Workplace challenges It soon becomes clear that Christine gets along well with most of her co-workers. Daily routines within her unit, however, are strained because her boss, Daniel, seems to be preoccupied with power plays within the mission. He provides little guidance to the team, fails to assign clear tasks, and doesn’t follow up on project goals. Christine sees her team’s work stalled because Daniel often tasks Bertrand with trivial chores that are unrelated to his actual work, such as booking flights for him. The unnecessary extra work resulting from Daniel’s behavior puts Christine in a difficult position as team leader. She is worried about Bertrand being exploited and the affect it has on their work. She wonders whether to live with the status quo or to possibly make matters worse in the short-term by reporting Daniel to the chief of staff.

Ultimately, she decides to talk about the situation with Daniel first, keeping in mind that she can still report him to the chief of staff if he doesn't change his working style.

Additional information

Stress in the workplace may affect your well-being more significantly than would be the case at home.

Examples of possible stress factors

Conflicts with work partners (possibly due to cultural differences, when not dealt with in a constructive way that appreciates different views and opinions because of different backgrounds)
Lack of support from management, colleagues, or clients
High performance expectations
Above-average workload or insufficient tasks
Constant turnover of staff
Sexual harassment in the workplace
Competition, infighting, and bullying
Discrepancies between the goals of the headquarters of the mission and the work rhythm in the country of assignment
A lack of transparency in the decision-making processes or organizational culture
Insufficiently trained management staff

Special responsibility in a leadership position

In a leadership position, work on making the organization you work for recognize the subjects of stress, dealing with extreme stress, trauma, and traumatic stress as important in the context of your work and thus in the context of the organization’s work.
The appreciation expressed by the fact that all employees are treated with care and consideration will be reflected in an increase of physical and mental health, and thus in the high quality of work and the positive esteem of the organization. Act as a role model for your co-workers in dealing with stress and extreme strain. Take good care of yourself. Demand coaching and advice for yourself, so that you can keep reflecting upon the question of whether you are treating yourself and others well. This will have immense positive effects on the quality of your work.