Make Your Job & Your Employees’
Is stress increasing in your organization? If so, you are not alone. According to a Q2 2008
Vistage’s survey almost 1,200 of 2,400 CEOs surveyed feel more stressed this year over last
year, while about 1100 feel the same. Economic uncertainty was on the top of the list, with
financial and staffing issues close behind. We need employees all the more during tough
economic times. Have you wondered how stressful employees feel about their jobs?
Workplace stress is the No. 1 cause of turnover, which caused 52% of participating
companies struggle to retain their top talents, according to a 2007 Watson Wyatt Worldwide
survey. Most employers, however, fail to recognize this. Instead, they cite the top reasons
they think workers leave their jobs insufficient pay, lack of career development and poor
supervisor relationships.
Proven by years of studies at Harvard, stress, while a great motivator, can disable our mind,
thinking and creativity — which are the keys to innovation and productivity. Stress can also
cause and worsen many psychological and physical symptoms. The American Institute of
Stress estimates that stress costs U.S. corporations $300 billion annually in medical costs,
turnover and absenteeism. We need good stress evaluation on every team member.
Here is a list of common sources of employee stress and corresponding actions taken by many employers:
Cause of Employee Stress Employees That Say Stress Employers Taking
Affects BusinessPerformance Strong Action
Long hours, doing more with less 48% 5%
Work/life balance 32% 16%
Technologies that expand availability 29% 6%
Manager’s inability to recognize stress 24% 7%
Manager’s inability to find solutions for stress 20% 14%
Extra time, hassles related to security 8% 2%
Safety fears 5% 27%
Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide’s 2007/2008 Staying@Work report
The above study was done in 2007. As today’s business leaders, we need to take this
study into consideration when making our joba and employees' less stressful. And here
are some steps to minimize everyone’s stress:
Stay Cool:
No matter how stressful you may feel, stay cool. How you react to today’s economy is
somehow more important to your employees than what they see in Forbes, Wall Street
Journal or CNBC. And people tend to assume things are worse than they are. It is also a
good time to evaluate your insights, self-care and stress management tools. You may self
exam as I go on.
Long Hours or Doing More with Less:
We can decrease the “more” by making more effcient work assignments, better defining
priorities, and eliminating repitition. We can also increase the “less” by adding on-the-job
flexibility and showing more appreciation. Studies indicate that high demand and little
control makes stress the worst. Humans can be motivated by both financial and spiritual
incentives. And last, you may also want to consider whether “slowing down” or replacement
costs more.
Work/life Balance:
In addition to workload, employee problem solving skills and resources available to them
can all take their toll in work/life balance. When the stress is un-addressed, employees
can increase unscheduled time off. A 2005 Harris survey found that actual illness accounts
for 35% unexpected absenteeism. The other 65% includes Family Issues (21%), Personal
Needs (18%), Entitlement Mentality (14%) and Stress (12%). All of these are related to
health and stress management and other problem solving.
You can provide on-site assistance, like day care centers, laundries and clinics. But
employees also need to know how to evaluate themselves, how to prevent stress, how to
relax efficiently from different levels of stress, how to look into the underlying isssues, and
how to avoid costly health mistakes. Limited relaxation exercises, smoking secession and
weight loss that most programs provide are far from enough. Employees’ improved skills in
health and stress management not only enable them to take care of personal issues more
efficiently, but also improve your productivity and the bottom line.
Technologies that Expand Availability:
When technologies expand our availability, they also expand the availability of our resources
and competitors. As the world becomes faster to everyone, we first need to maintain our
priorities. Second, we need to sharpen our insights to see what we are missing in self,
society and environment. In this way we can fully utilize internal and external resources to
get the job done efficiently.
Manager’s Inability to Recognize Stress and Find Solutions for Stress:
Managers are at the front line when reducing employee stress. They first need to know the
symptoms. Managers also need to know how to prevent stress, and how to reduce, eliminate and transform stress. Our 1-4 days training programs, for example, enable managers to recognize stress faster, do better evaluation and offer quicker solutions.
Managers usually have many things on their plates. If employees can solve most of their
health and stress-related issues, managers will have more time to take care of other important
business issues.
Safety Fears:
Many employers have already addressed these issues according to the Watson-Wyatt survey.
Recognizing and preventing potential hazards is beneficial to everyone. Professional
management can always further help.
Take Care of Yourself:
When you squeeze every minute for your business and employees, eating and sleeping only
when you have time for, do not forget about yourself. Like your employees and everyone else,
you need to be recharged with green food, rest, fun and love no matter how TOUGH you are.
You may also need more tools to discover more resources, and to maintain your optimal level
efficiently at times of stress. Without you, the matters and the people you care for will not be
the same.
Summary:
Productivity, stress and health management are closely connected. Comprehensive approach
can not only make everyone’s job less stressful, but also optimize productivity and minimize
operational costs. In this way we can all stay ahead in today’s tough economy. Every
institution has its own unique needs and priorities, and we need to tailor our approach to attain
the best implementation.
About the Author
Los Angeles training organization that focuses on sustainable leadership and health recovery from
unexpected change, stress, illness and injury. She has been listed as a top expert in change
management for CEOs, and in stress management for business and school.