Stressed Employees Need Help

Front line leaders are taught to control stress in their units rather than evacuate soldiers at the first sign of battle fatigue, the Army's name for negative reactions to acute stress. And corporate leaders need to consider the best place to help their own stressed employees.

The negative stress reactions of battle are considered normal, even though they can be pretty severe, going well beyond the tension headache. Soldiers can still function in spite of flinching, shaking, physical exhaustion, rapid emotional shifts, and other manifestations of extreme stress.While you probably won't find your corporate employees as severely stressed as the soldiers in battle, you can also take action to help them perform their jobs when they demonstrate signs of being overstressed.

Experience shows that coaching, confidence building, food, and rest help overcome most of the negative stress reactions of battle fatigue. The same thing works for civilian employees.

Just as important is the understanding that soldiers treated near the front line recover much faster than soldiers evacuated to rear-area hospitals for essentially the same treatment. You'll find that the same thing is true for workplace stress.

Serious military cases and those who do not respond to front line treatment are evacuated and cared for by specially trained psychiatrists and psychologists in rear-area hospitals where medical facilities are staffed for such circumstances.

For severe cases of workplace stress, you, too, will want assistance from professional counselors. Many companies have contracts for professional care through their health care programs and refer employees who manifest serious signs of stress.

Just as military leaders strive to control stress, corporate leaders can be trained to help overstressed employees on the front line and maintain employees on the job.

• Consider each of your employees and whether they manifest signs of stress at any level.
• Determine what is needed to relieve that stress and return them to "normal."
• Take action. Things probably will not get better if left alone.
  

Most Workplace Stress is Unnecessary

The impact of specific stressors is determined by the total amount of stress a person is experiencing.

What might be considered a small irritant on one occasion might be the straw that broke the camel's back on another.

While businesses can't control all external stressors, action can be taken to minimize internal stressors such as the following.

• Unreasonable expectations for greater productivity, manufacturing or administrative
  
• Positioning people in jobs that do not use skills and abilities
• Underpaying for the the level of responsibility assigned to individuals
• Vague and arbitrary promotion policies
• Management's failure to consider employees' perspectives in decisions affecting their jobs
• Excessive overtime with or without compensation
• Arbitrary assignment of unpleasant tasks
• Failure to enforce policies for some individuals
  
• Poor top-down and bottom-up communications procedures
• Poor problem-solving strategies or mediation of conflicts between employees
• Family separation, through transfers or frequent business trips
• Demonstrated lack of concern for employees' welfare
• Intolerable environmental conditions -- temperature, hazardous, noise, light, odors, and so on

Just as corporate leaders are responsible for maximizing performance and increasing net profits, they are also responsible for controlling stressors that can affect the bottom line.

It is difficult to remove some of these stressors when a company is under attack by the competition or suffering from adverse economic conditions, but this challenge is just as important as any other skill set of those who wear the mantle of leadership.

Leadership Edge - Survey employees to find out which other stressors they observe in your company. Develop a plan to eliminate each of these, starting with the most prevalent stressor. Have a celebration each time you conquer one of these profit-eating, health-undermining situations.

Leaders are Responsible

Just as corporate leaders are responsible for maximizing performance and increasing net profits, they are also responsible for controlling stressors that can affect the bottom line.

It is difficult to remove some of the stressors when a company is under attack by the competition or suffering from adverse economic conditions, but this challenge is just as important as any other skill set of those who wear the mantle of leadership.

Determine the effect stress is having on your company - in net $.

Survey employees to find out which stressors are affecting them most.

Develop a plan to train managers and supervisors in controlling stress.

Stressors You Can Control

The impact of specific stressors is determined by the total amount of stress a person is experiencing. What might be considered a small irritant on one occasion might be the straw that broke the camel's back on another.

While businesses can't control all external stressors, action can be taken to minimize internal stressors such as the following:

• Unreasonable expectations for greater productivity, manufacturing or administrative
• Positioning people in jobs that do not use skills and abilities
• Underpaying for the level of responsibility assigned to individuals
• Vague and arbitrary promotion policies
• Management's failure to consider employees' perspectives in decisions affecting their jobs
• Excessive overtime with or without compensation
• Arbitrary assignment of unpleasant tasks
• Failure to enforce policies for some individuals
• Poor top-down and bottom-up communications procedures
• Poor problem-solving strategies or mediation of conflicts between employees
• Family separation, through transfers or frequent business trips
• Demonstrated lack of concern for employees' welfare
• Intolerable environmental conditions -- temperature, hazardous, noise, light, odors, and so on.

1. Survey your team and add to this list.
2. Determine how many of these you have.
3. Consult with your team members to find ways to alleviate the stressors.

How Stressed is Everyone?

No matter where you are in the corporate hierarchy, you are subject to stress from every department and person with whom you come in contact.

Everyone else has the same kinds of concerns as you do. In trying to accomplish their own work, they'll find themselves in conflict with others who have their own agendas.

Those customers who keep calling with special needs really get in the way of completing the boss's assignment on time. Couple all of this with payroll errors and medical insurance claims that weren't handled properly, and you have a day filled with stress triggers- and stress reactions.

Workplace stress is a leadership responsibility. You can determine stress levels by talking with individuals about their jobs and outside interests on a regular basis. The first visit might reveal some stress levels, but frequent contact will build trust and give you a full picture of just how stressed everyone really is.

The Workplace is Full of Stress

Stress triggers in the workplace are just as numerous as the external triggers.

Stressors include bosses, deadlines, coworkers, customers, production, service, product management, accounting problems, computer services, engineering concerns, sales, marketing, advertising, public relations, human resources, stockholders, legal issues, and distribution. Every department causes stress for itself and for others.

Where do you fit into this chain of stressors?

Do your daily requirements demand too much of others?

Can you modify your requirements to make things less stressful?

Would increasing the stress on your suppliers provide the results you need?

Control the stress of those who support you, increasing stress when needed to get better results or reduce stress to give others a break and make your team stronger.

Work-Related Stress Triggers

Stress triggers in the workplace are just as numerous as the external triggers. Stressors include bosses, deadlines, coworkers, customers, production, service, product management, accounting problems, computer services, engineering concerns, sales, marketing, advertising, public relations, human resources, stockholders, legal issues, and distribution. Every department causes stress for itself and for others.

No matter where you are in the corporate hierarchy, you are subject to stress from every department and person with whom you come in contact.

Everyone else has the same kinds of concerns as you do. In trying to accomplish their own work, they'll find themselves in conflict with others who have their own agendas.

Those customers who keep calling with special needs really get in the way of completing the boss's assignment on time. Couple all of this with payroll errors and medical insurance claims that weren't handled properly, and you have a day filled with stress triggers--and stress reactions.