Workplace Stress – Who's Feeling the Pressure?
Gone are the days when employees work at the same company for 30 years and get a pension. Yet, for sustained growth, an understanding of the multigenerational workforce and the job stressors that either keep them or push them out the door is critical for companies who desire to figure out how to attract and keep employees.
Generational conflicts, increased growth of technology, rapid pace, strong competition, and enhanced purchasing power of consumers, help to make for a very stressful office climate for many businesses. Under such conditions, not only is the bottom line feeling it, but so are the employees, as the workplace environment is one of the underlying business elements that suffers. C-suite leadership should jump in on the discussion and play an integral role in improving company culture. The question is—how can companies fix it? What tools are needed to reduce the climate of feeling in overwhelm?
From a cost perspective, there are direct links to sick days, high healthcare costs, and lost production, but more importantly, getting and keeping talent can become the difference between leading the pack or following within your industry.
To know how to improve your company culture, you must first know what are the trends around stress. A recent report highlighted the Top 4 work stressors among employees:
Today, as wellness programs continue to evolve, executive leadership teams are seeing the benefit of tackling some of the on the job stressors. In understanding the whole individual, wellness champions must also take into account that life outside of the job can also lead to the sometimes unbearable place that employees find themselves in. For the employee impacted, experiencing symptoms such as headaches, nausea, weight loss, loss of appetite, hair loss, and depression can severely hinder positive work outcomes. Wellness programs can be designed to stretch beyond just the typical concept of “fitness,” to address the whole individual–mind, body, and spirit.
As a strategic plan, leadership personnel should take a hard look at programs to reduce stress. In order to collect data and get a clear picture, communicate openly with employees so they know exactly where you’re headed. Data collection is paramount to pinpoint the key drivers in your organization before you begin making decisions that lead in a direction that could require a costly redo. Consider the following:
What percent of your employees work more than 8 hours per day?
Has your company created an environment that employees feel poorly if they have to call in sick or come in late due to family obligations?
Does your company often inspect management to determine their effectiveness?
Have you regularly reviewed employee turnover and complaints filed?
Does your company often allow additional work to be moved to an existing employee when someone leaves?
According to Randstad Group, 83% of Generation Y and Baby Boomers take unplanned days to deal with stress. These costs can quickly add up, making the need to understand these stressors and begin putting programs in place to address the mental health of employees, a top priority.
After data collection and assessments are complete, determine what processes can be modified. As an example: perhaps giving an extra 20 minutes for lunch to allow for employee downtime is needed. Inserting programs into your wellness portfolio that include counseling services, meditation, or quiet rooms can also go a long way. Another idea is to create a suggestion box and review communication steps you’ll take broadly. By taking the necessary steps to dig deeper, you will put your company on a path of untangling the powerlessness employees feel when under stress and improve company culture.