Subtracting Stress

According to the National Institute of Safety & Health, job stress has increased up to 45 percent in 2002. We know it won’t decrease in 2003. Stress is one of the top five reasons why employees leave. Most people can’t remember the last time they worked a 40-hour workweek. Many people do work at home after hours. Top management looks at this as increasing productivity. Employees look at it as indentured servitude. My own research shows that close to 40 percent of employees have already mentally check out, and as soon as a better job opportunity pops up, they will physically check out.

What we fail to realize is the side effects of stress. The overload leads to short tempers, employee arguments, poor morale, family problems and burnout. You may be raising productivity on the one hand, but you are adding costs when people make mistakes, take time off and, eventually, leave. You are increasing employees’ health problems by adding to the possibility of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

The best thing you can do is stay close to your people. Savvy management is always tuned in to what their people are thinking, feeling and saying. Your management team needs to be talking with people and keeping their finger on the pulses of their people. Find out, if they were to leave, what the number one reason is that is driving them out the door. I can’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution, as there are very diverse organizations subscribing to these tips. But, consider putting a manger in charge of surveying your firm to find out exactly what the stress and burnout levels are – and what can be done about them. Don’t delegate it to human resources. You can be sure they are already overloaded. A few months ago, I suggested that someone should be in charge of employee retention. This would also be the ideal person to determine the stress levels at your organization.

Business Travel Effects
Keeping in line with the theme of stress above, be aware that business tips create a certain amount of stress. People are not quite as productive when on the road. Travel-related stresses include physical ailments (e.g. more headaches and back aches, sleeplessness), less energy, depression and anxiety from terrorism and crime. On long airline trips, people are not breathing their normal compliment of fresh air in a pressurized cabin, which is the reason why you don’t feel quite normal afterwards.

Kensington Technology Group studied people who traveled once or more a month. One half of the respondents said they needed two days to catch up on their work (12 percent needed three days). About 53 percent stated they needed a day or two to recover physically. About 40 percent complained of physical ailments.

A Survey/Report You Can Use
During 2002, a total of 84,442 charges were filed with EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). This is up 17 percent from the previous year. The breakdown of filing is as follows:

29,910 were for race discrimination
25,536 for sex/gender discrimination
22,768 for retaliation
19,921 for age discrimination
15,964 for disability discrimination
9,046 for national origin discrimination
2,572 for religious discrimination
1,256 for Equal Pay Act violations

You can avoid these problems simply by training people to understand what discrimination is, and informing them that you have zero tolerance for discrimination. Have all employees sign a harassment/discrimination form to protect you legally. You should also be hanging notices throughout your firm reinforcing the message, doing an instant and total investigation of any allegations and, of course, taking the proper actions against those who are guilty.

Idea from the Audience
In one of my recent seminars on “Turning Around Turnover,” an attendee asked how to handle two employees who have been arguing for a long time and don’t like each other. They were both good, productive employees but just didn’t get along. Sound familiar? Another attendee stated they had a similar situation twice, and used the same solution to perfection each time. In both cases, the two feuding employees were put together on a project.

Managers told them they needed their cooperation, and they had to figure out how to get along, and get the project done. Both times, they put their differences, completed the project and had no problems any longer. In fact, in one case they became good friends. I guess they can do it, if their job depends on it.

Performance Reviews
After the performance review interview is over, record all the points discussed, any joint plans and any goals set. Give a copy of the record to the employee. This sends the message that you are seriously committed to improving performance. Next, evaluate yourself on how you performed during the face-to-face interview. See how you can improve to become a better interviewer, coach and motivator.

Resolve to follow up frequently. Observe the employee at tasks or behaviors that you deemed deficient. Appraisal should be a continuing, ongoing process, not just an exercise performed once or twice a year. Praise any improvement and coach and counsel any areas needing further improvement. Finally, work on keeping communications open until the next appraisal interview. When that time arrives, you and your employees won’t be feeling the tension and stress that usually accompany that interview. Reviews that are consistent, timely and constructive will improve performance and increase productivity.

The author, Bob Losyk, is a certified speaking professional, author and president and CEO of Innovative Training Solutions, a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., consulting firm.