Helping employees manage stress.

Stress is a fact of life today, as we live our lives in the fast lane. Anyone not experiencing stress is probably not breathing! This state of affairs is a significant challenge for all of us: stress not only damages our health, it also interferes with our effectiveness in our daily lives. Furthermore, stress negatively affects individuals in the workplace, leading to a variety of undesirable consequences, including potential legal liability.

What is Stress?

Stress is a physiological and psychological reaction from a perceived imbalance between a demand and the individual's ability to meet that demand. When we are experiencing stress, certain mental, physical, and emotional responses cause us to think less clearly, be less coordinated, less tolerant of change, less effective at getting along with others, less creative, and the list goes on. Awareness and action are necessary to counteract those negative effects and develop resilience for the coming challenges as the world of work continues to change at a faster and faster pace.

Why is Stress a Management Issue?

We all know how important it is to manage the stress in our own working lives. But as managers, you must also deal with the stress of those who report to you. If you don't, productivity suffers and you may have problems retaining valuable employees. You may also increase the risk of legal problems.

You can achieve many important benefits when you help your employees reduce their stress to optimum levels (some stress is motivating). For example, your employees will:

* be more productive and creative

* be better able to concentrate

* have greater optimism, confidence, motivation, and sense of control

* be less likely to suffer from illnesses and the physical symptoms associated with stress (which means they are less likely to be absent from work)

* have better work relationships

* have a decreased risk of work-related accidents, conflicts, and violence

* be better able to handle change

In a knowledge-based economy such as ours, employees have a tremendous impact on the bottom line. Therefore, helping your staff effectively manage stress can give you a competitive advantage.

The fact that stress impacts heavily on the bottom line was recently highlighted by the Conference Board of Canada. They estimated that lost productivity from stress costs Canadian organizations $12 billion a year! This is due to lost productivity, higher accident rates, greater absenteeism and difficulties retaining employees. In addition, depression, a stress-related illness, is predicted to be the leading occupational disease of the 21st century.