Managing Employee Stress In The Workplace

Monday 30 January, 2012

by Profiles International

Handling employee stress in the workforce is no easy task. Some employees rise to the occasion while others cringe with fear or avoid the situation completely. This article will provide you with 5 ways to help you develop a solid workforce that won't crack under pressure.

Knowing how your staff will respond to stress and employee conflict is the key to building an organisation that can withstand even the toughest challenges. Being able to identify issues that cause stress and the employees who are most affected will help organisations develop strategies to diffuse high-pressure situations quickly.

One of the easiest ways to motivate and generate energy in your workplace is to create an environment that reduces stress. Employees who experience frequent, high levels of stress have lower productivity levels and quality of output, and end up costing your company more in missed workdays and high turnover due to job dissatisfaction.

Here are some simple things you can do in your organisation to minimise employee conflict and create a work environment that reduces employee stress:

1. Let your employees create their own personal atmosphere
   
   The addition of plants, family photos or other personal items will make any office or cubicle seem less formal. By surrounding themselves with pleasant surroundings, employees may find that their attitudes are pleasant as well.
   
2. Implement more team building activities
   
   Set up a cricket team, bowling team or a book club and make it for employees only. By letting employees meet and socialise in settings that don't require them to work on stressful projects together, they can create trusting work relationships that will help them when it counts the most.
   
3. Always thank your employees for their hard work
   
   You'd be surprised how much a simple compliment can do for morale.
   
4. Give employees the opportunity to make decisions that will directly affect their job performance
   
   By allowing them to participate, they will gain a sense of power (instead of always taking orders) which reduces stress.
   
5. Get insight into how and why your employees experience stress and employee conflict
   
   Stress and employee conflict often arise from a misalignment of company perspectives and abilities required to perform specific job functions.
   
   One way to address this, is to use employee assessments, that can help you match employees to jobs that they are able to perform well in and identify organisational alignment issues.

 Source:ceoonline.com

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