Stress And Work Have Become Synonymous With Each Other These Days. If You Work In An Organization That Runs On The Output Generated By The Employees (Which Most Of The Organizations Are) You Must Have Noticed That Almost All Employees Show The Signs Of Stress. These Signs Usually Escalate When The Employees Have To Achieve A Target In The Near Future And When Their Performance Has To Be Measured.
Now, If You Are Wondering What HR Can Do To Reduce Employee Stress? Can The Management Help In Reducing Employee Stress? Then You May Find The Answers To These Questions In The Simple Steps Mentioned Over Here:
Offering Perfect Work Life Balance: The Management Or HR Can Pay A Vital Role In Reducing Employee Stress By Offering A Perfect Work Life Balance To The Employees. Make Sure That Every Employee Leaves The Organization At The Same Time Everyday And Keep The Overtime To A Minimum. You Should Also Try To Not Make The Employee Work On Weekends Or Holidays As Most Of The Employees Feel Work Stress When They Don’t Have Enough Time To Rejuvenate With Their Family Or Friends.
Providing Basic Healthcare Solutions: You Should Provide Basic Healthcare Packages To All Employees As A Part Of Their Perks. This Will Ensure That The Employees Go Through Regular Health Check-Ups And Maintain Basic Health Levels. Always Remember That A Healthy Employee Is A More Productive One Too. So, The Health Packages Offered By The Company Should Be Considered As An Employee Investment.
Encouraging Employees To Concentrate On Health: The HR Can Also Encourage All The Employees To Maintain Basic Health Standards By Offering Awards Like “Fittest Employee Of The Month” Or “The Most Cheerful Employee Of A Month”. This Will Keep Every Employee To Stay Fit And Motivated, Not Only Physically But Mentally As Well. You May Or May Not Add A Gift With The Award Because The Acknowledgement Is Sometimes More Powerful Than A Monetary Reward.
Organizing Stress Management Sessions: If The Stress Level Of The Employees Working For A Company Seems To Be Too Much Then The HR Should Organize Stress Management Sessions For The Employees. You Can Give Some Basic Stress Management Advice In The Sessions Or You Can Call A Stress Management Expert To Tackle The Situation. It Totally Depends On Your HR Budget And Your Connections In The Industry.
Calling Up An Expert In Lieu Of Free Promotion Can Be A Smart Idea. For Example: You Can Call Upon The Author Of A Stress Management Book To Give A Free Session At Your Office And Compensate With Promoting His Or Her Book Within The Organization Or On The Company Website.
Conducting One On One Stress Interviews: If You Are Overly Dedicated Towards Reducing The Stress Levels Of The Employees, You Should Seriously Boost Up Your Knowledge On The Subject By Using The Internet Sources Or Professional Advice. This Will Enable You To Conduct Regular Stress Management Sessions With The Employees In Which You Can Find The Triggers Of Stress In Each And Every Employee And Find A Way To Reduce Their Impact. Be Sure To Be Very Open Minded And Honest During These Sessions As It Will Help The Employees To Open Up Freely.
Helping Employees To Delegate: The HR Should Also Encourage The Star Performers Or Overachievers To Delegate Some Tasks. This Will Help In Reducing Their Stress Levels. You Should Encourage The Overachiever To Mentor A New Trainee And Delegate Tedious Tasks To The Trainee To Reduce The Stress Level Of The Overachiever. This Will Ensure That The Overachiever Doesn’t Feels Threatened Of Losing His Or Her Job And You Will Have A New Useful Resource (The Trainee) Within The Company.
Maintaining Basic Hygiene: Stress Levels Can Also Increase If The Overall Ambiance Of The Office Is Not Good. Even If You Have A Housekeeping Or Facility Management Team In The Office, You Should Make Sure That They Work Properly. The Office Should Always Be Clean And Basic Hygiene Issues Like Availability Of Tissues Papers, Availability Of Hand Wash, Availability Of Clean Water, Etc. Should Be Catered To. If An Employee Falls Ill Due To Unhygienic Conditions And Takes A Few Leaves, It May Lead To Situations Like Increased Stress Levels As He Will Be Taking Stress Of The Job Targets And He Will Have Less Time To Achieve The Targets.
Train Managers To Recognize Signs Of Stress: You Should Also Make Sure That The Managers Of Every Department Are Trained In Recognizing The First Signs Of Stress. If The Managers See The Signs Of Stress, They Should Give The Employee Some Breathing Room. Always Remember That A Stressed Employee Would Never Perform To His Or Her Best So It’s A Good Bet To Give Employee Some Breathing Room To Reduce His Stress Levels Which Will Increase His Productivity When He Gets Back To Work After The Breather.
Creating Anonymous Communication Channels: If One Or More Of The Employees Seem To Be In Stress And They Refuse To Talk About It Then The HR Should Create Anonymous Communication Channels Like Putting Up A Complaint Box Or A Complaint E-Mail Id Where The Employees Can Share Their Woes Without Revealing Their Identity. This Will Help The Employees To Speak Their Mind And You Will Get To The Root Cause Of The Stress Problem. It May Be The Unachievable Targets For A Harassing Manager.
Monitor Progress: Last But Not The Least, You As The HR Should Remember That Stress Management In Employees Is Not A One Time Deal. It Is A Continuous Process That Needs Contact Refining. You Should Also Remember To Map Out The Progress Of Your Efforts By Monitoring The Stress Levels Of Every Employee By Again Taking One On One Session With Them. If The Employees Feel Less Burdened And Their Stressed Eyes Are Shinning, It Would Mean That The HR Has Done A Remarkable Job.
– Arbind Gaba
(Source: www.citehr.com)