How Stress Impacts Work Performance

We are humans, not robots, so if you are going through a stressful period, you can't just turn off your body's stress symptoms as soon as you walk into your workplace - no matter how much you try, they will seep out, even if unconsciously.  You may think that stress only causes temporary discomfort, but in reality, it can erode your abilities and health over time, making it difficult to function at your best. Stress is not all bad, as a certain amount of stress is needed in our life to help us achieve - it gives us the drive to strive for what we want. The issue arises when it’s left unchecked as it can quietly sabotage your productivity, focus, and overall job satisfaction.

Stress: The Silent Performance Killer

When stress takes hold, it affects your body and mind in profound ways. Physiologically, your body reacts with a ‘fight, flight, freeze or fawn’ response, releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that elevate heart rate and blood pressure. While these reactions are useful in short bursts, chronic stress leaves your body in a constant state of tension, draining your energy and ability to concentrate.

In the workplace, this stress can manifest in several ways:

1. Decreased Focus and Concentration: Stress overloads the brain, making it harder to concentrate. Simple tasks can feel overwhelming, and you may find yourself making more mistakes than usual, which leads to frustration and self-doubt.

2. Lowered Productivity: When your mind is overwhelmed, it’s hard to stay productive. Procrastination becomes more prevalent, and even when you’re working, you might feel like you’re not accomplishing as much as you could.

3. Impaired Decision-Making: Chronic stress can cloud judgment and slow your decision-making process - making you second-guess even simple choices, which can be harmful in fast-paced or critical work environments.

4. Increased Risk of Burnout: Over time, unresolved stress can lead to burnout – a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. This can make getting out of bed in the morning a challenge and affect both your work performance and your mental health.

5. Interpersonal Strain: Stress can make you more irritable, which impacts your relationships with colleagues and supervisors. Communication breakdowns, tension in meetings, or simply feeling disconnected from others can affect collaboration and morale in the workplace.

Understanding how stress affects your work performance is the first step in overcoming it, while implementing self-care stress management techniques support you to reset your nervous system.

Don’t let stress dictate your professional success. Take charge of your mental and emotional health today – and start performing at your very best!

Research: Work stress and job performance Rosanna Commisso - Founder, StressCare Solutions

Championing Workplace Wellbeing | Mental Health & Trauma Advocate

As the Founder of StressCare Solutions, my passion for helping organisations navigate the growing challenge of stress and trauma in the workplace, is personal.

With over 30-years’ experience spanning health, training and community services, and my own lived experience with mental health, burnout and trauma—I bring both professional insight and ‘lived experience’ understanding to my work.

My mission is simple: to empower organisations, and their staff, with the tools they need to recognise, manage, and reduce stress before it leads to burnout, and to implement trauma-informed practices to support their staff.

Through engaging, evidence-based workshops, impactful speaking engagements, and trauma-informed workplace support, I help teams build resilience, improve wellbeing, and thrive.

Let’s build healthier workplaces—together.

📩 rosanna@stresscare.com.au | 🌐 www.stresscare.com.au