Stress is a major issue that employees face everywhere in the world. What can you, as an employer do to reduce work stress of your employees? What steps can you take to ensure a smooth work culture at your organisation?
As per a report presented by the American Institute of stress, approximately 80% of the professionals suffer from work stress. This huge percentage depicts the extent to which our employees get suppressed due to work pressure.
Further, this calls for the need of ideating some strict and effective measures. These steps can help our employees get relieved from the burden of work.
This article will focus on
- What is work stress?
- Where should the remedial measures begin from?
- 7 simple methodologies to reduce the stress level at work
- 5 ways to handle current pandemic stress
What is work stress?
The work stress relates to extra pressure that the employee faces at the workplace. This pressure builds up due to the workload and the environment in which the employee works. Further, this stress can be the physical as well as the mental pressure.
Our employees generally face this pressure while completing their work target. To be honest, every single employee in the world today is under workload. However, this situation takes the shape of stress, when the burden increases to the extent of unavoidable pressure.
Also, being an employer we should make sure that each employee gets manageable duties. This will result in ensuring that none of our employees have to go through mental or physical stress, at the workplace.
Where should the remedial measures begin from?
Moving forward, one imperative factor that we need to keep in mind before initiating the change, is that the change has to begin within us. If we wish to bring a change in the working culture of our company, we should at first, take the charge.
This change will help to showcase a great advancement towards the cause of reducing stress at work. We can do this by playing soft music in the background, in the morning and evening hours. Also, we can introduce some mandatory Zumba or yoga breaks for all our employees. These small steps can prove to bring a huge change in the lives of our employees and their families.
7 simple methodologies to reduce the stress level at work
Furthermore, the following steps will aid us in formulating a comprehensive work culture. This particular style of work will prove beneficial for our employees as well as the organisation.
Hire the passionate
It is our duty to bring the change from the beginning. To do this, we should hire the employees who are passionate about their work profile. Also, it is always beneficial for us to have a team, which is enthusiastic about their job. Rather than working with people who take their work as load.
It is true, excess of work is always unhealthy to practice. Still, if our employees are passionate about their field of work, then they would be able to give positive output. Moreover, they will not feel burdened about the extra work given to them. In fact, they will take it as a learning opportunity.
Be their constant support
We can motivate and inspire our employees by involving in the projects with them. Moreover, by providing our constant support, we make them feel connected and appreciated. Also, we can support them by connecting with them and resolving their professional queries.
This can include the problems they are facing on a daily basis while working in the office. It is when we support them throughout, our employees feel high on power and energy to perform better. This even reduces stress from their mind, as they get the chance to share their work problems with us, the employers.
Value their efforts
By valuing our employees we give them the honour of the highest rank. When we value the time, energy and efforts our employees put into their work, they produce even better results.
It is important to pat the back of our employees and assure them that their ideas and results matter for the growth of our company. This can further fill an aura of positive work culture in the organisation.
Take breaks with them
None of our employees is a machine, neither should we treat them like one. To let our employees breathe some fresh air and give them some break from work, we can devise the culture of tea breaks. This can be an extra perk along with the mandatory lunch break. These breaks in the morning and evening can aid us in knowing our employees better.
With such small efforts, we not only become friends with them but also get introduced to their interests. Further, if we utilise the same information in a proper way, then we can generate great opportunities for our employees. These small measures can help to give happiness and satisfaction to our workforce.
Let their personality flourish
It relates to the personal growth of the employees. When our employees see themselves flying high with the growth of their organisation, they show a deeper interest in it. To let this feeling arise in the employees, it is imperative to create such an enticing atmosphere.
We can do this by involving employees into the process of improvement, from its very commencement. Moreover, it can act as a source of learning for the employee as well as produce profit for our company, at the same time.
Enlighten their professional being
Our employees are our biggest treasure. To preserve and polish them, we need to keep adding to their professional caliber. We can do this by organising workshops and seminars for them. These workshops will help them learn things in a practical and attractive way.
We can also tie-up with some professional colleges and universities to enrol our employees into executive degrees. These courses along with adding a feather to our employee’s hat, also tend to enhance their management skills.
By adopting such measures of growth, we accredit our investment of interest in the growth of our employees’ future. This shows our concern towards their future growth.
Monetary benefits are always welcome
Money has always been a cause of worry for the people of the world. So, if we provide our employees with enough salary then, they can be free from monetary tensions. This will not only reduce the amount of stress from their life but will also make them capable of earning a better life for themselves.
In addition to the appropriate salary, we should also provide some perks. These can include paid holidays, relaxing trips, dine in benefits, insurance policies, and many more, to our employees. This would increase their trust in our organisation and even persuade them to work with more efficiency for the profitable growth of the company.
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5 ways to handle current pandemic stress
In the above section, we talked about the general stress busters, to help our employees on normal working days. However, the current pandemic situation is introducing new definitions of normalcy. In fact, the current scenario is giving birth to ever increasing cases of mental health and depression.
According to reports by a Federal agency hotline in America, it witnessed a 1,000 increase in the help requests for people suffering from emotional distress. This emotional imbalance is also evident on the work output of our employees.
To help us tackle these variations in emotional and mental stress of our employees, following are 5 measures.
Never lose touch
This pandemic state is by far the most challenging phases of life, for the present generation. During these tough times, our employees need our constant support. We need to assure that we as employers are available for them.
Also, we should not refrain ourselves from extending emotional support to our employees. There would be many employees who are currently going through traumatic conditions. By lending a helping hand, we can help reduce work stress.
Don’t loosen the monetary string
We as employers should provide sufficient salaries to our employees. Though, this pandemic situation can prove to be a little hard for our own financial gains. We need to ensure that we do not loosen the monetary support we are providing to our employees.
In fact, it is their first right to get the full salaries, in proper time.
Introduce coronavirus financial help
It should be our duty to provide financial help to our employees, who get hit by Coronavirus. These policies should include their family members also, who turn out to be Corona positive.
Also, it is a well known fact that the cost of Coronavirus tests and the total care is too high for a normal person. So, we as employers must safeguard our employees financial state.
Mandatory coronavirus paid leaves
Our companies should also invent some new leave policies. This should be for the employees who test corona positive. Along with best medication, a corona patient requires a lot of physical rest.
By providing paid leave, we can give them some mental peace, to rest without any monetary tensions.
Keep them positive
Besides the financial support and policies ,our employees today need positivity and assurance. The fear of losing a job is mounting high. Thus it is important to assure our employees that they are valuable to us. Also, our little words of appreciation can fill them with more confidence and strength to move ahead in their career.
Stress is a major issue which hampers the mind from thinking beyond the boundaries of obstruction. We as an employer need to identify that obstruction and ward it off from the lives of our employees. By being positive and humble, we can make a huge difference in reducing the stress levels of our employees.
Remember, you as an employer should always wear a smile on your face and pave the path of happiness for your employees.
In Summary
Work stress is a problem that we should not ignore. We must work with a plan to reduce work stress levels of our employees. We can do this by following the above mentioned steps. These steps tell us how we can together make a change in the attitude of our employees.
By making such small efforts, we can let our employees embrace their work responsibilities in a happier way. By adopting the change, we can assure of the following benefits:
- Happy and contented workforce
- Well connected teams
- Healthy employee- employer relationships
- High productivity at work
- Dedicated workforce
- Positive work environment online as well as offline
- Employees with low stress level and high work orientation
- Financially satisfied employees
- Employees enjoying a balanced state both physically and mentally
- Positive and motivated employees
- Fearless team mates, which leads to high creativity
The measures mentioned above to deal with the current pandemic situation can be of great help to reduce work stress. These can help us all in fighting off the negativities this Coronavirus is building within us.
About the Author
Embracing a farsighted vision, Jessica Robinson possesses the power to analyse things in-depth and easily puts them into words. She also has the power of writing influentially. These qualities make her a powerful writer and allow her to write for the benefit of her audience and readers. Check out her blog The Speaking Polymath.
