Controlling stress in the workplace
STEPHEN HEIDEL
San Diego Daily Transcript , Wednesday, April 24, 2002
The current business environment is stressful. The economy is either still in a recession or just starting to experience a slight improvement. Competition is strong, therefore increasing prices to keep up with rising costs, especially salaries, is difficult. Cost control is necessary, including redesigning work processes and using technology to increase the efficiency of employees. Mergers and acquisitions continue, causing both job losses and significant changes in the work lives of those who survive mergers.
Employees have had a hard time adjusting to their companyies' efforts to operate efficiently and improve productivity. Mergers disrupt working relationships and lead to new job assignments. Employees may no longer work with co-workers who had become close personal friends. New supervisors and managers may have very different expectations and make demands never experienced before. New work assignments may be more difficult than work previously performed or fall outside employees' training and experience.
For many companies, cost-containment measures and efforts to increase productivity have a negative impact on morale and job satisfaction. Others are better at helping employees adjust to these stressful changes. Their employees remain committed to their work and report high levels of job satisfaction. The following are several suggestions to help employees adjust to these stressful changes.
- Increase the control employees have over their jobs.
Stress occurs when employees have very demanding jobs with little control over how they perform the various tasks. Examples include a reservation clerk, a customer service representative and a secretary. A reservation clerk may be judged by the number of calls they handle per hour, the number of reservations made per hour or the monetary value of the sales per day. As soon as one call ends, they are immediately connected to another. A customer service representative will take the brunt of the criticism for something for which they had no involvement. This happens over and over again. Secretaries often have little control over their work assignments. Large numbers of technical documents and letters must be produced on tight deadlines with no room for error. If a secretary has a boss who is disorganized, hostile or who gives assignments that are unclear, the loss of control of their work environment is even more acute. Their stress level may go through the ceiling.
When employees with demanding jobs are given more control over how they perform their job, stress levels go down. This is accomplished by allowing them to participate in decisions about how they perform their work. An executive might set up daily or weekly meetings with their secretary to talk about the work schedule, asking about any concerns and/or suggestions they might have. Perhaps a secretary would be able to ask for help from another secretary on a very difficult project, understanding that he/she would reciprocate when a colleague was in a similar bind. Knowing a time consuming assignment is coming, a secretary might plan in advance when to work overtime, thus minimizing the impact on personal and family activities.
- Enhance support for employees.
When employees are isolated, stress levels increase. When they are given the opportunity to interact with coworkers, share ideas and work as a team, job satisfaction increases and stress levels decrease. Simple actions will enhance an employee's feeling of support. Managers may make it clear that they are available to meet with their employees when they feel it is necessary. If a work group has changed, a manager might spend more time conducting team meetings to discuss work assignments and facilitating discussions among the members. As team members get to know each other, less frequent meetings will be necessary because the desired interaction takes place automatically.
- Recruit resilient employees.
Before hiring an employee or manager, inquire about the stresses in their previous job and how they handled them. Some rise to the challenge while others are overcome with stress. Be honest when talking to prospective employees. Be sure the have a realistic understanding of the job for which they are being recruited. Many people are attracted to difficult jobs, motivated by the challenge. Others are overwhelmed and unhappy. Try to hire those who are going to thrive in your company.
In this economic environment, companies make business decisions that cause stress for some of their employees. When companies hire resilient employees, allow them more control over the way they perform their work, and offer them support, work stress decreases. Companies and their employees benefit with higher levels of morale, commitment and job satisfaction.