Stress in the workplace, and its effect on your employees’ health, and therefore productivity, are hot items in the news. Unfortunately, most of the conversations dwell on the outcomes of already having to deal with these issues instead of how to assuage them by implementing healthy alternatives.
So, instead of statistics and depressing stories of what the “stress epidemic” is doing to our productivity in the workplace, let’s look at positive ways to avoid stress—or at least learn about some tools to manage it.
As an employer, here are some relatively inexpensive measures you can take to ease stress among your employees and ultimately, increase your retention rate.
- Implement Flex-time. Offering flex-time to employees gives them a sense of independence. As an employer, you choose the parameters of the flex-time policy, but as long as productivity is met, this will be viewed as an incentive.
- Talk to them. Know your employees by name. Stop by and chat for a moment. Snatches of conversation help employees to know they are part of a larger picture and not just a cog in a wheel. More formally, it also helps to communicate what is expected of them, how well they are doing, and where they might improve. It is especially important to answer their questions.
- Brain breaks and breathing. Brain breaks give an employee time to re-set. Science shows that when given an opportunity to break mentally from their jobs, it prepares their brain to re-engage. To make this a perk, offer a separate quiet space (outdoors or indoors) where individuals can breathe and calm. Lakeside Educational Network has proven this, and related practices help significantly.
- Bright surroundings. Natural light and a brighter environment impacts employees in a positive way. Darker colors and fewer windows not only dampen moods but also slow productivity. Aesthetics such as live plants and fountains can help tension drain without sacrificing productivity goals.
- Change the venue. Whenever it makes sense, hold that meeting in a place that breaks the monotony. Serve light, energy-building snacks during
Forward-thinking businesses are already using stress-reducing concepts and are also filling job vacancies as employees, particularly Millennials, seek to work in these progressive environments. In fact, implementing small and inexpensive changes such as these can directly affect employee hiring and retention not to mention the bottom line.
Patrick Whelan Associates, Inc. provides professional recruiting services in the Albany, NY area. Our honest and transparent approach to assisting clients and candidates have led to building long-term relationships with rock-solid values.
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