Be The Super Spreader of Stress Awareness This April.
April showers aren’t the only thing to be mindful of this month, recognised as Stress Awareness Month, April presents an opportunity to educate your workforce on the signs, causes, and management of stress. For many, stress has become a routine part of daily life, a natural response to the fast paced demands of the modern world. However, there are effective ways of managing stress to significantly improve mental and physical wellbeing.
Stress in the workplace can affect morale, productivity, and the overall wellbeing of your employees. Below are some tips to help to combat the likelihood of stress arising across your team, creating a more mindful, healthy culture to thrive in.
Tight deadlines and stringent processes can often contribute to high stress levels. It’s vital that workloads are managed to ensure efficiency for both the employee and the organisation. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when your list of responsibilities grows longer, therefore question whether your team has the correct project management tools to break down their tasks into workable steps. This could look like introducing the time blocking concept, or overseeing your team’s to-do list to monitor their workload and deadlines. Promoting a culture where your team can feel comfortable and confident to flag if their workload is unmanageable is crucial to alleviating stress in the workplace. Be mindful that work carried out under stress induced circumstances will fall flat of the results produced by a happy and healthy employee.
There’s no doubt that people come to work to do exactly that, work. But we are a social civilisation, allowing your team to enjoy those interactions throughout the day can have a lasting impact on team spirit. Having a social workplace breaks up the day for employees, they’re able to take a breather from intense projects and enjoy stress-free interactions that uplift morale and increase productivity. Create mindful spaces where employees can pull away from high-stress situations, finding peace and quiet to reset and recharge. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are a useful tool in supporting employees that are particularly struggling, helping them to find the correct support to combat stress management alongside other associated mental health issues like anxiety.
Regular exercise is an easy win when it comes to managing stress through the release of natural endorphins. However, often busy work-life schedules can leave employees with little time to incorporate exercise into their routine. Perhaps you could encourage team members to take active walking breaks. As we head into the warmer and lighter months of the year, it’s a perfect opportunity to get outside and connect with your surroundings. Fresh air and a mindful, moving break away from the desk can support your employees in managing their stress, encouraging a reset to re-approach the day.
The demands of everyday life are different for everyone. Even if your workplace isn’t causing direct stress to an employee, it doesn’t mean they aren’t enduring it elsewhere. Maintaining a positive, mindful working culture ensures your employees feel supported and prevents any further stress building onto their wellbeing. Valuing the importance of a work-life balance is paramount in managing stress in the workplace. Creating an environment whereby your team feels comfortable switching off at the end of their work day means they won’t take any stress harboured throughout the day home with them, they can enjoy their free time and return to work eager to tackle any challenges that come their way.
If you’re concerned about stress levels in your workplace, we can point you to an online stress calculator to share across your workforce. Encourage your employees to talk about any pressures they’re facing and how you can tackle this together in a supportive environment. Some team members may find it easier than others to talk openly and honestly about how they’re suffering from stress. Create a safe and honest space to get the most out of your stress awareness implements, a healthy input means a happy output, this bodes for both your employee wellbeing and the results they produce at work.