Everyone wishes they had more of this one thing. Any guesses? Time. Time is a precious thing that we will not be able to lengthen or earn back, making it an invaluable resource. What if your time was spent in an uncomfortable state?
Everyday life is full of stress. Most people spend one-third of their life at work, and the workplace tends to add extra stress to their life. Let's discuss why it is important to offer extra support for your employees.
How does the workplace create stress?
Let's start by talking about the management and culture of the company. Management within the company should engage with their employees in a productive and professional means. When companies do not show their support for employees, it is hard for their employees to discuss the concerns or conflicts they face. The lack of communication between the two groups often tends to create added stress for the employee as they feel they do not have a resource at their disposal to fix the issues they face. In addition, impossible deadlines, a culture tolerating hate, and projects far beyond their scope of work creates added workplace stress on employees.
One statistic from the American Institute of Stress states: “80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42% say their coworkers need such help”. With many employees feeling stressed, the need for extra support is clear.
Does stress really affect productivity?
The short answer is yes! There is overwhelming evidence that shows the negative effects that stress in the work place has on productivity. One study from the National Institute of Medicine concluded “higher stress scores were associated significantly with lower productivity scores, going on to state that stress had an even greater effect on job satisfaction.”
Stress can affect many factors related to productivity such as focus, creativity, and energy. The negative effects of stress on any of these factors will greatly affect employees quality of work they produce.
More stress means more employee turnover
Let's state the obvious: People do not like being stressed. If employees are too stressed by work, they will most likely look for other less stressful jobs. But what are the true impacts of stress on employee turnover rates?
Estimates from the American Institute of Stress suggest that roughly 40% of employee turnover rate is due to stress. This is a large and potentially avoidable amount of turnover for companies. A report from UMass Lowell shares other important data about the true cost of stress in the workplace such as:
- 50% higher healthcare expenditures are from employees with high stress
- $3.8 million a year is the cost of increased absenteeism for a large company
The physical toll
Stress affects more than productivity levels and mental efficiency. Stress plays a major role in one's physical body. Stress can cause insomnia, heartburn, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and can even increase the risk of a heart attack. When you are stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol can increase your heart rate and direct blood to areas of the body that need it the most during stressful situations. An increase in cortisol can lead to weight gain and other chronic conditions. It also constricts your blood vessels moving oxygen rich blood to your muscles causing high blood pressure.
Maybe you have noticed an increased heart rate or trouble sleeping. But other impacts of stress go on beneath the surface and is hard to detect physically.
There are some quick actions one can take to reduce stress levels like petting a dog, going for a short walk or walking up and down stairs a few times. Listening to your favorite song or speaking with a loved one can reduce your stress levels. These are all short term reliefs to start to improving your mental health, but what about the longer term? What about stress that is too high to lower?
We are here to help!
While you start to discover the short and quick ways to manage stress, it doesn’t solve the true issues behind workplace stress. Your employees' situations are all unique, so why not consider taking a personalized approach to help manage stress?
RestoreResilience offers a unique and personalized solution to help your employees manage their stress. By targeting the root causes of stress and mental health issues, your employees can work with RestoreResilience’s human health coaches to develop healthy techniques. With 57% of members seeing an improvement in their ability to focus, and similarly, 57% seeing improved productivity, your employees and your business will thrive when you implement RestoreResilience.
Join the conversation.