Workplace stress is on the rise and it’s costing corporate
America a fortune. Some estimate that 80% of health care costs
are stress related, and these expenses go right to the bottom
line.
According to CNN-Money.com, Americans spent more than $17
billion for anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs in 2002,
up 10% from the year before and nearly 30% over a two year
period.
The Institute for Management Excellence reports that American
industry spends more than $26 billion each year for medical
bills and disability payments with another $10 billion for
executive’s lost workdays, hospitalization, and early death.
In addition to these staggering figures, stress takes its toll
through the added costs of quality control, legal challenges,
lost opportunities, poor performance, bad attitudes, and
training.
We cannot do much about the skyrocketing costs of medical care
and prescription drugs, but we can take immediate action to
control the top ten causes of stress as identified by The
Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and
Mental Health.
The countdown is:
10. “Workload” – Employees report that they are often stressed
when they have too little or too much to do. Managers need to
divide responsibilities and help employees prioritize work
that must be done. Make sure you understand the impact before
shifting responsibilities. Take into account the cost of
stress before you increase anyone’s workload or hire more
people.
9. “Random interruptions” – Telephones, pagers, walk-in visits,
and spontaneous demands from supervisors all contribute to
increased stress. Time management, delegation of
responsibilities, and clarification of expectations can reduce
these stressors.
8. “Pervasive uncertainty” – Stress levels increase rapidly
when people are confronted by new requirements and procedures.
Keeping people informed controls stress and increases
productivity. Put details in a memo so they can review the
facts following your explanations.
7. “Mistrust and unfairness” – These situations keep everyone
on edge, create bad attitudes, and lower productivity. It is
important to keep an open line of communication to avoid
misunderstanding and know what people are thinking about your
decisions. Managers must consistently build trust and give
equal treatment – just do the right thing.
6. “Unclear policies and no sense of direction” – Lack of focus
causes uncertainty and undermines confidence in management.
You need more than a well-written policy manual. Enforcement
of policies and clear communications are essential.
To make sure everyone gets the message, you can repeat your
explanation in a variety of ways – repetition and feedback are
important. Reinforce policies through memos, articles,
bulletin board postings, personal meetings, and small group
discussions.
5. “Career and job ambiguity” – If people are uncertain about
their jobs and careers, there is a feeling of helplessness and
of being out of control. In addition to the trusted job
descriptions and annual personnel reviews, people need to
understand a broad range of issues that affect the company.
News of mergers, consolidations, plant closings, and
restructuring contribute to a feeling of helplessness.
Management must keep people informed about situations that will
affect their jobs, or the rumor mill will add to an already
stressful situation.
4. “No feedback – good or bad” – People want to know whether
they are meeting expectations. Consistent, written and verbal,
personalized feedback is required. Some people need more
attention than others, but everyone’s performance is enhanced
if leaders frequently affirm individual efforts.
3. “No appreciation” – Failure to show appreciation generates
stress that endangers productivity throughout the company.
There are many ways to demonstrate appreciation, but the most
effective is a sincere comment about how much the person means
to you and the company.
2. “Lack of communications” – Poor communication leads to
decreased performance and increased stress. Management memos
and announcements work well for distributing information, but
two-way conversation improves communication and solicits ideas
and suggestions while reducing stress and complaints.
1. “Lack of control” – Workplace stress is at its greatest when
employees have no say regarding things that affect them. You
can decrease sensitivity to all the other stressors and give a
sense of being in control by involving employees in operating
and administrative decisions and acting on their input.
Frontline employees know what they are talking about. Listening
to what they have to say reduces stress and increases
productivity.
Effective managers understand that stress control is a
leadership responsibility and give it just as much attention as
any other management function. For those who want to explore
stress control further, a free 3-session e-course is available
by email request at mailto:stresscontrol@sendfree.com
Grasping the concepts and reducing stress one step at a time
can have an amazing impact on your bottom line –and on the
lives of those who do the heavy work.
Copyright 2010 – Dale Collie – All Rights Reserved