Create a stress-free workplace
Managing Stress
Identifying when either you or your employees are experiencing high levels of stress is just a part of the process. Learning how to manage stress is vital for your business. Apart from the obvious health concerns, a recent survey by human resources and recruitment firm, Talent2, revealed that 63 percent of employees would have no hesitation in leaving their job if it all became too stressful.
Sadly, though, more than 70 percent of people believe that stress comes hand-in-hand with work. It just does not have to be this way.
It would be a lie to say that there is just one way to manage stress. We are all individuals, and we all manage stress in different way. There are traditional methods, modern methods and some extreme methods, but none of them will solve the problems, they will act as a band-aid.
Some traditional methods include:
* Identify. The modern workplace is, by definition, a high-stress environment. Emails constantly flood in, orders need to be completed immediately, everything is happening at a million miles and hour and everything needs to be done five minutes ago. Your palms sweat, your heart beats faster, your head start swimming in everything you have to do. Take note of this. Identify your symptoms, as if you do not, you will have absolutely no chance in managing your stress.
* Make lists. You have a million things to do, yet you do not know what to do first. List everything in minute detail that you have to do. Do not just write ‘re-brand company’ on your to-do list. Break it down into the smallest denominator. When the list is complete it will be completely overwhelming: be prepared for this. Take some time to prioritise your list—colour coding helps many people. Once you have done this, begin to work your way down the list through the priorities. Be prepared to re-arrange this list throughout a working day or week.
* Breathe. You and your employees will be unable to work effectively if you cannot see the wood for the trees. Take a step back, and literally take a few deep breaths. You will be amazed how different things will look when you just take a few seconds to re-evaluate. You can take this further and take time during the day or before or after work to meditate.
* De-politicise the office. One of the most stressful parts of turning up to work every day is managing the personalities that work with you. This holds true both for the boss and for employees. Take some time to really speak with your co-workers and identify where the problems lie. Identify agendas, identify the hard-workers and reward them and coach the workers that need some help. Take the politics out of the office.
One of the fatal errors in business, particularly small business where there is no dedicated HR employee and the boss is expected to be everything to everyone is to treat the workplace and workers like a factory staffed by robots. We all need to have a bit of fun, and work cannot be a serious place all the time.
Some modern ideas include:
* Plug and play the day away. Give yourself and your employees a good break by installing a video-game console in the break-room. A survey by Talent2 showed that 25 percent of employees would like to see this happen as it would give them a chance to zone out from their work for a short period of time and reduce stress.
* Build the team. Oftentimes, feeling isolated can be a major contributor to stress-levels. Feeling as though there is no one else who can help with our tasks, or not wishing to, or being able to, delegate can make things that much more stressful. If you have a team of employees, build up team morale and team spirit. For example, make an executive decision to close the office early on Friday and take the team for lunch. If you have a bit more of a budget, go paintballing, for example.
Managing stress levels, both your own and those of employees is a job in itself. It is not easy to do, and that is why people spend entire careers learning how to do it, yet small business owners are expected to be experts at it, almost over night.
In reality, you can identify those who are stressed, you can do all of the stress-management techniques that you like, however the only sure-fire way to alleviate stress is to solve the root problems. Change your work processes, hire another employee if necessary or bring on a business-partner to alleviate the load. All of these are easier said than done, particularly when you are in the business of running your business.
—Peter George is a behavioural psychologist with recruitment firm, Talent2.