As a leader, you can play an active role in reducing the stress levels of your team.
Stress: we need enough of it to stay alive, but not too much that it affects our health and well-being. At work, common causes of stress include heavy workloads, lack of job security and personnel problems. Workplace stress doesn’t only harm the employee, either – it often leads to poor productivity levels.
As a leader, you can play an active role in reducing the stress levels of your team. Follow these tips to learn how managers can reduce stress in the workplace.
Improve Work Environments
Providing a healthy workplace helps support and motivate healthy employee habits.
Encourage employees to take their breaks and give their minds some time off work. To counteract sedentary office jobs, start holding walking or standing meetings and get different muscles working. Try offering complimentary well-being classes, such as yoga or meditation, during employee lunch hours.
Teach employees better strategies for pacing themselves properly at work. Something as simple as sending a company-wide email a couple of times per day reminding employees to get up from their chairs and move a little can do wonders!
Properly Recognize Employees
When employees establish a positive personal rapport with their leadership team, engagement levels can increase.
Just like you, employees want to know that their hard work gets noticed – and workplace recognition helps make that happen. Show your appreciation for your team members and highlight their excellent work. You can do this by having a short conversation one-on-one with them or mentioning their achievement in a company-wide newsletter or staff meeting.
Offer Workplace Flexibility
Nowadays, everyone leads busy lives, leading to the need for more flexibility at work.
Reducing an employee’s stress level can be as simple as adjusting their work hours to accommodate daycare pickup and drop-off better. Offer sick days that are separate from vacation days or paid time off, and have enough staffing at all times so that workloads remain manageable.
If your office can accommodate remote working, provide that option to employees. Explain how quality and timeliness of work are more important than when and where they punch the clock.
Lead by Example
Practicing your own stress-reducing strategies is one of the best ways for employees to follow suit.
Instead of working late each evening, start leaving the office at the end of regular office hours. Try to maintain a balanced work schedule and workload. Be a positive role model while emulating a culture that places importance on family, hobbies, or other non-work-related activities, rather than just work. Embrace healthy habits – like taking your own breaks regularly – and be aware of where you spend your time and energy.
Learning how to reduce workplace stress is only one challenge you may face as a leader. Our coaching programs help you develop a new way of thinking about any obstacle holding you and your organization back from reaching a goal. To learn more about our programs, schedule a free, 30-minute consultation by contacting us today.
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