10 Best Ways to Help Employees Deal with Stress

The worst mistake a company or a manager can ever make is making their employees not as productive as they could be! Research has indicated that over 55% of professionals in India feel stressed at work (source: LinkedIn survey). Work-life balance (34%), discontent with the incomes (32%), and unsatisfactory career growth (25%) are the significant factors that gang up on and overwhelm employees. To say nothing of adjusting to remote working environments made it hard for many to swim with the tide during the pandemic. 

There is a mile-long chasm between employees' wants and what they are getting to cope with stress in their working environments. (Unfortunately, this happens pretty often!) Employees are falling into the abyss of stress and productivity. 

Stress: Something more than the loss of productivity at work

A small amount of stress is good in the workplace, but sometimes it gets overwhelming. On-job stress can affect a person's capabilities and productivity and lead to higher incidences of making blunders at work. 

Before you get into the solutions of helping employees deal with stress, here are some of the benefits of low-stress work environments:

• Lower company costs: Excessive and constant stress can lead to burnout. Which, then, has the potential to break your business down. A study by Mental Health America indicates that workplace mental health problems result in as much as USD 500 billion of lost productivity annually.

• Reduced absenteeism: It is a duck soup to understand that a healthier mind and body leads to lesser leaves and better engagement of the employees with the company. When employees know how to train their minds, they tend to be more punctual at their workplace due to increased focus.

• Higher retention rate: Employees tend to stick to a company longer when they know their employers care for their mental health and well-being. Thus, leading to a lower attrition rate.

• Improved performance: Too much stress is a monster! It reduces creativity, drains energy, and makes it hard to focus on the task at hand.

• Connected company culture: The number of overstressed employees is directly proportional to the degree of happiness at the workplace. The employees feel more connected to the companies when they feel that their mental and physical health is being taken care of at their workplace.

Employers need to examine the environment they are creating for them and the source of the stress for their employees. As a leader, here is how you can help your employees bring down the tensity at work.

10 tips for reducing stress at work

Use these tips for enhancing your work environment to reduce stress:

What Is A Recruitment Strategy, And Why Do You Need It?

The fundamental definition of a recruitment strategy is the plan that explains what role you are hiring for, how much time you have, what tools you are going to use, and the requirements for successful candidates.

When it comes to recruitment strategies, the "one size fits all" approach doesn't work. Depending on your company's goal, the time frame, and other factors, the right recruitment strategy may differ from case to case. Therefore, instead of having a specific path in mind that you follow in every situation, you may want to develop creative ideas that can streamline your recruitment process. However, all these ideas need to follow your company's overall goal, be implementable, and be easy to communicate. 

If carefully planned and implemented, recruiting strategies will help you position yourself in the job market as a reliable employer, helping you attract the people you are looking for.

1. Employee engagement is your secret weapon

ResearchandMarkets shows that the global employee engagement and feedback software market is poised to reach USD 1,908.3 million by 2027 at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2021-2027. The market research indicates the growing trend of employee engagement across a broad spectrum of industries. 

Quizzes and hackathons are the blockbusters for employee engagement activities, but Business Simulation games are the new disruption in the market. They are now extensively used by corporations to educate, train and engage their employees. To put it simply, business simulation games give insights into the management process by providing real-world scenarios. Combining learning with gamified virtual programs and engagements eventually upskill the employees and improve their focus on everyday tasks. 

Inquizitive, an organization-wide quiz contest by Reliance and Ideathon, a collection of various challenging and exciting activities by Mahindra First Choice Wheels, are the perfect examples of how to engage employees.

2. Give your listening skills a workout

Wrap your head around a simple fundamental principle - Don't hear, listen. Perhaps, the most basic and essential way to connect to your employee is to listen. Invite employees for open discussions or one-to-one meetings; talk about their challenges and concerns. This way, you narrow down their source of stress and take the necessary steps to cope with the stress. 

Great leaders like Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft) and Jens Hofma (CEO, Pizza Hut) believe in respectful, believable, and honest communication with their employees.

3. Setting goals: Begin with the end in mind

Realistic and attainable goals help employees unlock a positive mindset, release creative ideas, and energy for goal attainment. Showing them how to plan, strategize and set similar pragmatic goals can ensure that the employees understand what's expected of them. It will help them save time, improve their performance, and strengthen the business.

SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) framework is one such way to help them unleash their best potential and relieve stress at work.

4. Let's accept - surroundings influence productivity

Studies show that changing the work environment and aesthetics has a positive effect on the employees. Get your creative juices flowing and play around with the setting of the office. Make the office a little more alive by getting plants, creating opportunities for movement, building a break room, and designing a layout that meets your employers' needs. 

For instance, Google offices make sure that their employees can relax and refuel during breaks. Fun fact: Do you know that Google has kitchens everywhere? Yes, because nobody is allowed to be more than 100 meters away from food!

5. Frustration happens; it's okay to conduct venting sessions!

"I just cannot take this job anymore."

Everyone has been there, done that! Yes, sooner or later, employees can become saturated and disengaged and end up venting out emotions to their colleagues. It can spread negativity and bring down the morale of the entire team. But when done right, it can work wonders. Here's how. 

Organize workplace venting sessions where employees can post their concerns anonymously. However, on the other hand, motivate them to come up with solutions. This will meet their need to be seen and heard and help them focus on their work better.

6. Your office should not feel like a cell; give flexibility

After experiencing a remote work environment for more than a year, everyone knows that workplace flexibility now dominates the future of work. Instead of babysitting the employees, allow them to select their schedules and mode of working. This freedom will help them create a work-life balance and will make them feel less stressed. 

Netflix outshines big names like Google and Apple when it comes to flexibility and convenience. Known for supporting its employees in their professional and personal lives, Netflix benefits programs are centered around creating flexibility for employees.

7. Implement mindfulness in the workplace

Charting a purposeful path to the next normal should be a pressing priority for every firm irrespective of its size, which can be achieved by practicing mindfulness. Intuit, an American business specializing in financial software, is an ideal example of implementing mindfulness at the workplace. 

Their Well Minds program promotes mindfulness and resilience by providing tools to help calm the minds of their employees so that they can perform better. Further, their one-to-one counseling support helps with stress management.

8. Recognized employees are equivalent to happy employees

As a leader, it is vital to understand the principles of employee recognition and motivate others in the team to practice it in the workplace. Be on the lookout for opportunities to praise your employees. It will not only help them increase their productivity but also lead to higher retention of quality employees.

Try your hands on verbal recognition and written compliments, organize group lunches, or give them gift cards/bonuses!

9. Healthy snacking (nom, nom)

Healthy snacking has long been a cornerstone of reducing stress. Educate your employees about healthy snacking and make sure they have access to such stress-buster food at work.

Here are some suggestions for foods to snack on that can ease off the work stress:

1. Berries
2. Citrus fruits
3. Dark chocolates
4. Nuts
5. Yogurt

10. Practice vulnerable leadership

Showing your vulnerable side at work is not a weakness. Don't shut people out and let your authenticity stay intact because it is human nature to trust authentic people more. Remember, when the employees don't trust the manager, the company suffers. Admit your mistakes, take criticism, have an open-door policy, and connect with your team. Be a modern leader!

These are some ways you can try to eliminate stress from the employees and make your company a great place to work. Remember, your people are your product. Take time out to focus on the well-being of your employees, and they will reciprocate a thousand times!

Author Bio:

Dare2Compete,

Dare2Compete lets recruiters gamify learning, engagements, and hiring while connecting them with students, professionals, educators, and other learners.