How to Effectively Address Workplace Stress

Stress is a simple fact of life. There is no real way to completely eliminate it from our lives, but there are ways to minimize it and its effects on our physical and mental health.

This week we begin a three part series that offer many strategies and tips to help create a healthier workplace.

Enjoy!

Gary

The American Psychological Association estimates that job stress costs $30 billion per year. A Towers Watson and Company study of 892 employers worldwide indicates stress as the biggest lifestyle risk, closely followed by obesity, and lack of physical activity. There is no doubt that fostering a workplace that addresses the causes of stress and implements ways to help combat it will increase talent attraction, satisfaction, retention, health, and productivity.

The best way to create a healthier workplace, in regards to stress, is to look at the sources of stress. It has become an unspoken expectation amongst employers

and employees that access to email outside of the office means that it should be monitored at night and on weekends. This 24/7 connectivity is causing significant stress. Unclear expectations, such as being available at all hours, is just one of several common causes of stress in the workplace. Other common causes of stress reported by workers include low pay, lack of growth opportunities, and hours.

However, there is disconnect between management and their teams regarding stress factors as seen in Figure 1. Organizations need to develop leaders who can identify stress amongst team members, and be empowered to make changes as needed to benefit the individual, team, and company as a whole.

Workplace stress can lead to top talent looking elsewhere. Employee turnover is increasing in all industries. The cost to replace a team member can cost 50-60% of the annual salary.

Mental health benefits, wellness programs, and EAP services promote a healthy workplace, however they are ineffective if not utilized.

Management behavioral changes can be more effective than company resources for health. Changes such as aligning assigned work with a team member’s skill set, increasing communication between management and teams, and reassessing pay scales can be more beneficial.

Stress affects everyone in different ways. Identifying the root causes of workplace stress and implementing measures to reduce stress will benefit everyone within the organization while increasing productivity, revenue, and most importantly, employee engagement and satisfaction.

Gary Vice is sought out by leaders in Software and Services who recognize the need to attract the industry’s best talent.  Through Strategic Recruiting Partners’ extensive network of relationships, they are able to identify high level opportunities for well qualified candidates.  To discover how this process can benefit your job search, simply reply to this email or call Gary at 469.402.4008.