RSS Feed
Question: I want to kick off 2007 on the right foot, how do I create a healthy, stress-free workplace for my employees?
Answer:
Most business owners face the common and costly problem of worker stress whether they are aware of it or not. Research shows that job stress can lead to several problems, including illness and injury for employees, as well as higher health insurance costs and lost productivity for employers.
Good prevention strategies focus on identifying potential causes of employee stress in the workplace. Factors that can lead to stress include:
- Long work hours, routine tasks that have little meaning or work that does not take advantage of employees’ skills.
- Lack of input in decision-making, poor organizational communication or lack of family-friendly policies.
- Poor social environment or lack of support from colleagues and supervisors.
- Conflicting or uncertain job expectations or too much responsibility.
- Job insecurity, rapid changes or lack of opportunity for growth, advancement or promotion.
- Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution or ergonomic problems.
To help employees cope with stress before it affects their health or performance, business owners can:
- Ensure that workloads are in line with workers’ capabilities and resources.
- Design jobs that provide meaning, stimulation and opportunities for workers to use their skills.
- Clearly define workers’ roles and responsibilities.
- Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.
- Improve communications to reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects.
- Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.
- Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job.
Business owners can also reduce workplace stress by encouraging employees to take short breaks, making time for staff members to have fun in the office or occasionally providing special perks such as early departures.
Another way to combat stress is to provide an employee assistance program that offers confidential professional counseling.
Entrepreneurs who maintain low-stress environments and high levels of productivity generally recognize employees for good work performance, provide opportunities for career development, create an organizational culture that values individual workers, and act consistently with organizational values.
A comprehensive approach to creating a healthy workplace is best. Organizational change, combined with stress management, results in a healthy company with fewer stress disorders, more satisfied and productive workers and significant advantages over competitors.
Written by John Ayala, Los Angeles-area president of ADP TotalSource, a large professional employer organization that provides outsourced human resources services to small and midsize companies. For more information, call (619) 688-4719 or visit www.adptotalsource.com.
Posted in 
