Stress Management in the Workplace: Taking Care of People

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time

we have rushed through life trying to save.”

­ Will Rogers

Recessions are an awful time for HR managers and business owners, who are faced with the unenviable task of trimming the workforce. Every round of redundancies tears the heart out of the workforce, but there seems to be no end to the bad news. According to workplace.com, HR managers are recording high-levels of stress, with many seeking career changes, suffering from stress related problems, drinking more heavily, or taking up smoking.

There is no easy way around this: restructuring is always difficult for a company and, despite the fact that the last thing you want to do is tell employees that they have to leave, especially when you know that they will have bills to pay, a mortgage, and families to feed, it is unavoidable. Constant layoffs create uncertainty and, unsurprisingly, cause your workforce to lose motivation as stress permeates the organization.

How do you handle this?

How can you help your workforce ride out the storm?

In difficult times, there is no ‘magic bullet’ to make all of the problems go away, and stress management in the workplace is a vital part of riding out the storm.

These tips are all designed to promote damage limitation during an economic downturn.

Always remember that your employees are fully aware of economic reality and most of them will be supportive, as long as they are kept informed.

Here are a few tips for riding out the workforce stress: there is no ‘magic bullet’ to make it all go away, but you can at least lessen the impact. If your business is restructuring, your have to be able to spot the signs of stress and act, because your workers will look to you for guidance.

“I’ve tried yoga, but I find stress less boring.”

-       Anonymous

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Stress Management in the Workplace Tips

Look to the Wise Old Heads

Throughout difficult periods, your older workers have seen it all before. They are often islands of calm amongst the maelstrom, so don’t be afraid to ask them for advice and help.

Avoid the Difficult Customers

For staff on the front line, spending most of their time dealing directly with clients, times can be particularly hard. It is difficult to remain warm and bubbly when the threat of redundancy looms overhead. During economic turmoil, customers are often tense, and it doesn’t take much to spark off a full-scale confrontation.

If this is a potential problem, try rotating your staff, giving everybody a break away from the coalface, even if it means stepping in yourself.

Dive In and Man the Pumps

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, helping staff out when they are struggling, even if for short periods. Apart from the immediate relief, it helps to promote the feeling that you are all in this together and shows that you are sharing their burden.

Working alongside employees will help you to isolate potential problems and find solutions, although try to avoid crossing the line and micromanaging.

Your Employees Deserve Honesty

Uncertainty is the biggest cause of stress, if people don’t know if they will have a job next week. Be honest and straight with your staff, telling them the bad news instead of giving false hope and empty platitudes.

If employees know what to expect, they can mentally prepare and focus. Some staff, aware of the problem, might find other jobs or take early retirement, easing your burden. They deserve nothing but the whole truth.

Listen to Feedback and Be Open to Ideas

Tied into honesty is the idea of listening to feedback. Your employees are stakeholders in the business and listening to their opinions may help. For example, some businesses reported that staff offered to cut everyone’s hours or job share rather than cut the workforce, so it can pay to be open to ideas.

Keep a Lid on Bullying

In difficult times, even the happiest and most well motivated teams can descend into infighting and form cliques, seeking mutual support. Unsurprisingly, incidences of bullying rise and scapegoating becomes much more common. For example, every business has members of staff who make the odd mistake; in better times, this is usually a source of mirth and good-natured banter.

When people are stressed, this can take a sinister turn and become bullying as staff members seek an outlet for their aggression. Keep your eyes open and take allegations of bullying seriously, but don’t forget that those doing the bullying are not necessarily bad people and are just projecting their inner turmoil.

Be delicate; in most cases, when you point out to a staff member how much they are hurting another human being, they are usually embarrassed and remorseful. Sometimes, it just takes an outside observer to highlight the issue.

Counseling and Listening

It is very easy for managers to become an object of fear, and employees dread that call to the office, fearing that it will be bad news. Make it clear that your door is open for any problems, whether work or home related. Be a good listener and try to help in any way you can.

Dealing With Absenteeism:

Don’t assume that a member of your staff increasing their sick days is being lazy or disruptive, but it could be a sign of underlying stress. Invite people to be open about any problems, whether caused by stress at work, family problems, or financial difficulties. Once you know the problem, you can try to resolve it, offering advice or allowing them to take some vacation time to recharge and revitalize.

Reduce Bureaucracy and Avoid Confusion

Some streamlining of systems may be necessary to handle lower staff numbers, but try to keep disruption to minimum. You need to make the job easier, not more difficult, so be sensitive to the needs of your team.

Taking Care of Your Staff

It is tempting to increase productivity by indirectly expecting staff to work longer hours or take fewer breaks. This is very shortsighted and creates resentment; in the short term, you might get more work done, but these practices will eventually harm productivity in the long term as absenteeism and poor motivation spread through the company like a virus. Include yourself in this; you are only human, too.

In difficult times, there is no ‘magic bullet’ to make all of the problems go away, and stress management in the workplace is a vital part of riding out the storm.

“In times of stress, be bold and valiant.”

– Horace (Ancient Roman Poet 65 BC-8 BC)