ONE simple way to start managing work-related stress TODAY
Work-related stress affects 1 in 66 workers in Great Britain and in 2015/16 accounted for 45% of all working days lost due to ill health – how are you managing it in your workplace?
One of the simplest ways you can identify the potential pressure points of your staff is to ask individuals as part of their monthly and/or quarterly review the following question:
“What is the most stressful part of your job?”
Sounds so obvious doesn’t it but so few companies are proactively trying to manage and reduce employee stress, depression and anxiety in the workplace and the impact is enormous with an average of 23.9 work days lost per case in 2015/16.
In the whole grand scheme of an employee’s review, this little question seems so small, simple and almost insignificant however I assure you it is far from it! These 8 words can provide you with some of the most valuable information of all.
First and foremost, it will clearly tell you where an individual is struggling in their role which provides you with a clear direction of how you as a manager can help coach and mentor them most effectively moving forward.
This question and its response will also help you identify any potential training needs your staff may have as a way to help bridge any gaps in their skill set or confidence to ultimately reduce stress and help them to do a better job, achieve targets and meet KPIs, making you look better too – it’s a win:win!
It’s so key to ask this question on an individual basis and not blanket the whole team because out of a team of 10 sales staff for example you can expect to hear some very different responses. One employee might say the reporting and admin is the most stressful and time consuming part of their job (perhaps an Intermediate Excel course could help relieve this), another employee might say the workload or unrealistic deadlines causes them the biggest headaches (perhaps some training in delegation, prioritisation or time management could help) and another employee might identify managing interpersonal relationships as the most stressful part of their role. As a result, each of these employees will require managing in very different ways and as a manager it is essential this is identified in order to manage potential work-related stress most effectively.
Why delay? You don’t have to wait until your staff’s next review to start managing stress today – just ping your team a quick email now or ask them face-to-face the little question and see the responses you get – you may be surprised by the results!
If you’re not sure what to do when you’ve gathered the results, give our friendly team a call and one of our Specialist Learning & Development Advisors would be happy to discuss some options with you to help proactively manage your team’s needs moving forward.
Source: HSE Statistics 2016
