Archive for the ‘Stress Management for Employers’ Category

Whether there is more stress in the work place than ever before or whether we’re just more vigilant about measuring stress, there are some very compelling statistics to show that business owners, employers and managers need to take measures to reduce stress in the workplace for solid profit reasons as well as more humane reasons.

A Labour Force Survey published by the Health and Safety Executive showed that 11.4 million working days were lost in 2008/9 because of stress, depression and anxiety. In 2009, figures show that stress and chronic ill-health cost industry a staggering £100 billion. Some companies have been forced by the courts to pay out huge settlements to employees because of damage done by stress in their workplace. 

Then there’s the destruction of morale and team spirit when colleagues have to take up the extra workload of those employees who’ve had to take time off. Unrealistic workloads and deadlines can cause your employees to make mistakes that could also cost your company dearly.

With National Stress Day coming up on November 3rd, it’s a good time to look at ways you can reduce stress in your work place.

So here are 7 tips to help you

1. Set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound) goals and make sure your team members are clear about what those goals are. A business owner told me recently that he has learned this the  hard way after a member of his staff resigned within 4 months of being hired. He now has to go through the expensive hiring and training process all over again.
2. Make sure your team members are clear about their role and that their part in your organisation is valued – sincere praise and recognition  cost very little and sometimes yields far higher productivity than a pay rise.
3. Put a high value on team building and staff morale – teams that work together well support each other in healthy and productive ways, with less conflict and more cooperation.
4. Help your staff to increase their self-belief – confident staff members are more creative, decisive and resourceful in the face of challenges. They are more willing to be accountable and responsible.
5. Invest in training and coaching – team members who feel confident that have the skills to do a job feel less stressed. Those skills may be technical skills, professional skills, communication skills, management skills and stress (anger, anxiety) management skills. Train your staff members to fulfil their potential.
6. Give constructive feedback instead of criticism – a blame culture and command and control leadership destroy initiative, creativity and ownership. Lead assertively rather than passively or aggressively.
7. Provide the resources and environment that make it easy for your staff members to do their job – technology that works, decent light, comfortable temperature control, straightforward systems, time to do their tasks, good living salary etc.

If you have found these tips useful and would like some expert help with removing stress from your work place please contact Madeleine Morgan on 01223 426392 or email madeleing@growu.co.uk to book a Strategy Consultation. We’ll look at the current causes of stresses in your work place, define what you’d like to achieve, identify what is getting in the way of achieving a low-stress environment and what resources are available to help you achieve your goals.

You can also search  http://www.growu.co.uk for coaching and training programmes.

To Your Business Success

Kind regards

Madeleine