Workplace stress costs companies millions of dollars every year. It leads to higher turnover and absenteeism, increased worker’s compensation and disability payouts, and lower productivity. Additionally, stress is toxic for Employee Engagement, and can cause employees to become resentful of their employer. In other words, stress is as harmful for your bottom line as it is to your employees. (To see how much stress costs your company every year, see the Stress Cost Calculator.)
The dawning of the information age has meant a switch from work based on physical labor to work fueled by intellectual excellence. In this new paradigm, stress is as debilitating as physical injuries were in the past. As Bill Wilkerson, the co-founder of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, puts it, “Like never before, business today depends upon the consistent, sustainable mental performance of employees, managers and executives for fundamental competitive reasons.” If you want to succeed in today’s business environment, you must consider the mental health of your employees.
As you strive for a stress-free work environment, consider the following top ten sources of workplace stress, as determined by the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health:
10. The treadmill syndrome. Too much to do at once, requiring the 24-hour workday.
9. Random interruptions.
8. Doubt. Employees aren’t sure what is happening, where things are headed.
7. Mistrust. Vicious office politics disrupt positive behavior.
6. Unclear company direction and policies.
5. Career and job ambiguity. Things happen without the employee knowing why.
4. Inconsistent performance management processes. Employees get raises but no reviews, or get positive evaluation, but are laid off afterward.
3. Being unappreciated.
2. Lack of two-way communication.
1. Lack of control. The feeling that they have little control over their contributions or the outcome of the work.Today’s shaky economy has many workers especially stressed about career and job ambiguity. As the 2009 Worktrends Survey from Rutgers’ School of Planning and Public Policy showed, American workers are “in a state of deep distress due to the economic downturn.” Nearly a third of American workers believe the United States is in an economic depression. Almost a quarter of them have been laid off in the past three years. And only 11% say that they have a great deal of confidence in the American banking system. Judging from these numbers, Americans are dealing with more stress today than they have in generations.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to listen to your employees. Knowledge is the strongest weapon against stress. If you understand how your employees feel, you can adjust your approach to reduce their stress. It is advisable that employers track Employee Engagement to maximize productivity. By tracking Employee Engagement, you can learn how even small changes in the working environment can help your employees conquer their stress, which in turn will boost your bottom line.
~Monica Nolan, Account Manager
Tags: employee engagement, employee motivation, managing work stress, stress at work, treadmill syndrome, workplace stress