Stress and How to Avoid It

If you are in business you can expect to be stressed at some time. It just goes with the territory! Stress is a mental/emotional condition brought on by a perceived (or even imaginary) inability to handle (i.e. cope with) whatever demands and problems a person faces. Stress starts in the mind but affects the mind, emotions and body. It can be a killer – of people and businesses!

For stress to develop:

1. there needs to be a problem or demand (either real or imaginary),

2. you need to be aware of it,

3. you need to believe that the perceived problem can be harmful in some way, and

4. you’re unable to prevent, avoid or cope with the perceived problem, and the consequences of not preventing, avoiding or coping with the problem are serious.

Each of us has a different ability to handle stress. The medical consequences of heavy and prolonged stress can be devastating – over 100 illnesses are identified as possible outcomes of stress – both psychological and physiological. Owning and running a small business is a very fertile source of stress. Far too many owner/managers find themselves ‘out of their depth’ in terms of experience and expertise. When they become aware that they can’t handle the job, the fear of failing becomes very real. Although every situation is
different, the following causes of stress in small business are common.

Task Ambiguity - If you lack experience and expertise in running or managing a business, it’s likely virtually every task will be difficult, confusing and stressful. Your best option is to seek advice from your accountant - and do it before both you and your business suffer.

Work Overload - Many new and/or growing firms lack enough funds to hire all the employees that are needed. Owner/managers will find themselves wearing many different hats, which results in impossibly long hours and work overload. Time becomes a critically scarce resource, especially where experience and expertise are lacking, and every job takes longer to do than it should.

Role Conflict - Stress can develop from trying to balance the heavy demands of a new and/or growing business with those of family, friends and recreation – the other major life roles. When the demands of several important roles come into conflict, you can be pulled in two or more different directions, which can lead to indecision, internal conflict, guilt, and stress.

Fear of Failure - Many owner/managers have an unhealthy (but quite understandable) fear of failing and this can cause stress. When you start a business there are usually plenty of spectators, critics and cynics, and insensitive criticism can add to the distress of an over-worked owner/manager. If need be, get counseling, but don’t let stress get you down.

Supervising Others - One of the most difficult and frustrating management tasks is to oversee or supervise the work of others. Lack of people management experience often results in high employee turnover; which, in turn, adds to the workload and stress level of any owner/manager.

Boundary-spanning Problems - Owner/managers not only have to deal with problems from within the business, but also need to cope with demands and pressure from a number of sources outside their business – customers, suppliers, government departments, the Inland Revenue Department, banks, trade unions and more. They become the ‘meat in the sandwich’ by having to deal with boundary-spanning problems, i.e. competing expectations from both inside and outside the business.

Going into Business for the Wrong Reasons - Unless you go into business for the ‘right’ (for you) reasons and do so with realistic expectations about what issues you are about to confront, you can easily end up ‘shell-shocked’ and stressed. Being sacked from a job, or being pressured by others are not (of themselves) good reasons for starting a business. If the driving force behind your decision to go into business is desperation, conflict, personal disagreement or frustration, the extra tension, worry and stress will only make the task harder.

Stress has a cyclical effect. Not being able to cope causes stress which then (among its various detrimental effects) leads to further inability to cope and so on. Unless fixed, stress can become a bottomless pit.

What can you do to avoid (or, more realistically, reduce the effects of) stress? Obviously proper preparation before starting a business is essential. But, if you’ve taken the plunge and you are ‘trying to drain the swamp while up to your neck in alligators’, the obvious solution is to go for help. This may mean bring in a partner, employ more staff, delegate more, use a business adviser, get training (but this needs time!), take a holiday, or – if things are too bad, get out of business, whatever the cost. Until you address the underlying problem(s), the cause of the stress will persist.