Inspire Success

With employees working long hours and a focus being put on maximising the efforts of the workforce pressure is inevitably felt, pressure which we all call stress. For those whose work week has been stretched to the limit work life imbalance is created and work eats into personal time. Sacrifices are made to keep the wheels churning at work. With results from surveys such as fivefootfour and redballoon showing us that a number of employees are not happy in the workplace it is important to ease the pressure cooker of stress at work. Here we look at stress management tips in the workplace for the individual and the business owner ...

Some stress can be a positive thing.... stress can be a motivator, some of us enjoy working under pressure or feel we work best when we have some pressure or stress. However, when stress is having a negative effect on your wellbeing it’s time to look at ways to get the balance back. Finding ways to manage workplace stress is not about making huge changes to every aspect of your work life or rethinking career ambitions. Stress management requires focus on the one thing that’s always within your control: you.

Tips on managing job stress:-

• Take care of yourself – when stress is adversely impacting your health or interfering with how you do at work or on your personal life it’s time to make changes. When you take care of yourself you are stronger and more resilient to stress. Even small changes can give you back control and make you feel happier and more energetic. Changes can include small but positive lifestyle choices and ensuring you stick to them – an exercise class, yoga, meditation, listening to music, a weekend away etc whatever helps you unwind, enjoy it. It’s a very important way to improve your physical and emotional well-being.
• Reduce job stress by prioritizing and organizing – create a balanced schedule, don’t over commit and plan regular breaks. If you have too much on your plate list what “must” be done and what “should” be done and push the to do items that are not essential to the bottom of the list. Take breaks during the day to clear your mind. Stepping away from work to briefly relax and recharge will help you be more, not less, productive.
• Reduce job stress by breaking bad habits – resist being perfect, reduce clutter, rule out negative thinking. No project, decision or person is perfect so don’t set unrealistic goals or expectations of yourself. Aim to do you very best and be happy that you have done that. Reduce the clutter, tidy your desk, file documents, get your emails organised and stick to your to-do list and cross off items as achieved. These will all help you to feel less overwhelmed every day. Focus only on the things you have control over and don’t stress or worry about the things out of your control.
• Connect with others at work – listen to your colleagues, communicate with them, enjoy some social time with colleagues after work hours. Being part of a supportive team can really help relieve stress and make you happier in the workplace.

Reducing stress of your employees:-

Happy people are more engaged with their work, build better relationships with colleagues and clients, have less sick days and tend to remain in a role longer. It's in your best interest to keep stress levels in the workplace to a minimum. Managers/ leaders can act as positive role models, especially in times of high stress. If you can remain calm in stressful work situations, it is much easier for your employees to also remain calm. Here are our top three tips to reduce stress in your workplace:-

Improve communication

• Share information with employees to reduce uncertainty about their jobs, questions, futures
• Clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities
• Make communication friendly and efficient

Consult with your employees

• Give your employees opportunities to be involved in decisions that affect their jobs
• Ensure your team’s workload is suitable to their abilities and resources
• Avoid unrealistic deadlines
• Show that your employees are valued
• Offer rewards and incentives
• Praise good work performance, both verbally and officially, one example would be having an employee of the month award
• Provide opportunities for career development
• Promote a work culture that gives employees more control over their work.

Have a friendly social climate

• Provide opportunities for social interaction among your employees
• Establish a zero-tolerance policy for harassment
• Make management actions consistent with organizational values.

Also see our previous article on tips for managing stress in the workplace

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

Are your employees happy.....

As 2011 comes to an end it is good for everyone to look back on the year that was. As a business owner it is very important to learn from the good times during the year, the accomplishments, the growth but also to look at any difficulties and challenges faced in the last 12 months and learn from them. A critical thing to monitor and be involved in is your organisation culture and to have a think about the general “feel” within your organisation as the year ends. As we have discussed in recent newsletters a happy workforce is a productive workforce. The surveys recently completed by fivefootfour and redballoon provide interesting reading on the happiness or unhappiness of Australian employees currently.

According to the fivefootfour survey the Australian workforce is largely unhappy. The report on the Australian workforce released by fivefootfour revealed some interesting results and certainly some food for thought. They wanted to look at how happy Australian employees are in work and the key things that motivate them.

The top 5 findings were:

1. Only 54% of Australian workers are happy at work, 25% feel depressed most of the day once a week.
2. 60% of the Australian workforce is bored.
3. The three big issues behind workforce unhappiness are flexibility, creativity and the misrepresentation of Gen Y.
4. 35% of Gen Y's will be looking for a new job in the next 12 months.
5. The ideal workplace composition consists of a mix of employees motivated by the following 7 drivers:

*Flexibility and balance (27%).
*Knowledge for growth (23%).
*Ambition to progress (16%).
*Creativity and freedom (16%).
*Mentoring and learning (11%).
*Variety and momentum (4%).
*Collaboration and interaction (4%).

Workplaces stressors such as lack of work life balance and a lack of job satisfaction are taking a toll on the health and well being of Australian workers. The report also found that 25% of Australians feel ‘blue’ or depressed most of the day once a week and 49% once or twice a month; 60% of the Australian workforce is bored in their current job; and that creative thinkers are jumping ship.

Trudi Sampola, co-founder of fivefootfour, commented:- “Australian businesses need to get more flexible and start recognising the importance of understanding their employees’ values and motivations on an individual level,” says Trudi. While a flexible and engaging workplace is a priority for many employees, 78% of Australian workers want a job that allows them to think creatively.“Businesses that identify the creative thinkers within the team, and give them the opportunity to integrate this value into their role, will reap the rewards,” says Trudi. 35% of Gen Ys (who make up 23% of the Australian workforce) in the survey said that they are likely to look for a new job in the New Year.

Trudi points out the German workforce have more worklife balance and flexibility and as a result are more productive in her comments -“Germans are very clearly output focused versus placing a currency on the number of hours spent in the workplace. Australia needs to change the workplace game, less emphasis on clocking up the hours and more emphasis on getting the job done,” says Trudi.

The Insync Surveys (http://www.insyncsurveys.com.au ) and RedBalloon 2011 Dream Employers Survey (http://www.redballoon.com.au/corporate/articles/google-wins-again) attracted over 7100 responses from the general public. According to the results from this survey the top three drivers that make a Dream Employer in 2011 are:

• pay, benefits and conditions (38 per cent) - up 11 percentage points from sixth position in 2010
• work-life balance (37 per cent) - up nine percentage points from third position in 2010
• culture (36 per cent) - down three percentage points from second position in 2010

This is a shift from last year when the top motivation was brand or company reputation, dropping from 41 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent this year.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

Stress in the Workplace

Unlike other health hazards in the workplace, stress may not be easy to detect. Managers may see it as a potential problem but have so many other responsibilities they 'push it under the carpet'. This could be a major stressor for them!

Likewise staff may worry that they cant fix the problem or that it is a failure to cope on their part.

Either could lead to a breakdown in the communications vital to the support and maintenance of good teamwork, potentially setting your business up for accidents and injuries, workers compensation claims, complaints from customers and costs attributed to high staff turnover.

Be aware of these signs:

* An increase in overall sickness absence – especially frequent short absences
* Poor work performance – less output, lower quality of work, poor decision making, poor timekeeping, increased occurrence of accidents
* Relationships at work – poor relationships with colleagues and clients, bullying, harassment, conflict
* Employee attitude and behaviour – poor timekeeping, loss of motivation or commitment, working long hours but with decreasing effectiveness

While each individual’s response to stressors is unique, some common symptoms are obvious

Behavioural – withdrawal, hostility, eating disorders, increasing use of coffee, alcohol, drugs or tobacco, poor concentration, poor judgement, loss of creativity, making more mistakes, being too busy to relax, absenteeism;

Emotional – loss of confidence, lack of self esteem, anxiety, frustration, anger, apathy, worry or anxiety, depression;

Physical – difficulties in sleeping, frequent and unspecified aches and pains, digestive problems, exhaustion, nausea, lowered resistance to minor illnesses.

Displaying some of these symptoms does not automatically indicate that a person is experiencing stress, but they do point to such a possibility.