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Employees can also be affected by the stress of those around them, as well as their own. \u00b7 Olga Pankova via Getty Images <\/p>\n Employees can also be affected by the stress of those around them, as well as their own. \u00b7 Olga Pankova via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Most of us experience stress at work, whether it\u2019s triggered by a looming deadline, a big decision or a heavy workload. It isn\u2019t just our own issues that cause us stress, however. A considerable proportion of workers experience \u2018second-hand\u2019 stress due to those around them exhibiting their own symptoms.<\/p>\n
According to new research by RRC International<\/a>, 964,000 workers in the UK say they are suffering from stress because of work. Of those, 7% say it is caused by those around them.<\/p>\n Like viruses, psychological states can spread from person to person. In 2008, a landmark longitudinal study<\/a> that followed 4,739 people over 20 years found that happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected.<\/p>\n Just as someone’s good mood can rub off on you, though, stress can also spread. A 2023 study<\/a> published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that perceiving stress among the people you spend time with can lead to experiencing stress yourself.<\/p>\n So what drives second-hand stress \u2013 and might working in an office, rather than remotely, make it worse?<\/p>\n \u201cI tend to describe second-hand stress as absorbing tension that doesn\u2019t belong to you, almost like your nervous system is picking up background radio static,\u201d says Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPsychologically, it\u2019s linked to how humans mirror the emotions of the people around them, often without realising,\u201d she explains. \u201cWhen someone nearby is rushed, anxious or under pressure, our bodies instinctively track those cues.\u201d<\/p>\n Second-hand stress is rooted in evolution and serves to keep us safe. When we\u2019re around someone who appears stressed, it can act as a signal that something may be wrong \u2013 and that we, too, should be on alert.<\/p>\n In response to perceiving stress in others, our bodies release the hormone cortisol, increasing our alertness and preparing us to react quickly to potential danger. In effect, our brains \u2018mirror\u2019 what we\u2019re observing.<\/p>\n Our personalities may also determine whether or not we\u2019re affected by other people\u2019s stress. \u201cPeople who are naturally empathetic, sensitive to others\u2019 moods or perfectionistic are especially prone to it, because they\u2019re continually scanning their environment and can end up carrying the emotional weight of the room,\u201d adds Touroni.<\/p>\n \u00a0With in-office work becoming more common as some employers shift away from remote work, being in shared spaces can increase exposure to other people\u2019s stress.<\/p>\n Story continues <\/p>\n More than half of UK workers<\/a> (53%) say they feel expected to spend more time in the workplace, while 14% of employers plan to introduce or increase mandatory office days.<\/p>\n \u201cOffices can create a shared emotional temperature that\u2019s hard to shield yourself from,\u201d says Touroni.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking in an office may increase the risk of second-hand stress because being physically close to others exposes you to their tone of voice, facial tension, frantic typing, sighs and rushed movements, all of which subtly activate your own stress response.\u201d<\/p>\n Remote working usually gives people more control over their environment, which reduces exposure to those ambient stress cues. Stress can still transmit through emails and online meetings, just with less intensity than constant in-person contact.<\/p>\n \u00a0A little stress isn\u2019t always a bad thing. It can motivate us to finish a project on time, or prepare for a meeting.<\/p>\n But problems arise when workplaces allow chronic stress to go unaddressed for long periods. It\u2019s costly for both employers and workers, leading to reduced productivity, burnout, high staff turnover, and mental and physical health problems such as anxiety and heart disease.<\/p>\n Professor Binna Kandola, a business psychologist and co-founder of Pearn Kandola<\/a>, says the signs of second-hand stress look similar to normal stress because the same systems are activated.<\/p>\n \u201cThese include feeling tense or on edge, irritability, a reduced sense of control, difficulty concentrating and emotional fatigue. In more prolonged situations, people may withdraw, feel cynical or show dips in performance,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIn most office environments, second-hand stress is more likely to show up as rising tension, short tempers or gradual sense of mental exhaustion rather than serious trauma symptoms. But if exposure is constant, it can build up.\u201d<\/p>\n So how can leaders reduce second-hand stress? The most helpful changes come from setting a calmer, more predictable emotional culture,\u2019 says Touroni. \u201cWhen leaders model steady pacing, realistic deadlines and clear communication, it reduces the sense of urgency that spreads through teams,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Practical steps include offering quiet spaces, supporting hybrid working, keeping workloads realistic, and helping managers recognise when tension is building instead of pushing staff through it. Research<\/a> also shows that giving people more autonomy at work \u2013 for example, by being flexible over location or hours \u2013 also improves mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n \u201cEncourage recovery, not constant urgency,\u201d says Kandola. \u201cBreaks, quieter spaces and protected time away from intense tasks help prevent stress from building. Where roles involve repeated high-pressure situations, rotation, debriefing and workload monitoring are important.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, second-hand stress is a byproduct of how we\u2019re wired. Our ability to tune into the emotions of others helps us connect, collaborate and stay safe, but it also makes us vulnerable to absorbing tension that isn\u2019t our own.<\/p>\n As workplaces evolve, particularly with a shift back to shared office environments, understanding this psychological spillover is crucial. By recognising how easily stress can spread and taking proactive steps to manage it, we can create healthier, more resilient working cultures.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple<\/a> and Android<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Employees can also be affected by the stress of those around them, as well as their own. \u00b7…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411,435],"class_list":["post-330468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-stress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Workplace stress can rub off on colleagues. \u00b7 PeopleImages via Getty Images <\/p>\n