In our fast-paced and highly demanding economy, people are becoming increasingly stressed.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, between March 2020 and mid-2022, over 29 million mental-health-related services were processed through Medicare, a significant jump from pre-pandemic numbers.
People may experience stress that is both work-related and personal. Some work-related stressors include lack of proper staffing, overloading of projects and competing due dates, technical difficulties, constant criticism from co-workers or supervisors, and an inability to manage workload.
Work environments should be both physically and mentally safe. The good news is that stress can be reduced and managed effectively if it is identified early.
One way to prevent the long-term impacts of workplace stress is to take stress leave.
Although stress leave is not an official category of leave, the Fair Work Ombudsman has accepted stress as a condition that qualifies someone to take paid sick leave.
Under the Australian National Employment Standards, full-time employees get 10 sick days of leave a year.
People often feel pressure to ‘solider on’ even when the negative impacts of stress are affecting their work. By creating an environment where everyone feels safe and supported to take leave when they are getting overwhelmed, there is a better long term impact on both protecting an individual’s well-being and the business as a whole.
Feeling stressed? The South Australian Business Chamber has a short online self-paced course: the South Australian Business Chamber — Stress Management (business-sa.com.au)
