We’ve been weathering some grumpy news lately about the state of employee engagement and job satisfaction.
Research continues to show that employees are tackling larger workloads and longer hours with little or no increase in pay. Mobile technology has made some of us feel like we have to be plugged in and online 24/7. Eating lunch at our desks. Coming in early and staying late. You know the drill.
Meanwhile, the recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index has made it clear that we are more dissatisfied at work than ever.
An op-ed in the New York Times this week suggested that happier employees — those who feel more encouraged and engaged in their jobs, and supported in making progress — will be more productive employees, and we can’t help but agree, with one rider: We also believe strongly that levels of stress have a great deal to do with well-being at work.
Stress is causal
Stress has a tremendous effect on health. Those who experience higher levels of stress are more likely to have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, more fatigue, get less sleep, and have a hard time with weight control.
In other words: If you want to reduce risk for major diseases, increase productivity, reduce risk factors and help employees lose weight, you need to help employees manage stress.
A Mayo Clinic study recently published in The American Journal of Health Promotion suggests one step to incorporate stress management into your wellness program, and its simplicity is brilliant: Ask your employees to rate their levels of stress.
And if they rate their stress highly? Here’s what you can do:
Offer a stress intervention workshop
Changing behavior is much more powerful than doling out squishy logo-imprinted tennis balls. Try a guided workshop that identifies stress-promoting behavior, puts a stop to patterns of negative thinking, teaches relaxation techniques and empowers your employees to take control of their time. Workshops can be instructor-led or offered as a guided self-help course with telephonic coaching.
App it up
There are tons of smartphone apps available for stress management, stressor tracking, and anxiety relief:
- Apps like StressPile and Stress Tracker can help you keep track of how stressed you are from day to day and note what stresses you out. On the flip side, the Feel Good Tracker gives you a place to track activities and events in your life that make you feel good!
- Remember those zen gardens with the sand and the stones and the tiny rakes that everyone had on their desks in the late ’90s? Welcome to the 21st century, where your zen garden fits in the palm of your hand. And is imaginary. Koi pond, iZen Garden, and Bowls (a Tibetan singing bowl app) can all help you slow down and tune out.
- Need help getting to sleep? Plenty of white noise apps and relaxing sound generators to choose from. Some, like BrainWave, include binaural frequencies to simulate brain activity that matches what you’re trying to do (sleep deeply, take a power nap). aSleep is a popular $0.99 app for soothing sounds. Take a 5-minute vacation with Relax, which includes a pleasing image along with the sound of the beach, a campfire, or a mountain stream.
Or try an online or app-based challenge. Games are available that gives employees points for choosing to take short breaks throughout the day, practice relaxation techniques or getting enough sleep. Most blissed-out team wins a prize — inner peace.
Meditation station
Do your employees have a quiet place to sit and clear their mind? A better question: Do your employees know how to meditate?
Hire someone from your community to come to your workplace and teach the basics of meditation, deep breathing techniques and yoga movements suitable for your work environment. Or make some guided relaxation audio programs available for download on your intranet.
A 2009 study on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in the workplace showed that employees who practiced 20 minutes of meditation and gentle yoga at their desks showed a 10% reduction in feelings of stress and reported improved sleep quality.
Get moving
It’s the most tried-and-true stress-buster we know: exercise! Even a little can make a big difference.
Offer onsite classes during lunch or right after work. You can also offer breaks and walking maps for hikes around your corporate campus or strolls around the building. A great idea from the CoHealth LinkedIn Community: one-minute dance breaks! Spread the word on your Twitter page, with a quick email or just rally a group to a spare conference room to kick out the jams for 10 minutes.
Encourage a healthy work environment
Promote lunch breaks and short rests throughout the day. Celebrate successes on your team and compliment others on jobs well done. Implement a flex-time policy if possible. If it’s at all within your power, try to avoid texting, emailing or calling employees late at night — show that your company values working at work and being at home at home.
What else do you do at your company to help employees beat stress?