Identifying and helping to relieve stress in the workplace
With everything that is going on in the world around us it’s hard not to feel the strain. Recession, tightening our belts, budget cut-backs, redundancies, hitting targets, the list goes on and so does the stress that goes with it.
BUT it doesn’t have to be like that…
Studies from the ISMA (International Stress Management Association) showed that 48% of people said that stress was caused due to lack of management commitment.
That means that nearly half of all stress could be prevented by management being more aware and committing to help their team cope in testing times. For all you ‘old school’ managers out there whose opinion is that people should just ‘get on with it’ and ‘stop complaining’ being more aware of the implications of stress could push it up your list of priorities. As a result of not dealing with this, your company could well suffer from low morale and quality of work leading to a higher staff turnover, higher recruitment and training fees, reduced productivity and hence lower revenue.
NOT DEALING WITH STRESS WILL COST YOU MONEY!!
An astounding 12.8 million working days a year are now lost to work-related stress alone, with 58% of workers complaining of job stress - UK HSE report
So, to start with a few simple things to look out for…
● People being a bit short tempered and irritable
● Deteriorating work relationships
● Increased sick days for things like headaches, stomach aches etc
● Complaints of lack of sleep
This may all seem very obvious but when people are stressed they can act strangely and it can be easier to just ignore it and hope it will go away. If managers are feeling the strain too – which I am sure you all are – looking out for the well being of your team may just seem like another thing you are responsible for… and you are….
HOWEVER it’s not all doom and gloom – we are all in it together and this doesn’t mean we all don’t enjoy a challenge, something to get out teeth into and really drive us.
It’s about balance – having the support needed to deal with demands and knowing that there is meaning to what is being done as well as an interest.
After all, can anyone honestly say they have never felt the strain? Have any of us just sailed through work without any worries?
So what can be done? At Nido we hope to prevent the team suffering from stress in the workplace… we may have slipped up in the past but we make a real effort to support and look out for each other. Things we do include:
● Daily team catch ups
● Drinks in the office every Friday afternoon – a bit more relaxed than usual…
● Monthly team outings
● Great offices!! (High ceilings, full front windows, plants…)
● Real, quality coffee machine
● Duvet day allowance for those days when you might just fancy a day at home
● Monthly staff outings
● Pinball machine
So what do you do to combat stress at work?
Whether an employee or an employer everyone has their own ways of handling the pressure - Let us know what you are doing and let’s all help each other to remain positive in these challenging times.
http://www.nidomarketing.co.uk/
