April is Stress Awareness Month – and has been since 1992. Right now, the UK is in the midst of a “modern-day stress epidemic” according to the Stress Management Society. Figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) certainly back this up. During 2021/22, an estimated 914,000 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety led to the loss of 17 million working days. “Stress and poor mental health is the number one cause of work-related ill health. The effects of stress, depression, and anxiety can have a significant impact on an employee’s life and on their ability to perform their best at work.” Sarah Albon, Chief Executive, HSE Some roles are more stressful than others, due to the nature of the work. However, there are also roles where stress is applied unnecessarily, according to UK sales transformation specialist The True Sales Company. “There seems to be some kind of cultural belief that salespeople perform best under pressure, but this is often not the case. Salespeople are still people. You can’t push them beyond reasonable limits. The kind of workplace stress that they often perform under is usually counterproductive – as well as entirely unavoidable.” Paul Owen, MD, The True Sales Company Sales teams end up under stress from a range of sources. One is a lack of understanding about what sales actually is. There is a common misconception that it’s possible to sell anything to anyone at any time. However, that’s not really the case. The market needs to be ready. But a lack of appreciation for this – by salespeople and those managing them – can lead to unrealistic targets becoming a major source of stress. And even when staff hit their targets, managers sometimes inadvertently introduce further stress. True Sales Company MD Paul Owen explains: “Time and again, I’ve seen successful salespeople hit their annual targets by the third quarter of the year, only for management to respond by increasing their target. That’s not motivational – it’s stressful. It’s like a punishment for hitting their target in good time.” Paul Owen, MD, The True Sales Company Removing workplace stress in relation to sales roles has several lessons that can map across to other teams. Ensuring that staff are confident in their roles is key. Regular training, coaching, shadowing and more can help with this. It’s also important to embrace working within the economy, instead of despite of it. External factors come into play when it comes to hitting targets in a wide range of roles. Given the current economic uncertainty that the UK is facing, it is important to recognise this and be flexible in response to it. Systematically ironing out seemingly minor frustrations can also make a surprising difference. Even the greatest motivational speech can only keep employees enthused for so long if every time they sit down at their desks, their computers run slowly, or their printer doesn’t work. Irritations like that add up over time but don’t take much to fix. Employers looking to help their staff destress could do well to tackle those practical pain points, as well as reviewing the way in which they manage their teams.