Stress is a constant factor for many individuals around the world. Add the recent global pandemic into the mix, and stress continues to be very prominent in our everyday lives.
Although, as the employer, there is only so much you can do to help out, there are things you can do to reduce stress in the workplace. By starting there, you can help create an environment for your employees that minimizes their stress and positively impacts their overall health.
Your Corporate Business Solutions Consultants have four tips to help reduce stress in the workplace.
Make Wellness a Priority
Do you encourage your employees (and yourself) to take care of both their physical and mental health? Promoting wellness in the workplace can have a positive reaction and help reduce stress.
There are a few things you can do to help with this. If your office has somewhere staff can purchase snacks, offer healthier alternatives like fruits and vegetables. Offer subsidized gym memberships for those you like going to fitness centers, or you could even have an area in the office dedicated to quick workouts. Encourage all your employees to take breaks throughout the day to stretch, let their minds recharge and have casual, non-work-related interactions with colleagues.
Offer Flexibility
For many families, stress comes from trying to schedule work, family, activities, and everything else in between. Offering flexibility with hours and even working remotely can help ease the stress of many working families.
Going this route does have the potential of adding more stress to you, so ensure that if you offer this option, you trust that they’ll get the work done. However, you may notice that not only are employees less stressed with the flexibility, but they may also be happier about their job given the opportunity to prove they can work independently.
Offer Counseling Options
Many individuals either don’t know how to handle stress or don’t know how to manage their stress levels appropriately. That is where something like an onsite or virtual counseling setting could be beneficial.
Counseling encourages people to open about issues that are causing stress and frustration in their lives, and it also helps develop coping skills so that the stress doesn’t take over your life. If there isn’t one available to bring to your employees, offer an incentive for them to find their own, like reimbursing the cost.
Be a Good Leader
Many employees find their stress comes from a lack of leadership or poor management. If you’re working at a place that provides little to no direction of what you should do in a day, a boss that’s constantly looking over your shoulder, and management that runs a very tight schedule, it’s bound to add more stress to your life.
Be a good leader for your employees to help ease their stress levels. Avoid micromanaging and, instead, show that you trust your team to get the job done. Set realistic deadlines and goals, and be available for feedback if something isn’t working.
If you can help create a workplace environment that reduces stress, anxiety, and frustration in the office, you’re more likely to have happier and healthier employees. Make your business the place people want to be.