Technology. Y2K. Re-engineering. Right-sizing. Doing more with less. Workload. Multi-tasking. Healthcare. Family pressures. Financial pressures. Co-workers. Management. Mergers. Acquisitions. Stock market fluctuations. Sedentary lifestyles. Long commutes. Pollution. The Internet.
It's no wonder that many of the gainfully employed are overwhelmed with stress. For every stressful employee in your company, there's a decrease in productivity and profitability. The once firm lines of demarcation between work and personal issues have dissipated. What goes on personally affects work. What goes on at work affects one's personal life. It is your company's responsibility to provide a conducive environment so your people can offer their best. It makes good business sense to provide opportunities for working out unresolved work as well as personal issues. After all, if your people aren't working to their potential, your business is suffering. Naturally you want to maximize performance, enhance morale, and increase productivity and profitability. So, in addition to adequate compensation and benefits for your people, consider implementing these options:
Treat your people with dignity and respect.
Regardless of position, status, time with company, gender, or ethnicity, your people deserve your utmost respect. Care about them. Convey your caring through your words, actions, company policies, and benefits. Be congruent. Help them to always know their value. Keep in mind that each employee's efforts are what makes your company thrive. Without them, you have no company.
Communicate changes and decisions.
Business changes on a daily basis. The changes need to be communicated to your people frequently. They need to understand how what they do on a daily basis is impacted. They need to know what they need to do to adjust. Use all appropriate avenues of communication to keep your people informed.
Include your people in decision-making.
The more people are involved in making decisions, the greater the ownership they feel regarding the outcome. They're more willing to take necessary actions for carrying out the decision. Your people have great ideas. Reward them for thinking outside of the box, for taking risks, and for making contributions to the company.
Set reasonable expectations.
There's much to be done every day. There's pressure to respond quicker than the day before. Be reasonable about what you expect from your people. Communicate clearly what you need and want and in what time frame you expect them to deliver. Ask what's on their plate before giving them additional work.
Communicate priorities.
Your people need to know what's most important to the company. Be very clear about the priorities. Your people can then make sound choices about what work needs to be accomplished first. When priorities change, and they often do, notify your people immediately. Keep those lines of communication open.
Set up means for the expression of complaints and ideas.
Put suggestion boxes in conspicuous places. Read and respond to the suggestions. Give prizes for those who make suggestions. Schedule periodic "town meetings" so people can understand what's happening within the business. Give them opportunities to express their concerns. Use focus groups to uncover specific and often underlying issues that may be interfering with productivity.
Offer flex-time.
With increasing responsibilities for children and parents and longer commutes, allow your people to work flexible schedules. Mutually agree on the schedules. Publish them so that everyone's aware of the times people are available.
Encourage the use of car pooling and public transportation.
Offer both tangible and intangible incentives for those who do. Provide a system for your people to connect with one another.
Provide on-site childcare and related resources.
Parents have increasing concerns about the care of their children. If possible, offer on-site child care. At a minimum, offer resources and informative seminars about the best alternatives for caring for their children while they work.
Provide resources regarding elder care.
More and more people are becoming responsible for their parents. Provide access to available resources for these people. Offer seminars to acquaint them with the issues surrounding this responsibility.
Offer educational programs on managing stress.
Afford your people opportunities to enroll in classes and seminars; check out books, audio and video tapes; and engage in computer-based courses. Expect them to learn to how to deal with their stress in a healthy way and to use what they learn.
Offer on-site massage and aerobic classes.
Both of these activities are great ways to reduce stress. A 15-minute massage can reduce the stress in the body which allows the employee to return to work refreshed. Aerobic classes have numerous health benefits, including increased energy and mental clarity.
Sponsor on-site health fairs.
Your people can undergo numerous screenings for eyes, ears, teeth, cholesterol, and blood pressure. What they learn will help them make more responsible choices about their health care. This is an effective way to convey that you care about the health of your people.
Sponsor periodic social gatherings.
Your people are social beings. Many of them receive much pleasure and renewed energy from interacting with each other on a social level. Encourage camaraderie among your people. Support covered dish luncheons. Treat them by bringing in a special treat from time to time. Sponsor company picnics and outings to sporting events.
Encourage use of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Some of your people are troubled and don't know how to cope with various situations in their lives. Encourage them to use the EAP services. Make it easy for them to do so. Post the EAP contact information in conspicuous places so a person can call at his or her discretion.
Stress is all around us. Living and working generate a lot of it. Demands from others and society contribute daily. We're working against a clock that ticks faster every day. To maintain some sanity for your people and profitability for your company, consciously begin de-stressing your workplace now. And, perhaps you'll find delight in the benefits you receive for your self!
Newsletter and Ezine Resource
Find exactly what you're looking for
|
In our quest to provide you with tools and information to help you change the way
you work and live, we've gathered a comprehensive list of newsletters on all aspects of business and life.
The benefits are all there. Click here to go there.
|
