Workplace-related stress is a growing concern. The new millennium finds us with ever-increasing workloads, a decreasing workforce, and a climate of rapid change. Employees are being asked to do more than ever before in less time for less money. Job security doesn’t exist anymore, and increasingly jobs themselves are hard to come by. These and other pressures add up to increasing stress and strain being placed on employees, supervisors and leaders alike, which takes a toll on moral and functioning. Companies that take a proactive approach towards minimizing employee’s stress experience reap many rewards.
Some workplace stress is inevitable while other sources of workplace stress are avoidable. Stress management in the workplace is about helping employees to better cope with stressors that cannot be avoided, and about reducing opportunities for employee stress where that is possible.
Exercise and Relaxation
A good starting place for workplace stress management is to promote exercise and relaxation class opportunities within the workplace. Regular physical exercise benefits employee health in numerous ways, one of which happens to be making employees more resilient with regard to stress. Employees who exercise regularly tend to have more stamina, a more positive mood, are typically able to concentrate better, and generally are less susceptible to minor illnesses that can send them to the doctor. Relaxation programs including gentle yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, etc.) promote stress-relief by helping people practice maintaining a relaxed posture (physically and mentally) in the face of stress. Companies that don’t offer exercise and relaxation benefits should consider offering them, and employees who have such benefits should strongly consider taking advantage of them.
Daily Hassles
Workplace stress relief can also be greatly facilitated by helping employees learn how to deal with and better manage daily hassles. Some of the more specific factors that effect workplace stress, and which can be managed are:
· Difficult working conditions, (noise, lighting, etc.), shift-work, long hours, work-related travel demands, adaptation to new technology and just plain and simple work overload.
· Employees not really understanding their role and responsibilities within the organization.
· Dysfunctional relationships between employee and boss, employee and subordinates and employees and their colleagues, as well as relationships with customers/clients
· Concerns about job security, obsolescence, involuntary retirement, performance appraisals, etc.
· Dual-career couples/families keep the pressure up around the clock.
Considered broadly, these specific concerns reduce down to about seven common causes of stress in the workplace:
· Time pressures
· Loss of control
· Personal beliefs and style
· Getting along with others
· Dealing with change
· Physical and environmental demands of the job
· Personal habits that magnify workplace stress
The leadership role in managing stress
As an automobile owner you put oil in the engine to reduce strains on parts rubbing against other parts, in so doing, reducing stress on the engine and increasing the life of the car. The same attention to maintenance applies to your staff.
One way you can help your employees be less stressed is to be clear about what is expected of them. Be clear about each employee’s specific contribution to projects and set realistic deadlines. Establish mini-deadlines so everyone knows that projects are progressing on schedule. Dividing complex tasks into small steps makes it easier for employees to accomplish those tasks and to appreciate when they are behind or ahead of schedule. Smaller steps reduce stress for everyone.
Try to assign work assignments to people who are competent to complete them. One of the biggest wastes of time for everyone is for someone without the proper training to be given an assignment they do not have the expertise to complete. Keep your employee’s training up-to-date and reward them if and when they elect to gain more training on their own. Invest money in maintaining enough staff to do the jobs that need to be done well. Merely piling more and more work on your workforce will eventually result in failure for the organization. Give good employees the tools and support they need to make you and the organization successful.
Set a personal example of how one should behave at work. Employees should understand that when they are at work, you expect them to get work done. For example, Internet use during business hours should be confined to what is necessary to complete business or organizational tasks. It is not appropriate for employees to spend large amounts of time emailing, instant messaging or web-surfing on the company’s time. While it is wise to be supportive of employees, a manager does not have to put up with people playing while on the job. Reward employees for getting things done on time or before. Be alert to employees that tend to procrastinate and consult with them early about this tendency and the potential problems this behavior will cause for you both if it continues.
Take care of interpersonal disputes and employees that are seriously toxic to the environment quickly so they do not pollute the workplace. Encourage employees to make use of human resource and employee assistance opportunities if they need then and do not hesitate to make necessary referrals.
On the other hand, try to allow employees to feel like they have some control over their work environment. Get employees’ input when making decisions if possible as it helps them feel more involved and the work more relevant to them. Don’t micromanage. Employees who can work independently should be allowed leeway to do so (The ones who cannot work independently are the ones you probably are having to remind about the work ethic and not doing personal activities on the job). Reward creative and/or thoughtful recommendations from employees. In fact, periodically recognize all types of excellence in your employees. To create a less stressful environment the rule is to recognize excellence in a public way, but to voice displeasure with work and make corrections in private.
As far as the general work environment is concerned, decent lighting, clean air, a comfortable working temperature, and possibly very low-level calming music (without vocals) can help. If employees are in tiny cubicles try to size the furnishings so that they do not overwhelm the space. Try to provide for adequate storage of information and materials so that small spaces do not become so cluttered that they impair concentration and thought. Try to keep the noise level manageable and equipment in good repair.
The idea of enhancing the bottom line by laying off “non-vital” employees may be well intentioned but can give rise to a negative atmosphere of fear and uncertainty if handled poorly. While any organization may have to cut jobs under extraordinary circumstances, the more positive, creative organizations regroup very quickly after lay-offs and begin to reinforce a positive, externally-oriented perspective. Negative work environments rarely improve their productivity and negative organizations are seldom long-term successes. Businesses that think of employees as merely overhead find themselves cutting staff again and again and again without ever really resolving the underlying issues.
THE EMPLOYEE AND STRESS AT WORK
Employees can help themselves to better manage the common causes of workplace stress by trying some of the following:
Ways to Improve Time Pressures
One of the most important things that a person can do is to set aside 15 – 30 minutes a day to relax. There are many methods of pursuing relaxation, including but not limited to meditation, deep breathing practice, yoga or other mind-body exercises, and simply assuming a comfortable posture and listening to recorded nature sounds (ocean waves, rain, etc.) or peaceful music of your choice. Making time for a brief respite in the middle of your stressful day is the doorway to reducing stress in all areas of your life.
Another helpful idea is to always leave 10 or 15 minutes “early” when going to work, or to meetings, and to allow at least a 15 minute break between appointments whenever possible. It is amazing how much distress can be relieved by building these buffers into your schedule.
Try to overcome a tendency to procrastinate. Get yourself a scheduler and use it. Negotiate project deadlines at the beginning of a project and take steps to renegotiate deadlines immediately upon realizing that initial estimates were unrealistic. Break assignments into smaller parts and establish your own personal mini-deadlines for accomplishing them. This practice will allow the project to be completed on schedule. Actually write out your plan and begin with the part you like doing the least. It is a good idea to plan little rewards each step of the way (breaks, snacks, etc.). During the time you need to be working concentrate and focus on what you are doing and do your best work. When the day’s work is done allow yourself a little reward.
Be honest in recognizing just how much you can accomplish and try to respect your limits. Each of us has a limited amount of time, energy and capability (which boils down to training and experience). While it is important to keep growing and challenging yourself, it is counterproductive to take on assignments that are poorly defined or far beyond your competence.
Ways to Exercise Self-Control
We humans have a need to be able to predict stressful events and their eventual outcome. We want to have some control over what happens and we need and appreciate the emotional support other people can provide when we are facing stressful times. While we can’t always control our circumstances, we can always control our reactions and attitudes about our situation. One positive way to gain a sense of control is to give tasks 100 percent of your concentration and effort. Find value in the work you do and find ways to make it challenging. If you are involved you will feel much less frustrated and you will be too committed to what you are doing to feel bored.
Prioritize your goals for work and your home life. Do the things necessary to achieve your goals and also assume responsibility for unexpected serious matters. You do not have to accept all requests to be on committees or to be involved in dozens of groups that require large contributions of your time. Learn to politely say no when necessary. If you make exceptions do so in your personal life, especially in relation to your spouse, children and dearest friends. Few dying people wish they had spent more of their time working, but many wish they had spent more time with family and loved ones. Reach for your professional goals, but if you are blessed with a family and friends do not neglect them. Finding the appropriate balance between your work and personal lives can make you better able to contribute to both endeavors than if you emphasize only one side of the equation.
Ways to Compensate For Personality Pitfalls
Your personality characteristics can influence how easy of a time you have coping with work stress. Some people are driven achievers while others take a more laid back approach to life. Driven people are more likely to suffer health problems as a result of stress, and to find the work place more stressful than less ambitious people. The ambitious person’s expectations (and therefore the amount of stress they experience) become magnified when goals they wish to achieve are vague (like wanting to become “rich and famous”; this is a difficult to achieve goal because it is a moving target: How much wealth or fame is enough?). Ambitious people serve themselves by recognizing their driven tendencies and compensate for them with relaxation and reality testing activities that help them calm down and set more manageable expectations. Vague goals can be recast into clear and relevant objectives and plans. It is best to reexamine goals while in a calm state of mind—when you are neither panicked nor driven by uncontrolled ambition.
Another common work stressor is the fear that something you did or said will come back to haunt you. Most workplace fears are irrational and are a bit like many workplace anxieties, (e.g., they concern events in the future which are in reality not very likely to occur). Try not to waste too much time on minor issues that will probably never amount to anything. Keep an eye on your ego and any tendency to become inappropriately insecure. Instead, resolve to do your best to repair work relationships if they do go sour, and to not worry about what is otherwise out of your control. Instead of dwelling on these “could happen” scenarios, work towards developing a positive attitude towards your work, work relationships and yourself.
Take positive steps to manage your work-related fears. If your major fear is job-loss, or being ‘trapped’ in a job you do not find fulfilling, try saving money from each paycheck so that over time you develop a cash buffer sufficient to grant you the freedom to leave your current position, or survive a layoff. You might also find that making time to keep your employability skills up-to-date, and your network of business-related contacts well oiled pays off in less work-related anxiety and better sleep. Regarding work-related skills, take advantage of training programs offered through your employer and look for additional ones on your own. If catastrophe strikes you will be as ready as you could be. Knowing this can relieve an enormous amount of stress.
Ways to Get Along with Other People
A big stressor at work involves problems people have in relating with other people, whether bosses, subordinates, colleagues or customers. Some of the most common causes for these sorts of problems are competitiveness, anger, and envy (i.e., greed). Just becoming aware that such feelings could be motivating your current behavior can be illuminating. Having become aware of your perceptions and feelings, you are now in a position to alter how you are participating in the stressful relationship so that it becomes less stressful.
When it comes to dealing with an overbearing employer, an unresponsive subordinate or a tyrant of a supervisor the problem sometimes boils down to assertiveness issues (e.g., you end up being too passive or too aggressive in your dealings with others). Your human resources department or employee assistance program can direct you towards assertiveness training resources that can help you learn how to appropriately assert yourself in the workplace.
Ways to Deal with Change
Be willing to accept change because it is inevitable. Recognize that because the world is constantly changing, so too must the work world. New technologies and methods of getting things done are par for the course, necessary adaptations that employers make as they attempt to keep the business current and viable. Instead of griping about having to learn new things, do what you can to approach them with a positive attitude and an open mind, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it in getting started. You’ll be amazed at how accomplished you feel when you develop mastery of a new skill.
Sometimes work-related change means that your position could be consolidated or otherwise lost. Alternatively, your employment may require to you make significant life changes in order to keep your position. Any change that requires you to make major life changes would seem at first glance to be completely negative, but this is not always the case. In many cases, what seems to be all negative reveals itself over time to have positive aspects. You may find yourself in a new position that you enjoy more than before, or you may meet new people who become your friends. Giving inevitable change the benefit of the doubt; approaching it with a positive attitude helps you to cope better and more successfully than if you try to cling to a past that is no more. What you will gain is a certain calmness about the future because you are able to see its potential.
Ways to Manage Environmental Stresses at Work
There are many jobs that involve physical danger. Soldiers at war, policemen, firefighters, and miners know this all too well. Most of us, however, do not have to face the possibility of death in our daily workplace. Most modern physical difficulties are the result of jobs that require us to stand or sit all day while maintaining high levels of concentration, situations which are both tiring and repetitive. Customer or client-facing positions bombard us with customer’s physical and emotional demands and can similarly leave us feeling exhausted at the end of the day. Some jobs require repetitive manipulation of industrial machinery or computers, which can sometimes result in repetitive motion problems (carpal tunnel syndrome and similar difficulties). Whatever the stress and strains associated with a given position are, they are worse for people who work “graveyard” shifts. Working all night and trying to sleep during the day keeps people out-of-sync both physically and emotionally.
Although there will always be some aspects of the physical workplace environment that cannot be smoothed away, some things about the work environment or the way that the work proceeds can be changed for the better. Try to identify stressful aspects of your work environment that could, with a little attention, be made less stressful, and see about making those changes if possible. If your hands bother you after using the computer all day, ask your human resources staff about whether ergonomic adjustments for your desk and chair are possible. If the florescent lights at your workplace drive you bonkers, bring your own lamp or lamps to work. Consider an inexpensive “white” noise generating device to block out distracting noises. Another helpful option to reduce environmental stress is to listen to soothing, relaxing music (which contains no words) played at a very low, background level. If this is not possible try to learn to focus very intently on what you are doing, including listening to your own breathing. Slow, deep breathing can directly reduce the intensity of stress feelings because we breathe faster and less deeply when we are stressed. However you are able to achieve it, concentration can significantly reduce the environmental stress you experience.
There are other small ways you can reduce work-associated stress as well. If your work space is really small, try to see if you can’t have a smaller chair to sit in instead of a big chair. Keep your space very neat and add a few personal touches. Substituting caffeine-free tea, herbal tea or water for endless cups of coffee can also go a long way towards keeping you calm. Drinking water is useful in reducing stress because becoming dehydrated can make you feel lethargic and tired which leave you much more likely to feel stressed.
Ways to Make Your Lifestyle More Stress-Management Friendly
Do you not exercise regularly? Do you fail to get a full night’s sleep? Do you drink excessive amounts of caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda)? Do you drink alcohol to excess? Do you fight frequently with your spouse or significant other? Are you having difficulty parenting your children? Most of us could answer yes to one or more of these questions.
Lifestyle habits such as not getting enough sleep, failing to exercise, or not knowing how to argue civilly with your spouse can make you more susceptible to stress at work. Your efforts towards correcting these problems and living a healthier lifestyle will go a long way towards making you more resilient, and capable of better handling workplace stress.
Living a healthy lifestyle takes discipline, and a sense of commitment, but it is really not all that difficult:
- Commit yourself to exercising three or more times per week for at least 30 minutes each time.
- Replace the junk food and alcohol binges in your life with fresh vegetables, lean meats and whole grain breads.
- Practice relaxation exercises: Find time at least once a week for a relaxing soak, or a game of golf. Take up yoga or Pilates or basketball. Take a meditation seminar.
- Train yourself to become relaxed through auto-suggestion: When you do feel calm start to recognize the sensation and repeat a word (such as “calm”) to yourself. Over time this word will come to elicit a sense of relaxation—just don’t forget to continue to think the word to yourself while you are in a relaxed state.
- Be conscious of your posture and physical carriage. Try to sit and stand straight with your shoulders back, down and relaxed. Consider taking up Yoga or Pilates (disciplines which will help improve your posture as well as improve your body strength, flexibility and resilience). Shake out your hands periodically to reduce stress in them and try to keep from gritting your teeth and furrowing your brow.
In short, there are many things that you can do to reduce workplace stress and they often have nothing to do with the workplace per se.
Don’t hesitate to use the human resources department at your workplace or your employee assistance program to help you deal with spousal and parenting issues, or problems with drugs, alcohol, information about smoking cessation, maintaining exercise programs, etc. If your workplace offers wellness opportunities try to take advantage of them. Take control of what you can and be the better for it. Positive action will make your life much less stressful at home as well as in the workplace.
