Studies show that the modern workplace is a significant source of stress for employees. A 2019 survey from Korn Ferry found that 76% of people say workplace stress has a negative impact on their relationships with 66% of people losing sleep because of work.
Companies often need employees to fill high-pressure jobs where team members need to meet tight deadlines and juggle multiple tasks at once.
However, there is a push to take the stress out of the modern workplace. If you want to improve the mental health of your employees, follow these steps to guide your staff through their high-pressure jobs.
Give your staff time to connect personally
The average employee spends more waking hours in the workplace than with their families. Employees who like their coworkers are more likely to be productive during those hours and less likely to quit.
Consider how your company operates and make sure your team members have time to connect with each other. You can achieve this by hosting company luncheons or setting up team volunteer days.
Consider the team at Venterra Living, which was named a “Great Place to Work in Austin.” The words that employees use to describe the company include love, family, team, feel, and care.
Those words highlight how important personal connections are to these employees.
Discover ways to automate or digitize work
Are your employees stressed because they are working hard but not smart? Is your sales team stuck juggling different clients and invoices without any easy way to organize them?
Consider looking for tools that can take the burden off of your team members through automation and digital organization.
For example, CPQ software can provide quotes and process orders without much human involvement. With the right tools, your employees can focus on qualitative work that needs to be done by a person, rather than basic tasks that clog up their days.
Allow employees to take time for their mental health
Your staff members look to care for their minds and bodies in different ways. Some people escape to nearby parks to run on the trails or meditate, while others meet with professionals to discuss their problems.
Many therapists in Manhattan work with employees in high-stress roles to balance their work and personal lives. Make sure your company leaves room for mental health by promoting a work-life balance and allowing team members to take time for themselves when they need it.
Provide clear feedback and directions
One of the biggest sources of stress in high-pressure jobs is the fear of failure. Team members worry that the company could lose a client or fall behind on a project if they don’t do good work.
As a manager, you can mitigate this by providing clear instructions and feedback along the way. Let your employees know that they are doing great work or provide concrete tips for improving in the future.
This way your staff can move forward in a high-pressure work environment feeling more confident than before.
Let your staff work remotely
The COVID-19 pandemic showed employers that their team members can work remotely without reducing productivity.
Meanwhile, these employees found that their jobs were less stressful when they weren’t stuck in a long morning commute or working in close quarters with their peers.
Consider allowing your team members to work from home at least part of the week or opening up your job listings to permanent remote workers. You may find that productivity increases as team members focus on work outside of the office.
If you want to help your team members reduce stress and succeed in their high-pressure jobs then you need to start with your company culture. Create a workplace that prioritizes team support and mental health and then the rest will follow.
