Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month? Unfortunately, most employees will experience some form of burnout or stress at some point. So, with that in mind, we're going to talk about what employers can do to reduce sources of stress in their organisation.
We're really passionate about improving employee experience. So, we are delighted to team up with Tyler Lowe from Loving Life to hear his thoughts on this subject.
Stress is something employers need to take seriously. It’s not just the right thing to do — it also makes good business sense.
For example, a study found that work-related stressors account for 92% of serious mental health concerns in the Australian workplace and have cost businesses almost $11 billion a year.
Now more than ever, you must do all you can to support your teams' mental wellbeing and company culture.
Stress is a broad topic, and we all react to it differently. What one person finds stressful, another may not, and vice versa.
Having said that, it’s essential to educate staff about taking steps towards reducing their own stress. Give them a range of tools and knowledge that will help with this.
In the digital age, webinars can be a fantastic way to educate employees about simple and effective methods to reduce some of their daily stressors. Sessions like these can provide a range of benefits, including:
Employee workload is one of the biggest contributing factors to employee stress.
Tight deadlines, too much responsibility and lack of managerial support are among the leading factors which increase workload pressure.
The theory is simple — reduce workload pressure and you’ll reduce employee stress. Of course, in reality, this is much easier said than done, so here are some things you can do.
Help employees prioritise. Prioritising the workload helps to provide balance, which reduces stress. Educate people about the value of simple to-do lists and promote helpful technology lists — something like Google Keep is a useful tool.
You should also make sure work is allocated fairly. Sometimes employees are not getting their work done because they’re just overloaded. This can create feelings of stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction and make them dislike or resent their job.
If someone is overwhelmed with their workload, it may be worth thinking about how you can take some of the work away. This could mean hiring another team member or bringing in a subcontractor. Either way, allocating tasks fairly should be an option.
Wellbeing benefits have become important for employees, especially helplines or employee assistance programs (EAPs), where people can talk through their feelings.
Other popular offerings are meditation apps, wellbeing platforms, audiobook subscriptions, and discounted gym memberships.
Life is full of distractions. Whether it’s the quick check of social media every 30 minutes, personal worries or office gossip. Keep in mind, though, that talking with teams about distractions will help as it brings awareness to the triggers so they can learn how to manage them.
Flexible working is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s clear to see why — many of us are trying to juggle our work-life balance.
For example, if a parent needs to collect their child from school and wants to plan their hours around this, you are reducing a major stressor by allowing them to do so.
An Australian study showed that if remote work was no longer an option, 1 in 3 people would not go back to their commute, 26% would look for a new remote role, and the rest would relocate or retire.
Clearly, if you want to attract and retain the best people, this is something worth considering.
Check out the video below for some additional advice.
Managers must recognise and reward employees throughout the year. When employees feel appreciated for their hard work, their stress levels reduce as they feel their time was worth the effort. So be loud and proud with your appreciation!
Employee wellbeing is becoming increasingly important, especially with more of us working from home and physically separated from the rest of the team.
Fortunately, Perkbox includes lots of wellbeing perks, including thousands of discounts and deals on athleisure wear, healthy grocery shops, and wearable tech.
However, what sets Perkbox apart is that it includes its own wellbeing platform. So your employees can benefit from an ever-expanding library of wellbeing resources, such as on-demand HITT workouts, relaxing yoga flows, and webinars.
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