rossendale community solar project must hit target by November Gary McEwan managing director of Interfloor

Final call for investors: Rossendale community solar project must hit target by November

10 Sep 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
Sub36 Networking - Follow the signs
Sub36 Deaf Village Social1200
Networking
17 Sep 2025

Sub36 Networking - Follow the signs

The Deaf Village, Blackburn, BB2 5EN

10:00 - 12:00

LBV124 September/October Launch Event
MBP Arc Cinema Preston Opening 205
Networking
18 Sep 2025

LBV124 September/October Launch Event

The Arc Cinema, Preston, PR1 2BL

08:30 - 10:30

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

Longridge Soap Box Derby
Screenshot 2025-06-10 090035.png.png
LBV Hub Fundraisers
14 Sep 2025 - 14 Sep 2025

Longridge Soap Box Derby

Berry Lane, Longridge, PR3 3WH

10:00 - 16:30

Preston Tech Connection - The Ultimate Tech Quiz!
Preston Tech Connection Sept 25.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Sep 2025 - 16 Sep 2025

Preston Tech Connection - The Ultimate Tech Quiz!

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
17 Sep 2025 - 17 Sep 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

Cumbria Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-880461633-4862066883-1-original.20241022-110415.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Exhibitions
19 Sep 2025 - 19 Sep 2025

Cumbria Business Expo 2025

Carlisle Racecourse, Carlisle, CA2 4TS

09:00 - 15:00

Your Business, Your Region: Making sense of devolution and Local Government Reorganisation
Chorley Council breakfast event new
LBV Hub Networking
23 Sep 2025 - 23 Sep 2025

Your Business, Your Region: Making sense of devolution and Local Government Reorganisation

Worden Hall, Leyland, PR25 3DH

08:00 - 11:00

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: September
Sept Freelancer (1).png.png
LBV Hub Networking
23 Sep 2025 - 23 Sep 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: September

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Speed Networking with BNI
2.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
24 Sep 2025 - 24 Sep 2025

Speed Networking with BNI

Chorley Football Club, Chorley, PR7 3DU

16:00 - 19:00

The Marketing Meetup IRL: Lancashire - September
TMM Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
25 Sep 2025 - 25 Sep 2025

The Marketing Meetup IRL: Lancashire - September

Chorley, PR7 2SL

18:00 - 20:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV 123 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin