How to Manage Stress at Work: Causes, Strategies & Prevention

Learning how to manage stress at work starts with understanding that workplace stress is not only an individual problem. Workload, deadlines, unclear priorities, limited control, poor communication, difficult relationships and organizational change can all influence how people experience pressure at work. These same factors also shape broader employee wellbeing and the overall employee experience.

Some pressure is a normal part of working life. However, problems can arise when demands become excessive, persistent or difficult to manage with the available time, resources, control and support.

This guide explains how to manage stress at work from both the employee and organizational perspective, including common workplace stressors, practical strategies, manager responsibilities, workload management, boundaries, hybrid work and burnout prevention.

The World Health Organization guidance on mental health at work emphasizes that organizations can address psychosocial risks by changing working conditions and environments rather than placing the entire responsibility on individual employees.

What Is Work-Related Stress?

Work-related stress occurs when workplace pressures or demands become difficult to manage with the resources, capabilities or support available.

Stress can be influenced by both the work itself and the way work is organized.

Examples include:

• Excessive workload
• Continual tight deadlines
• Unclear priorities
• Low control over work
• Role ambiguity
• Poor communication
• Limited manager or team support
• Workplace conflict
• Long or inflexible working hours
• Organizational change
• Job insecurity
• Conflicting work and personal demands

The International Labour Organization guidance on psychosocial risks and stress at work identifies many of these factors as potential psychosocial workplace risks.

Pressure vs Stress at Work

Pressure and stress should not automatically be treated as the same thing.

A challenging deadline, demanding project or important presentation may create temporary pressure.

However, whether that pressure becomes difficult to manage can depend on factors such as:

• How intense the demand is
• How long it continues
• Whether priorities are clear
• How much control someone has
• Whether sufficient resources are available
• Whether support is available

The objective should not be to create a workplace with no demands.

It should be to create conditions in which demands are realistic and manageable.

Why Managing Stress at Work Matters

Understanding how to manage stress at work matters because persistent work-related stress can affect both employees and organizational performance.

At an individual level, employees may find it harder to concentrate, prioritize, communicate or recover from demanding periods.

At a team level, unmanaged workplace pressure can contribute to:

• Communication problems
• Conflict
• Reduced collaboration
• Missed deadlines
• Errors
• Absence
• Turnover

The solution should therefore not rely exclusively on telling employees to become more resilient.

In addition, organizations should examine how work is designed, prioritized, supported and managed.

Common Causes of Stress at Work

In fact, there is rarely one universal cause of workplace stress.

A useful framework is:

Demands → Control → Support → Relationships → Role → Change

Specifically, these six areas come from the UK Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards for work-related stress: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change.

1. Demands

Demands include workload, deadlines, work intensity, working patterns and the physical working environment.

Problems can arise when:

• There is consistently too much work
• Deadlines are repeatedly unrealistic
• Priorities constantly change
• Teams are understaffed
• Employees have insufficient time for important tasks

2. Control

Control concerns the influence people have over how they organize and perform their work.

However, very limited control can make demanding work harder to manage.

Appropriate autonomy can include flexibility over:

• Task sequencing
• Work methods
• Scheduling
• Problem-solving
• Decision-making within defined responsibilities

3. Support

Support can come from managers, colleagues and organizational systems.

Employees may need:

• Clear direction
• Information
• Resources
• Feedback
• Training
• Help resolving blockers

Support does not mean removing accountability. Instead, it means ensuring people have reasonable conditions for completing their responsibilities.

4. Relationships

Poor workplace relationships can become an important source of stress.

Examples include:

• Persistent conflict
• Poor communication
• Disrespectful behavior
• Bullying or harassment
• Exclusion
• Lack of cooperation

Our How to Manage Difficult People at Work guide provides a dedicated framework for communication, boundaries and workplace conflict.

5. Role

Employees need to understand what they are responsible for.

Stress can increase when:

• Responsibilities are unclear
• Different managers provide conflicting instructions
• Decision authority is ambiguous
• Accountability and ownership are confused

For project environments, our RACI Matrix guide explains one approach for clarifying responsibility and accountability.

6. Change

Organizational change can create uncertainty even when the change itself is necessary.

Examples include:

• Restructuring
• New technology
• New leadership
• Process changes
• Automation
• New responsibilities

Therefore, clear communication about what is changing, why it is changing and what employees need to do can reduce unnecessary uncertainty.

How to Manage Stress at Work: A 7-Step Framework

A practical framework for how to manage stress at work is:

Identify Stressors → Prioritize → Adjust Work → Improve Control → Strengthen Support → Recover → Review

Step 1: Identify the Causes of Stress at Work

Start by identifying what is creating pressure rather than simply concluding that work is stressful.

Ask:

• What specifically is creating pressure?
• Does the pressure seem temporary or recurring?
• Could workload be the main issue?
• Are priorities unclear?
• Do the deadlines look realistic?
• Could a dependency be blocking progress?
• Are relationship problems contributing?
• Does organizational change play a role?

As a result, the more specific the problem, the easier it becomes to identify a useful response.

Step 2: Prioritize the Work

When everything is described as urgent, prioritization becomes almost impossible.

Separate work into:

Critical → Important → Planned → Can Wait

Then ask:

• What must be completed now?
• Which tasks can move?
• Where can the work be simplified?
• Can anything be delegated?
• Which activities should stop?

In other words, good prioritization is not simply creating a longer to-do list.

It involves making explicit decisions about what will not receive immediate attention.

Step 3: Adjust Workload to Reduce Stress

However, if workload consistently exceeds available capacity, better personal organization alone may not solve the problem.

Possible workplace adjustments can include:

• Reprioritizing tasks
• Changing deadlines
• Redistributing work
• Removing low-value activities
• Resolving dependencies
• Adding appropriate resources
• Improving processes
• Clarifying responsibilities

Therefore, WHO recommends organizational interventions that address working conditions and psychosocial risks rather than relying exclusively on individual coping strategies.

Step 4: Improve Control and Clarity

Employees may not control the overall workload, but some aspects of work can often be made clearer or more manageable.

For example:

• Agree priorities with the manager
• Clarify decision authority
• Reduce unnecessary approvals
• Protect time for focused work
• Define communication expectations
• Clarify ownership

At the same time, appropriate autonomy should be combined with clear objectives and accountability.

Step 5: Strengthen Support to Manage Workplace Stress

Knowing how to manage stress at work also means knowing when to ask for support rather than trying to absorb every problem individually.

Support might involve:

• Your manager or supervisor
• A trusted colleague
• Your project or team leader
• HR or People teams
• Occupational health resources where available
• Other appropriate organizational support

Therefore, the right source depends on the nature of the problem.

Step 6: Create Opportunities for Recovery

Demanding periods sometimes happen.

However, continuous high-intensity work without sufficient recovery can become difficult to sustain.

Work practices can support recovery by considering:

• Reasonable breaks
• Working-hour expectations
• Meeting load
• Time between demanding periods
• After-hours communication expectations
• Workload after major deadlines

At the same time, recovery should not be treated as compensation for permanently excessive workload. If the underlying work design remains unsustainable, the source of the problem still needs attention.

Step 7: Review What Is Working

Finally, stress management should not stop after one conversation.

Review the situation by asking:

• Has the workload improved?
• Are priorities clearer?
• Which unnecessary demands have been removed?
• Can employees access the support they need?
• Have communication problems improved?
• Do the same stressors keep returning?

As a result, recurring problems may indicate that the underlying system needs to change.

How Employees Can Manage Stress at Work

Although employees cannot control every workplace condition, they can often take practical steps to make demands more visible and manageable.

Useful actions can include:

• Clarifying priorities
• Breaking large tasks into manageable steps
• Raising workload concerns early
• Asking for clarification
• Communicating blockers
• Setting reasonable work boundaries
• Using available support

Therefore, the objective is not to silently cope with unlimited demands.

It is to identify what can be managed personally and what needs an organizational response.

How Managers Can Help Manage Stress at Work

Similarly, managers have an important role because they influence priorities, workload, communication, support and team practices.

Managers can:

• Set realistic priorities
• Clarify expectations
• Review workloads
• Remove unnecessary work
• Resolve blockers
• Provide appropriate autonomy
• Communicate organizational changes
• Encourage employees to raise concerns early
• Address workplace conflict

The HSE Stress Indicator Tool organizes workplace stress around six areas of work design: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change.

Our Modern Leadership guide explores communication, leadership, emotional intelligence and decision-making in greater depth.

Managing Workload and Digital Stress at Work

Workload Management and Workplace Stress

Importantly, workload is not simply the number of tasks assigned to someone.

It also depends on:

• Task complexity
• Deadlines
• Dependencies
• Interruptions
• Available skills
• Resources
• Decision speed
• Meeting load

For example, a team with ten well-defined tasks may experience less pressure than a team with five constantly changing tasks involving unclear dependencies.

Use Capacity, Not Optimism, for Planning

However, planning based on ideal conditions can create recurring overload.

Managers should consider:

Demand vs Available Capacity

and account for:

• Existing commitments
• Operational work
• Dependencies
• Planned leave
• Unplanned work
• Learning requirements

Therefore, good workload planning requires trade-offs.

Reduce Unnecessary Work

For example, one of the most overlooked stress-management strategies is stopping work that no longer creates sufficient value.

Teams can periodically review:

• Recurring meetings
• Reports
• Approval steps
• Duplicated activities
• Low-value administrative tasks

The objective is not simply to work faster.

It is to make the work system more effective.

Stress and Time Management

Likewise, time-management techniques can help with some forms of workplace pressure.

Useful practices include:

• Time blocking
• Prioritization
• Reducing unnecessary context switching
• Batching similar tasks
• Protecting focus periods
• Planning before accepting additional commitments

However, time management has limits.

If the underlying workload is consistently unrealistic, reorganizing the calendar does not create additional capacity.

Meetings and Workplace Stress

For example, meetings can become a significant source of workload when they consume time needed for focused work.

Before scheduling a meeting, ask:

• Is a meeting necessary?
• Who actually needs to attend?
• Is there a clear objective?
• Can information be shared asynchronously?
• Can the meeting be shorter?

Better meeting design can create more time for meaningful work.

Notifications, Email and Digital Overload

Meanwhile, digital tools improve collaboration, but constant notifications can fragment attention.

Teams can establish reasonable norms around:

• Urgent communication
• Email response expectations
• Messaging channels
• After-hours messages
• Focus time

The objective is not to eliminate communication but to reduce unnecessary interruption.

How to Set Work Boundaries

Similarly, boundaries help clarify availability and expectations.

Examples can include:

• Clarifying normal working hours
• Protecting breaks
• Defining what is genuinely urgent
• Communicating availability
• Protecting focused work periods

Boundaries work best when they are supported by team and management practices rather than depending entirely on one employee.

IT Project Example: Managing Stress at Work Under Competing Priorities

Digital teams sometimes face several simultaneous sources of pressure: a production incident, a high-priority customer request and a delivery milestone. In this illustrative example, a network operations team has two engineers on call while a project team is asking for an urgent deployment. Treating every request as equally urgent would increase context switching and leave important decisions unclear.

Instead of asking individuals to absorb the overload, the service owner and project manager jointly review the operational risks, available capacity and contractual deadlines. They protect incident response, agree on which low-priority changes can move, assign a single escalation owner and communicate an achievable revised plan. Engineers contribute realistic effort estimates and can flag unsafe workload assumptions without being blamed for the conflict.

At the next review, the team looks at avoidable overtime, conflicting priorities, unresolved handoffs and quality or service outcomes. The goal is to improve how work is designed, not to measure an individual’s stress score as a performance target. For broader guidance on effective digital collaboration and decision rights, see Technology and Teamwork: How to Build High-Performing Digital Teams.

Workplace Stress Management Action and Ownership Matrix

A simple action log helps employees and managers turn a broad discussion about pressure into practical workplace changes. The owner column identifies the person who can make or coordinate the work adjustment; it does not assign blame for experiencing stress.

Workplace stressor	Work adjustment	Accountable owner	Review point
Incidents and project deadlines compete for the same engineers	Reprioritize the change backlog; reserve response capacity	Operations lead and project manager	At the next weekly planning review
Repeated urgent requests and unclear priorities	Agree on a single priority queue and escalation path	Team manager	After two weeks
Multiple handoffs create rework	Clarify one decision owner and document acceptance criteria	Delivery lead	After the next delivery cycle
Persistent after-hours notifications	Define incident escalation thresholds and reasonable notification rules	Service owner	After two weeks
Organizational change creates role uncertainty	Confirm responsibilities and offer a structured questions-and-answers session	Line manager and change sponsor	At the next change checkpoint

The infographic below broadens the five operational examples in the action table into seven common workplace stressors. Its owner roles and review intervals are illustrative: adapt them to local responsibilities, work risks and team needs rather than treating them as fixed rules.

Keep the review focused on working conditions, progress and feasible adjustments rather than requesting sensitive personal health details. The HSE Management Standards organize relevant workplace risk factors into demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. The WHO guidance on mental health at work likewise emphasizes organizational interventions addressing working conditions. Where additional support is needed, follow appropriate professional and workplace processes.

Stress in Remote, Hybrid and Changing Workplaces

Workplace Stress and Remote Work

Meanwhile, remote work can reduce some pressures while creating others.

Potential challenges include:

• Blurred work-life boundaries
• Digital overload
• Isolation
• Communication gaps
• Too many virtual meetings
• Difficulty disconnecting

Remote teams benefit from clear expectations around availability, communication, meetings and decision-making.

Workplace Stress and Hybrid Work

Likewise, hybrid work can introduce additional coordination challenges.

Teams may need to manage:

• Meeting equality
• Information access
• Different working schedules
• Office attendance expectations
• Coordination across locations

Unclear hybrid-work rules can create avoidable uncertainty.

Workplace Conflict and Stress

In addition, persistent unresolved conflict can become a significant workplace stressor.

Teams should distinguish between constructive disagreement and problematic behavior.

Constructive disagreement can help teams identify risks and improve decisions.

Personal attacks, repeated disrespect, harassment or unresolved relationship problems require a different response.

See our workplace conflict and difficult people guide for a dedicated framework.

Organizational Change and Stress

Similarly, transformation creates uncertainty because employees may not immediately know:

• What is changing
• Why it is changing
• How their role is affected
• What skills they will need
• When changes will happen

Leaders cannot always remove uncertainty, but they can reduce unnecessary uncertainty through clear and timely communication.

AI, Automation and Workplace Stress

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence and automation can reduce some repetitive work while creating new pressures.

Employees may have questions about:

• How their role will change
• What skills they need
• How AI outputs will be evaluated
• Who remains accountable
• Whether productivity expectations will increase

Organizations should therefore combine technology adoption with role clarity, training, communication and realistic expectations.

Can AI Help Manage Workplace Stress?

For example, AI tools may help employees organize work, summarize information, prepare drafts or automate repetitive tasks.

But AI is not a substitute for correcting poor work design.

If a team has unrealistic deadlines, conflicting priorities or insufficient resources, adding another productivity tool may not solve the underlying problem.

The more useful question is:

Does this technology remove unnecessary work, or simply enable more work to be added?

Stress, Burnout and Workplace Prevention

Stress vs Burnout: What Is the Difference?

However, stress and burnout should not be used interchangeably.

Moreover, workplace stress is a broad concept involving responses to work-related pressures and demands.

In contrast, burnout is more specific. The World Health Organization describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon associated with chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.

In addition, WHO describes burnout using three dimensions involving exhaustion, increased mental distance or cynicism related to work, and reduced professional efficacy.

Burnout is therefore not simply another word for having a stressful day or a demanding week.

Our dedicated Workplace Burnout guide explores that topic in greater depth.

Can Workplace Stress Be Prevented?

Although not every stressful situation can be prevented, many avoidable stressors can still be reduced.

For example, unexpected events, demanding projects and organizational changes are part of working life.

However, organizations can reduce avoidable and persistent stressors.

Prevention can include:

• Realistic workloads
• Clear priorities
• Appropriate staffing
• Role clarity
• Manager support
• Employee participation
• Effective communication
• Conflict management
• Reasonable working arrangements

The ILO emphasizes prevention and risk assessment as important approaches to managing psychosocial risks at work.

Individual Strategies vs Organizational Prevention

This distinction is critical when learning how to manage stress at work.

Individual Strategies	Organizational Strategies
Prioritization	Realistic workload
Time management	Clear priorities
Communication	Role clarity
Setting boundaries	Reasonable work expectations
Using support	Manager and team support
Recovery practices	Sustainable work design

Importantly, the two approaches complement each other.

In practice, individual strategies can help people manage demands, while organizational strategies address the conditions creating those demands.

Employee Wellbeing and Workplace Stress

In addition, stress management should be considered as one part of a broader employee wellbeing strategy.

Therefore, organizations should consider workplace conditions, leadership, psychological safety, support, work design and employee experience together.

Our Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health at Work guide uses a broader framework:

Prevent → Protect → Support → Measure

This article remains focused specifically on workplace stress and practical stress-management strategies.

When Workplace Stress Needs Additional Support

For example, some workplace stressors can be addressed through prioritization, workload changes, better communication or manager support.

However, other situations may require additional organizational or professional support.

Therefore, employees should use appropriate workplace or professional support when stress is persistent, significantly affecting daily functioning, or connected to serious workplace concerns.

At the same time, managers should focus on listening, work-related adjustments and appropriate support rather than attempting to diagnose an employee.

Common Mistakes When Managing Stress at Work

1. Treating Stress as an Individual Weakness

Work design and organizational conditions can contribute significantly to workplace stress.

2. Telling Employees Simply to Be More Resilient

Individual coping skills cannot compensate indefinitely for unrealistic workload or poor work design.

3. Ignoring Workload

Wellbeing initiatives have limited value if employees remain consistently overloaded.

4. Treating Every Task as Urgent

Constant urgency makes meaningful prioritization difficult.

5. Ignoring Role Ambiguity

Unclear responsibility can create unnecessary conflict and rework.

6. Waiting Until Problems Become Severe

Early conversations can make workplace problems easier to address.

7. Confusing Stress With Burnout

The terms are related but should not be used interchangeably.

8. Relying Only on Wellness Activities

Activities can support wellbeing, but they should not replace attention to workload, control, support and work design.

9. Ignoring Manager Behavior

Managers influence priorities, communication, autonomy and support.

10. Measuring Stress Without Taking Action

Employee surveys create little value if identified workplace problems are never addressed.

A Workplace Stress Management Checklist

Employees

• Identify the main source of pressure
• Clarify priorities
• Communicate blockers early
• Review workload realistically
• Set reasonable boundaries
• Use available support
• Review whether the problem is improving

Managers

• Review demands and capacity
• Clarify priorities
• Check role clarity
• Provide appropriate autonomy
• Address blockers
• Support constructive workplace relationships
• Communicate change clearly
• Follow up

Organizations

• Assess psychosocial workplace risks
• Review workload and work design
• Provide manager support and training
• Create appropriate channels for employee feedback
• Address workplace conflict and harmful behavior
• Monitor whether interventions are working

Frequently Asked Questions About Managing Stress at Work

How Do You Manage Stress at Work?

Start by identifying the specific workplace stressors. Clarify priorities, review workload, improve control where possible, communicate blockers, use appropriate support, create opportunities for recovery and review whether the underlying problem is improving.

What Are the Main Causes of Stress at Work?

Common causes can include excessive demands, limited control, insufficient support, poor workplace relationships, unclear roles and poorly managed organizational change.

How Can Managers Reduce Workplace Stress?

Managers can review workloads, clarify priorities, provide appropriate autonomy, improve communication, resolve blockers, support employees and address workplace problems early.

Is Work Pressure the Same as Stress?

No. Work can involve temporary pressure without necessarily becoming problematic stress. The intensity, duration, available resources, control and support all influence how demands are experienced.

Is Stress the Same as Burnout?

No. Workplace stress is a broad concept. Burnout is a more specific occupational phenomenon associated with chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.

Can Better Time Management Reduce Workplace Stress?

Time management can help with organization and prioritization, but it cannot fully solve stress caused by consistently unrealistic workload, unclear priorities or insufficient resources.

Can Remote Work Cause Stress?

Remote work can create challenges such as blurred boundaries, digital overload, isolation and communication problems, although its effects depend on how remote work is designed and managed.

Can AI Reduce Stress at Work?

AI can reduce some repetitive tasks and information-processing demands, but it does not automatically improve work design. Organizations should assess whether AI actually removes unnecessary work or simply increases expectations.

Who Is Responsible for Managing Workplace Stress?

Responsibility is shared. Employees can communicate concerns and use available strategies, managers influence everyday working conditions, and organizations have responsibility for the design and management of work within applicable workplace requirements.

How Does Workplace Stress Connect to Employee Wellbeing?

Workplace stress is one component of employee wellbeing. A broader wellbeing strategy also considers leadership, workplace conditions, psychological safety, support and employee experience.

Conclusion: Manage the Work, Not Just the Stress

Learning how to manage stress at work requires more than asking employees to cope better with difficult conditions.

A stronger approach is:

Identify Stressors → Prioritize → Adjust Work → Improve Control → Strengthen Support → Recover → Review

For example, employees can use prioritization, communication, boundaries and available support to manage workplace demands.

Similarly, managers can clarify priorities, review workload, improve communication, provide appropriate autonomy and remove unnecessary blockers.

Finally, organizations can go further by identifying psychosocial risks and improving the way work is designed and managed.

The central principle is simple:

Do not manage only the person’s response to stress. Examine the work conditions creating the pressure.

Ultimately, that distinction connects workplace stress management with the broader goal of sustainable employee wellbeing.