8 Tips to reduce employee stress and increase work productivity
As per a report published by NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) [Source: https://www.stress.org/
Not only the employees, workplace stress can affect business productivity and revenue, too. The employees can perform well if they are mentally fit and healthy.
Therefore, the employer needs to reduce the work-related stress of their employees.
Here’s how the companies can do it.
Encouraging employees to take vacations
An employee can’t be productive if he/she burns out. So, the companies should encourage their employees to take vacations so that they can increase their work performance. Taking a vacation is useful to decrease stress, which ultimately helps increase productivity.
The companies should look towards keeping adequate back-up procedures so that an employee can take vacations from time to time.
2. Offering flexibility at work
The companies shouldn’t micromanage their employees and need to offer them flexibility at work. It helps increase productivity. However, the managers will have to monitor that the work is finished within the deadlines.
Salary is an important aspect of a job, but certain flexibilities can help the employees enjoy work and increase their productivity.
How can companies provide that?
For example, they can allow their employees to work from home sometimes that can help them balance their personal and professional life. Likewise, employees who have children, let them adjust their office timings so that they can drop their children at school and pick them up.
By giving such flexibility, the employees will get job satisfaction and will be motivated to give their best. As a result, it will help to increase the business productivity.
3. Making the employees feel valued at the workplace
To stretch the last point a little further, the employees need to feel valued at the workplace. One of the best ways to reduce stress at the workplace is to give recognition to the employees. When their work gets noticed and they feel valued, they enjoy being a part of the organization; in turn, it helps to increase overall productivity.
So, the employers or managers need to recognize the efforts of their team members, talk to them, and appreciate their work. If required, they should guide the employees to excel better.
4. Setting clear goals for the team
When a goal is set with a timeline, it helps the employees to focus on their work in a better way. It helps them to prioritize work easily and utilize time effectively.
Apart from reducing stress, it also helps to improve productivity.
However, it is important to set achievable goals; otherwise, it might increase stress among the employees.
5. Encouraging employees to do physical activity
It requires no mention that physical activity helps in increasing concentration and reducing stress. Exercise is an essential part of maintaining mental fitness, which can help in reducing stress significantly.
It is best if the companies can provide basic exercising equipment in the office. If not, the organizations can offer gym membership at a discount rate or at least encourage employees to take a walk outside the office during breaks.
Sitting at a desk for long hours can be detrimental to the physical and mental health of people, and in turn, can reduce their work efficiency.
6. Offering mental health support if required
Stress has become a part of our everyday life and employees usually spend a good amount of time at work. So, the employees need mental health support to excel their best. Occasional counseling can help the employees stay mentally fit and enjoy work.
7. Offering financial benefits
Certain perks help employees to love their workplace and be a part of it, which in turn, can help reduce stress.
It has been found that money is a major cause of stress among people, and health problems cause a strain on financial resources. The companies can help reduce this by assisting to purchase suitable health insurance coverage.
When the employees are healthy and they can treat their health issues on time, it will help them reduce stress and increase work productivity.
8. Helping employees to reduce debt
The organizations can help their employees to reduce debt and manage it efficiently. If any of the employees are having debts, the company can offer him/her a loan through which he/she can consolidate existing debts. Such salary-deducted loans are one of the best ways to reduce debt and manage it efficiently. The required payments can get deducted directly from the employee’s salary every month.
An employer can offer financial education to their employees so that they can manage their finances in a better way and save for their retirement. The employees need to be encouraged to reject the debt mentality and handle debts efficiently.
To conclude this article, I would like to mention that communication is another important thing that can help reduce stress amongst employees. The managers can discuss with their teammates their problems so that the management can come out with effective solutions. Open communication helps build trust among employees thereby increasing work performance and overall productivity, and helping a business to flourish.
Author’s Bio: Good Nelly is a financial writer who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has started her financial journey long back. Good Nelly has been associated with Debt Consolidation Care for a long time. Through her writings, she has helped people overcome their debt problems and has solved personal finance related queries. She has also written for some other websites and blogs. You can follow her Twitter profile.