Managing Workplace Stress
As a small business owner, your employees rely on you to provide a healthy and safe workplace. In fact, Canadian employees spend more time at work than anywhere else. Because of this, the environment in a workplace can impact their well-being. Regardless of whether it affects them positively or negatively, these experiences can influence their work ethic and rapport during business hours. That's why it's important to manage workplace stress. Did you know? One in four working Canadians have left a job due to stress, while 17 per cent have thought of doing so. This means, stress in the workplace is something that is not only prevalent in Ontario but needs to be managed. As an employer, your role is to be aware of issues in the office and offer solutions to fix them. Not sure how to fix them? We’re here to offer five solutions. But first, we’ll help you recognize sources of workplace stress and how they can impact your business.
What can cause workplace stress?
Reasons for work-related stress can vary but these are some of the main causes:
- Low Wages: A low salary or wage can cause a financial burden and other related stresses.
- Workload: Whether a project is not engaging and challenging enough or it’s too work-intensive, a workload that doesn’t match an employee’s ability can put a strain on their relationship with their role and the company.
- Office Politics: Unresolved or unattended politics in the office can cause employees unnecessary stress.
- Lack of Work-Life Balance: If employees are overworked during regular hours or frequently performing overtime on evenings and weekends – employees will eventually become burnt out.
- No Opportunities for Growth: A limited prospect for growth and advancement can impact your employee’s well-being.
There is no question that a job can impact an employee’s health but also the well-being of their colleagues as well as the company. In fact, these workplace stressors can lead to reduced productivity, company turnover, employee burnout, personal emergency leave and absence in the workplace.
How to Reduce Stress in the Workplace
Individuals are influenced by their team and supervisors. Keeping this in mind, here are four ways you can amp up your team. And ultimately, reduce stress in the workplace.
- Share your expectations: Stress can be caused by lack of understanding about the leadership, job roles and the company vision. To clear up any confusion, make sure an employee has access to their job description, responsibilities and the company’s overall mission. Most importantly, you should be providing this information starting on their first day of employment.
- Create a positive culture: Make your employees feel valued. Ensure you’re compensating your employees fairly or tell them how their role contributes to the company’s success. These easy tasks will help employees feel like a part of the team.
- Listen to your employees: Talk to your employees to discover their work-related goals and the type of workload they can handle. By helping them achieve their goals and adjusting the role to suit their style of work, employees will be more engaged at work and demonstrate increased productivity.
- Offer a Flexible Work Environment: Everyone needs time away from work to rest and recharge. A work-life balance is important for employee happiness and productivity. While there may be days where employees have to work overtime, make sure your employees are either fairly compensated or rewarded with time off for their extra efforts.
More questions about managing workplace stress?
We’ve got you covered, as part of our complimentary services – 24/7. Our team of experts will offer you quick and easy ways to reduce workplace stress – plus more. Call Peninsula for your human resources needs.
