Job Stress:
Stress at Work II
Stress in the Workplace II
Work Related Stress II
Stress Management in the Workplace II
Stress
Management at Work II
Stress in the Work Place
II Student Stress
Stress at Work
Corporate Stress Management to Improve Your Employees’ Work
Environment
By Coty D. Miranda
Now that we are in the early years of the 21st century, corporate
stress management is better promoted to reduce stress at work.
Dealing with stress at work – whether precipitated by job cuts or
more common these days, the increase in their personal workloads,
is paramount in your continuing success.
Let’s look at a few corporate stress statistics: In a Virginia
Commonwealth University study by George Gray and Phyllis Myers it
was noted that in 1996, more than 18,500 nonfatal assaults
occurred in the workplace. Two years later, more than 700
homicides occurred at work.
It is estimated the cost of this violence, and lesser reported
incidents of hostility, rudeness, theft and resulting loss if
productivity and increased need for security is estimated to cost
employers between $6.4 billion and $36 million.
Another study (Integra Reality Resources) reported one of every 10
employees interviewed said stress at work is a major problem –
with nearly a fourth saying it had driven them to tears. More than
half of those interviewed said they routinely skip lunch in order
to get their work done and one in eight workers said overcrowding
conditions was a stress factor.
Stress at work comes with a price tag to
employees as well as their employers. Employers lose when their
employees are absent or tardy. Employees lose when their marriages
fail, when they can’t control substance abuse or have heart
attacks or strokes due to undue stress at work.
More than 1 million people are absent from work every day in
America due to job stress. According to one survey of 800,000
employees in more than 300 companies, the number of employees
calling in sick because of stress tripled from 1996 to 2000.
When it comes to stress at work, employees suffer,
as do employers. Corporate stress management programs are
important to the welfare of the company as well as the employee. One large company performed a three-year study in
1997 that showed 60 percent of employee absences could be traced
to job stress.
Experts say unanticipated absenteeism may cost American companies
as much as $602.00/worker/year. Furthermore, the price tag for
large employers every year could reach exorbitant levels to the
tune of $3.5 million.
Some social scientists call job stress the
disease of the new millennium. If you work in America, you no
doubt have either experienced stress at work or know someone who has.
But even though stress at work is coined the "disease of the new
millennium, stress at work is by no means new. I was working
in the public relations department of an international charity in
the late 1980s when the economic bubble burst, tumbling stocks,
sending shocks through Wall Street and, due to the
not-so-theoretical trickle-down practice, slicing many jobs in
work forces across the U.S.
It was inevitable that reductions would be made in our department,
but no amount of mental preparation made getting that pink slip
any easier. It was indeed a Black Tuesday when most of my
department got the word.
“I am so mad, I could spit,” one of my co-workers said aloud.
Despite my own concerns about my future – I was a single mother
with a preteen son at home – I had to laugh aloud when this
normally reticent young woman verbalized her anger.
But she wasn’t alone. As the days went by until our “official”
final one, more and more of my affected coworkers began to
demonstrate their anger. At that time, workplace violence – or
desk rage – wasn’t as prevalent, or perhaps there was less because
of the personalities a nonprofit tended to attract. But there were
embarrassing outbursts, there was rudeness to upper management.
There was an almost palatable feeling of stress, not only among
those “axed”, but among others who feared they might be next.
It was not a pleasant time, and understandably many affected did
not stay through the “official” leaving date.
Anger management wasn’t a part of the workplace in those years,
not at a widely accepted level anyway. But there was a great deal
of anger and stress sweeping the halls of this normally happy
nonprofit health care agency. The way in which those of us dealt
with it was as diverse as we were.
But we all faced our anger, stress and anxiety in the coming weeks
and months. You, too, may have experienced such cuts or job loss.
It is a learning experience, to say the least.
Stress at work and anger can often go hand-in-hand. Stress at work
often triggers aggressive responses. Seeking ways to help reduce
corporate stress can help diminish the anger issues, a pro-active
anger management program.
More companies are relying on pre-hire, prescreening tests to help
identify possible problem personalities before they enter the
workplace.
This is definitely helpful in proactively avoiding
counterproductive situations in the office, but there are other
ways in which you can help your current employees deal with stress
at work.
Coffee breaks have been ubiquitous in the workplace for decades,
but some companies are replacing that extra cup of caffeine with
exercise time. Departments, or sometimes the entire workplace,
come together for 10 minutes or so of bending, stretching or more
strenuous (but not-to-sweat-producing) aerobics. This is a simple
supplement to the workday, and studies have shown regular exercise
may improve mental health by helping the brain better cope with
stress.
Nutritional supplementation also play an
integral part of the stress management regime. We recommend using
Extress,
a homeopathic and nutrition supplement that is exceptionally
effective in aiding the body during periods of stress, tension,
anxiety, minor phobic reactions and complaints of generalized
patterns of anxious discomfort.
Less stress, less anger, less counterproductive behavior in the
work place.
Helping to decrease stress at work, some companies are becoming
more open to job sharing, flexible hours and increased incentives
and benefits. In-house workshops teaching stress and anger
management are being offered employees, as well as teaching
employees to use positive assertiveness to reduce the expression
of negativity through anger flare-ups.
A healthy work environment is a key to your company’s success.
Look around and see how your employees are reacting to daily
stresses. Look again and see what simple steps could be taken to
improve their workday, help eliminate stress factors and thereby
improve productivity. To avoid workplace violence and hostile or
rude behavior is worth the time and expense exploring many avenues
to eliminating it from your place of business.
If you suffer undue stress at work, ask your manager
if your company has an Employee Assistance Program or EAP that may
be able to help you, free of charge. The programs are typically
confidential. A psychologist through the EAP system may be able to
help you with any psychological problems due to job stress.
