Creating a Stress Free Workplace

Stress in the workplace is one of the top reasons for employee dissatisfaction and subsequent drop in productivity. If you are an employer managing a team of workers, it is absolutely vital that you take steps to ensure that your workers are in a supportive and harmonious environment with as few stressors as possible. This article takes a look at some of the steps you can implement for the purpose of a stress-free workplace.

Assigning an employee a task for which he or she does not feel qualified and which lies outside the requirements of his or her job description is an easy way to create a very unhappy worker. Keep in mind that employees will often assent to tasks for which they do not feel qualified, purely as a matter of the subordinate role in which they find themselves. Thus, you cannot take their positive assurances as a sign that they are happy about what you have assigned them. If possible, announce the task in some kind of group-directed way, asking for interested persons to respond to you as soon as possible. This way, you can be sure that you are getting a genuine interest in your proposal.

The same can be said for weekend work. It can be quite obnoxious for an employer to speak directly to an employee, asking whether he or she is interested in working on the coming weekend. Many employees lack the assertiveness to turn your offer down. You may feel that bonus pay rates are the perfect incentive for an employee to do grunt work on a weekend, but the truth is that many employees would rather stay at home with family and rejuvenate, double pay be damned. You are violating sacred territory when you impose yourself on the weekends of your employees. Instead, send out a group announcement asking for interested persons to respond to you as soon as possible. This way, you can be sure that you are not putting your boot in the behind of employee morale, which would only cost you in terms of lost productivity in the end.

Employee stress can be caused not only by assigning tasks for which an employee feels unqualified but also by assigning tasks for which an employee feels overqualified. Although the nature of your work environment may not leave you much room in this regard, it is important that you find ways to tap into as many employee talents as possible. People work optimally when they feel that their skills are being put to use and challenged sufficiently.

Eliminate as much vagueness as possible when it comes to employee duties.
Providing fuzzy requirements that leave your employees trying to decipher what you want done is a sure way to turn yourself into the scatterbrained boss from hell. Have you seen the boss in the Dilbert comics? Do not be that boss!

Allow employees to give their input regarding workplace decisions and changes.
Although your ideas for process improvement may look wonderful on a flowchart, and although you may feel like a rock star in the eyes of your employees ever since you became a Six Sigma black belt, do not delude yourself into thinking that you know what is best for your troops on the front lines.

It is extremely important that your employees have the chance to earn promotions and progress up the ladder of command. Neglect this principle at your own peril.

If you are in an office environment, allow your employees to listen to music while they work and to surf the Net and chat among themselves when there is no work to be done. It is counterproductive to subject your employees to senseless, illogical restrictions on what they can and cannot do. Do not go on power trips.

Courtesy of My Stress Management

Does your workplace support physical exercise?

How does physical activity fit into a full-time employee’s hectic schedule? Often times, it doesn’t.

One possible solution to this challenge is to make physical exercise a part of the work day. Clearly, being active at work is constructive for staff members. But employers also advance from having fit, energetic and healthy staff members who are more constructive.

Challenges You Face

• Your job takes up an abundance of your time. In addition to the hours you spend actually on the job, there is the time needed to get to and from work and take lunch and rest breaks during the work day. In the end, there are a limited number of hours left over for the rest of your life. This work life imbalance is especially true for Alberta, where statistics show that we work exceptionally tough.
• Many jobs today are sedentary, and numerous American citizens drive to work. The pressures of work may also cause us to eat lunch at our desks and skip breaks. Then, after work or on the weekends we juggle household chores, family responsibilities and social engagements.

Get started on a workplace fitness program...

Senior Management plays a key role in creating a culture that promotes health. The leaders at your workplace affect the various policies and the informal or formal practices, and these policies and practices affect your attitude towards healthy active living.

Begin by talking to your boss about the benefits of a healthy active workplace. The best way to ensure the success of a company exercise program is to have the management on side and cheering you on.

Ask your boss to consider taking these actions:

• Send a memo or message about the significance of health and healthy living that encourages employee to take an active break each day.
• Provide for flexible work hours that help employee to be more physically active. For example, they might need to take a longer lunch break to attend physical activity class, making up the time by arriving at work early or remaining late.
• Provide a meeting room or other suitable office space for noon-hour yoga or workout classes, and hire a teacher to lead them, or use videos.

If your boss agrees to support a workplace exercise program, don’t forget to show appreciation.

You do not need an onsite fitness center...

Only very big organizations are able to afford on-Site fitness facilities such as exercise equipment or squash courts. Still, most employers are able to take other affordable steps to support workers who wish to become more active.

Lead by example – some easy solutions to getting started…

• Arrange for discounted fees for staff members at a health club, recreation center or YMCA facility.Install showers and a place to hang a towel. (Make sure the showers are cleaned regularly and that women who use them will feel secure.)
• Install bike racks or a locked enclosure that is safe, conveniently located and well lighted.Hold walking meetings and set up lunch-hour walking groups
• Make staff members cognizant of safe and pleasant walking routes near the workplace, as well as nearby facilities that offer fitness programs (such as walking, swimming, running, yoga, stretching).
• Find a certified instructor to instruct employee about health, fitness and how to become more active.

Any size and sort of workplace is able to promote staff members who wish to be physically active. It’s highly desirable to get upper management on side. Even if your boss isn’t supportive, you have the potential to still discover ways to get moving more. Set up activities for groups and individuals, and encourage your co-staff members to join in.

Working together as a team in and out of the office is rewarding and highly productive.  Plan a fun event outside of the office that promotes getting fit and having fun!

Simple Stress Relief Tips and Techniques

From a quick-fix stress management technique to longterm lifestyle changes, to follow is some good advice - make sure to share with your team and keep each other motivated.

What is "Stress"?
Stress is a specific response by the body to a stimulus, such as pain or fear, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.

It has been documented that workplace stress is a major contributor to stress related illnesses. Some of the stress relief tips and techniques outlined below are especially suited for the workplace because they can be done anywhere, e.g., sitting at a desk or during a coffee break.

Stress is not unusual or abnormal. It's an everyday occurrance that your body reacts to in either a positive or negative manner. It's basically the preparation of your body to physically move. Your heart rate increases and your breathing becomes faster in anticipation of muscular acitivity.

Stress is the effect your body experiences as it adjusts to ever-changing circumstances. As a positive influence, it can fill you with excitement and propel you into action or provide you with a feeling of happiness. Stress can be a very motivating factor. It allows you to accomplish tasks and set goals and see them through to completion.

Good stress, also called eustress, is caused by the release of chemicals such as adrenalin, endorphin, serotonin and dopamine which are produced in your body and act as natural anti-depressants and pain-relievers.

However, if you don't use up the adrenalin that gets pumped through your system in respone to stress, sooner or later it will physically manifest itself in such negative conditions as muscle tension, headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure and heart disease. It is estimated that 75% to 85% of all medical problems are related to stress.

So what can you do about it? Look through the stress relief tips and techniques below and see what you can incorporate into your lifestyle.

#1 Breathing Exercises

Breathing is an easy to learn stress relief technique that's fast, simple and free. It can be done anywhere, anytime and has numerous positive effects on your health such as reducing high blood pressure.

Here's how basic controlled breathing works:

• Sit or stand in a relaxed postion. That means also to relax your abdominal muscles; let it all hang out, so to speak. Don't worry, you're the only one aware of it.
• Slowly inhale through your nose. Fill up your lungs with fresh air and let your abdomen expand outward, rather than raising your shoulders.
• Exhale slowly through your mouth. Pay attention to the exhale. Drag it out for as l--o--n--g as possible.
• Repeat this exercise several times and feel the tension draining from your body.

#2 Stretching and Simple Exercises

• Watch how a cat stretches after a nap. Sometimes (not often enough) we stretch in a similar manner. It's an overall feel-good movement. Stretch from the fingertips to the toes, including the face (yawning takes care of that). Be careful not to over-stretch though, especially after longer periods of inactivity. Stretching should not hurt.
• Remind yourself to stretch at work by writing "STRETCH" on a post-it note and sticking it on the computer monitor frame. Every once in a while you're bound to notice it. Gently stretch the muscles and tendons in your fingers, wrists, neck/shoulders, back, and legs.
• A very simple exercise and an excellent stress relief technique is walking. It doesn't require a lot of focus and can easily be incorporated into your workday, no matter how pressed for time you are.
• When you feel frustrated or anxious, engage in some form of physical activity. Take a brisk walk around the block, through your workplace, or up and down the stairs. Use up the adrenaline that's going through your bloodstream before it negatively affects your health.

#3 Laughter is Healthy

• Laughing reduces the level of stress hormones. It also triggers the release of health-enhancing hormones like endorphines, which are the body's natural painkillers.
• Have something in your workplace that automatically makes you smile, like a funny picture or a goofy toy. Keep a joke book at hand and use it often. An extra bonus is that laughter is contagious and it feels great to have a deep belly laugh.

#4  Sleep

• Take a nap! Research shows that a 15-30 minute nap in the afternoon increases alertness, improves cognitive functioning and reduces stress.
• Sleep your stress awayAdequate night-time sleep is also important. Studies suggest 7 to 8 hours per day, every day. The effects of lost sleep are culumative and can result in impaired: reaction time, vision, information processing, and short-term memory.

#5 Eat Well

• Eat well-balanced meals and take appropriate Vitamins and Minerals to make sure your body is adequately nurished and healthy.
• Maintain a healthy bodyfat/muscle ratio. If necessary, concentrate on loosing fat instead of just loosing "weight". Being skinny doesn't automatically equate being healthy. The rapid weight-loss of starvation diets is mostly due to dehydration and muscle-loss, and can cause weakness and even serious illnesses.

#6 Good Posture

• Remind yourself to maintain basic proper posture. If you sit most of the time, adjust the chair according to your body proportion. Keep your feet flat of the floor. Your ribcage should not rest on the hip joints.
• Straighten your spine but don't hyper-extend. Move your shoulders back, and take pressure off the spine in your neck by keeping your head aligned with the rest of the spine.

#7 Massage

• Some of the documented benefits of massage are: muscle tension relief, heightened concentration, better sleep, and decreased fatigue, anxiety and depression.
• Workplace Wellness Massage. Implement a Chair Massage Workplace Wellness Program to combat job stress. It's convenient, fast and instantly relieves muscle tension in stressed-out employees. Contact us for an appointment or more information.
• If you have the time, treat yourself to a Table Massage.
• Self Massage. Place two tennis balls in a sock and tie off the end. Stand with your back to the wall, place the balls on either side of your spine. Slowly move up and down in a squatting movement, pressing against the wall and rolling the balls up and down your back.

#8 Information Overload

• Do you really need to know every detail, be part of every meeting, or read every piece of information you come across? Give your brain a rest.

#9 Prioritize

• Prioritize! Not everything needs to be taken care of right now. Recognize the difference between what is urgent and what is important.

#10 Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

• Don't sweat the small stuff. Simplify your life and learn to say "no". Accept help when it's offered or ask for help if you feel overwhelmed.