Being in a stressful situation or having to deal with stress regularly is familiar to everyone. It is an ever-present aspect of human life and will continue to be for the days to come. However, one area of life where people have to deal with stress daily is at their workplace. Workplace-based pressure and stress are obstacles that employees have to navigate to be productive and perform their daily tasks efficiently. Work-based issues such as job security, increased workload, and personal problems pile up on employees and overwhelm them, dragging them down.
While many employees try to create a list of tactics to reduce workplace stress, relying on only one solution can’t solve all their stress-related problems. As owners and leaders, we have to examine our employees’ work environment to find the existing issues. We must ensure that our office does not encourage a stressful surrounding for our employees. Listed below are a few ideas that promote a stress-free workplace. Put them into action so that your employees can work at their optimum levels of productivity and efficiency.
- Promote Wellness inside the Workplace
The two most effective tools for stress reduction are healthy living and exercise. It will reduce the stress from your employees’ minds and allow them to focus more on their jobs rather than the pressure.
It will also improve their moods as exercise releases endorphins, which makes a person feel happier. Strategies such as encouraging employees to go for short walks during their breaks, giving away gym memberships, bringing in a yoga instructor inside the office, and offering healthy food in the cafeteria will promote healthy living. Your employees will feel valued when they know you care about their health. And good health is a stress killer.
- Transform The Workplace Environment
Stress can be something that comes from the environment of the workplace. A perfect idea would be to keep every aspect of your office in mind and how every element contributes to your employees’ wellbeing. Small things such as the cleanliness of the office washroom or the cafeteria’s food quality can result in employee stress. These things play a crucial role in your employees’ psychology and can be anxiety-inducing to them.
Undoubtedly, you can acquire an education in psychology-based degree such as an organizational psychology degree online to learn more about your employees’ psyche. But introducing small changes to the work environment will be an excellent place to start. These can include changing the office walls’ color, adding some plants to introduce an element of greenery, or buying a new coffee machine. These will promote employee enjoyment, which will kill any work-induced stress.
- Offer Flexible Working Hours or Remote Work
You hired employees because you have the utmost confidence in their abilities to perform well and deliver tasks on time. So, let them provide you some proof for that. Your office should not be a prison for them. It should be a place that offers them the courage to get the job done and on time. The good idea is to provide your employees with the flexibility to gauge their performance. Implementing high-quality work instead of measuring their job performance through their punch-in time can help you assess their performance.
Try to give them the facility of working remotely and provide flexibility on their punch-on and punch-out time while they do such a thing. Such freedom is a stress-reducer and will show that you have trust in your employees entirely.
- Ask Employees to Participate In Social Activities
Employees usually need to spend a lot of time together with each other. The more comfortable they find doing such a thing, the less workplace-based stress they will have. Your responsibility as a leader will be to break down the communication barrier between employees. One way to do such a thing is to encourage them to participate in social and bonding activities.
Activities such as business trips, picnics, community projects, or visiting the local coffee shop will be perfect for employee bonding sessions.
- Designate a Place Where Your Employees Can Take Breaks
Your employees may not be able to avoid workplace-based stress altogether, but you can reduce it when it happens. Ensure that you designate a place for your employees to go when they want to take a break. Stress relief breaks such as napping or massages are perfect for hostile or disengaged employees to bring their productivity levels back to normal.
A small lounge or a small room will be ideal for employees to lay off some steam experienced due to their stress. Or you can take things to the next level by placing outdoor benches in the parking lot, so your employees can get away from the hustle and bustle of the workplace. If your company can afford it, take them out on monthly field trips or consider offering time off to employees who cannot deal with the stress.
- Give Praise to Your Employees
Nothing more will boost employee morale and reduce stress other than giving them regular pats on the back and acknowledging their work-related efforts. All employees have different personalities, so ensure that you know when and how to recognize them. Some employees prefer one-to-one meetings, while others find it best to do so in a group employee meeting. Some might only be happy with a little thank you note on their desk.
Whatever strategy you use to praise your employees, they will be happy that you appreciate their efforts for your company’s success. Also, sharing individual employees’ examples in front of their coworkers will boost morale to work harder and achieve more.
- 7. Create Boundaries
As the digital world grows more than ever before, employees find it necessary to check their Facebook timelines and post pictures on Instagram. According to numerous research, excessive use of media leads to stress because of social pressures.
The perfect idea is to impose boundaries that ensure all employees limit their mobile device usage while they work. If you do such a thing, they will focus more on the tasks at hand instead of surfing their Facebook timelines unnecessarily. If any employee wants to check their Facebook status, ask them to do it on their break.
Conclusion
Trying to reduce workplace stress will not be an easy job for you, but it is not entirely impossible. Various strategies will allow you to reduce stress for both your employees and yourself. And what better place to start than to follow these stress-reduction strategies mentioned above. They will ensure that your employees remain active, productive and work their butts off for your organization’s success.
