“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” – Sydney J. Harris 

So many people commented in last week’s survey that they’re over-worked and short on time…

When we’re under pressure with a to-do list that’s never-ending, the result is often an emotional state that many of us know all too well:

Stressed-out. 

Some experts have claimed that stress is the underlying cause of up to 70% of all diseases (read: dis-ease).

Apart from the harmful effects to your health, experiencing ongoing emotional stress can reduce your productivity, stifle your creativity and suck the enjoyment out of both work and life.

And if you’re leading a team, the stakes are even higher:

Not only do you have to manage your own emotional well-being, you also have to support your employees.

Because if you want your team to be truly successful, they need to be operating at their full potential. Not from a state of chronic stress.

So before we dive into our next monthly topic (May is Staff Onboarding Strategies), I’d like to share some tips for managing your employees’ work stress.

Why do employees get stressed out?

In a survey ran by APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence they set out to discover what the made staff stressed-out.

The common sources of work stress they found were:

• Low salaries
• Excessive workloads
• Few opportunities for growth or advancement
• Work that isn’t engaging or challenging
• Lack of social support
• Not having enough control over job-related decisions
• Conflicting demands or unclear performance expectations

A number of these issues may be difficult for you to overcome right away…

However there are simple, low-cost measures you can take that will help a number of these point.

It’s time to put your creative hat on!

Things you can do for your staff:

Here are some creative ideas to get you thinking about how you can support your employees and keep stress levels at a minimum:

• Staff fun times during busy periods (take your team to do something fun after work – don’t let them go home stressed)
• Monthly one-on-one check-ins with staff (LISTEN to their concerns about their work and career)
• Offer virtual 1:1 well-being coaching to staff (via a service such as Lantern)
• Offer meditation classes a few times a week
• Get a table tennis table (seriously!)
• Create an ‘unwinding’ space in your office (a room or nook that can offer employees a change of pace and relaxation – if only for a few minutes)
• Play games for fun (like a hide and seek game where the winner gets a gift voucher)
• Distribute mindfulness colouring-in books
• Offer ways for employees to grow professionally that are outside of the scope of their role (and aligned with their career goals)
• Host an art class or some type of creative expression course
• Allow remote-working or flexi-time to fit in with employees’ lifestyles
• Play upbeat music (relevant for your team)

Any questions?

If you have questions on this topic or any others, feel free to reach me by email or set up a free one-on-one consultation session, or drop me a comment below.

Thanks for sharing!