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Work Stress @ deal-with-stress.com
Stress Management, Stress Reduction
Guide!
Work Stress
Workplace Stress
People experience stress in many parts of their lives. Although
stress is an essential element of many activities at work and at
home, stress becomes harmful when it reaches an intensity that begins
to impair daily activities.
The costs of workplace stress remain high. Stress that arises from work activities
is a contributor to such costly problems as low business productivity,
occupational injuries and illnesses, absenteeism, poor employee
morale, and high health care expenditures.
What Can Be Done About Workplace Stress?
There are many ways to reduce the level of workplace stress.
Implementing successful workplace stress-management measures
depends on:
• Valuing your employees’ well-being while they are at work,
• Being flexible when tackling any workplace stress problem, and
• Creating and maintaining open lines of communication between
you and your employees.
By fostering two-way conversations with your employees about stress
issues, employers can encourage employees to suggest solutions to the
problems they experience on the job. Your employees’ knowledge of
the workplace should be considered in evaluating any suggested
solution to workplace stress problems.
Just as workplace activities can produce stress in an employee’s life,
personal factors can do the same, because an employee’s personal
stress can magnify the effect of harmful workplace stress. It is difficult
to say where one ends and the other begins.
Employees must take responsibility for reducing harmful stress that arises from their
personal lives.
How Can Employers Take “AIM” at Managing Workplace Stress?
OSHA recommends that employers consider using the
following three-step approach to managing workplace stress:
Assess whether your workplace has jobs, environmental
conditions, or organizational practices that contribute to
harmful workplace stress.
Implement stress-management measures that you and your
employees believe will be effective in your workplace.
Monitor your progress and implement adjustments as
appropriate.
Begin the assessment of the “stress profile” of your workplace by
reviewing your business records. As you conduct this review,
consider the questions in the Records Review Checklist or develop
your own customized checklist.
Records Review Checklist
A “yes” answer to any of the following questions does not necessarily
indicate that you have a workplace stress problem, but it does suggest
that the situation warrants further investigation:
Has your workplace recently experienced an increased
number of stress-related workers’ compensation claims?
Does your OSHA Log 200 contain workplace injury
and illness entries that refer to stress?
Have you had any employee complaints or grievances in
which stress was listed as a contributing factor?
Have you had any customer complaints describing your
employees as “irritable” or “stressed”?
Have there been recorded incidents of verbal or physical
conflict among any of your employees?
Have you noticed an increase in absenteeism associated
with the filing of stress claims?
Do you have unusually high employee turnover rates that
could be related to workplace stress?
The next step is to assess the situation in more detail. Learn about
job characteristics, uncomfortable or unsafe aspects of the work
environment, and current organizational practices that may contribute
to workplace stress. The best way to do this is to perform an inventory.
Organizational Practices
Participation
Value your employees’ contributions to the workplace. Provide them
with ways to participate directly in evaluating and possibly
reorganizing the ways in which their jobs are performed. Train your
managers and supervisors to be effective communicators, coaches, and
facilitators.
Communication
Keep channels of communication open between supervisors and their
employees, and encourage employees to discuss their concerns with
their supervisors. Make sure your supervisors don’t sweep stress
problems “under the rug”, so that you only hear about them when they
have become almost unmanageable! Convey to employees that you
understand every human being has limitations, each person should be
aware of his or her limitations, and each person should alert the
appropriate supervisor when those boundaries are approached.
Ask for employees’ opinions when job changes are planned. Before job
changes are made permanent, review the job-related effects of the
changes with employees. Avoid the shock of reorganization; give
employees time to adjust to major changes in the work routine.
Encourage anonymous feedback by means of a suggestion box or a
toll-free telephone number.
Recognition
Train supervisors to recognize employee achievement and reward
positive employee performance. Consider holding employee
recognition events and granting “perks” for special performance
(e.g., an “Employee of the Month” award).
Work Environment
Risk of Workplace Violence
Develop a workplace violence-prevention plan if there are security
risks present in your workplace. Use OSHA’s Model Injury and
Illness Prevention Program for Workplace Security as a guide.
Opportunities for Skill Development and Advancement
Encourage and support your employees efforts to pursue education
and skill development. Offer your employees the opportunity to
participate in job training activities that are designed to improve the
employees’ skills.
Unclear or Conflicting Expectations
Ensure that employees are fully informed about specific duties or
tasks. Define the lines of authority in your organization and encourage
employee participation. If an employee reports to more than one
supervisor, consider simplifying the supervisory relationship. Give
appropriate training to supervisors in being aware of the challenges
and problems faced by employees who report to more than one
supervisor.
Favoritism
Be consistent in issuing assignments and have clear policies about
hiring, promotions, and disciplinary actions. Offer benefits and
privileges equally to all employees.
Verbal, Sexual, or Other Types of Harassment
Make sure your employees know that you do not tolerate any type of
harassing behavior in the workplace. Educate all employees about the
consequences of such behavior for them and the organization. Make
sure your employees are aware of their legal rights and what steps
the organization will take to address harassment situations.
Effects of Downsizing and Job Insecurity
Since uncertainty is stressful for everyone, promptly provide
employees with information about the timing, scope, and
reasons for downsizing. During uncertain economic
times for the business, consider providing all employees with a
stress-management workshop.
Although the boundary between workplace and personal stress can
be difficult to pinpoint, workplace stress can aggravate personal
stress and vice versa. Factors outside of your workplace can cause
stress for your employees and adversely affect their ability to do their
jobs. Personal problems involving family, child care, or health matters
can intensify an employee’s perception of workplace stress. Caring
about and taking steps to improve your employees’ overall well-being
can help to reduce the stress level in your workplace.
Stress may be caused or exacerbated by personal factors such as:
Financial worries
Housing problems
Family or health problems
Illness or loss of a loved one
Spousal separation or divorce
Worries about the future
Child care problems
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Stress Reduction Resources
Debt Stress: You Can Beat It!
Debt can be bad for your health. Financial stress is common if you are forced into frugality because of
a lost job, divorce, death in the family, or being over your head in debt,
etc. This can lead to feelings of insecurity, fear, anxiety, anger, and,
of course, depression.
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Debt Consolidation Home Loan
- Consolidate debt with a home equity loan, mortgage refinancing, or short-term bank loan can help you pay off a lot of debt at once. You can consolidate all of your short-term debts (credit cards, personal loans, automobile loans) into one loan. The advantage to consolidation is that you have only one loan to repay and the finance charges are specific (except for home equity lines of credit) and will not change. Home equity rates substantially lower than credit card interest rates, making monthly payments lower.
Eliminating Anxiety And Panic Attacks
- Have you experienced the terrifying sensations of a panic attack? Do you suffer from anxiety or its associated symptoms. If so, you are not alone. More and more people right across the world, are reporting to suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. This is a very unfortunate but totally unnecessary experience.
Stress Management, Stress Reduction
Guide!
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Notice: This information is intended as a stress management reference only, not as medical advice. The stress reduction information provided by deal with stress is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or health care provider. Please consult your health care provider for advice about a specific medical condition. Appropriate examiners should also be consulted before changing diet or levels of exercise.
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