According to 2021 research by the American Psychological Association (APA), 66% of workers consider their jobs to be very important or significant stressors, which is an increase of 2% over the previous year.
Stress can serve as an incentive to do work quickly and efficiently, therefore it’s not always a bad thing. But excessive stress can have a negative effect on how well employees perform at work. In fact, it’s estimated that 1 million employees miss work each day due to stress. If left uncontrolled, office stress can even impair employees’ relationships with friends, family, and leisure activities, which only serves to exacerbate the issue. A dissatisfied employee is a stressed-out employee, and an unhappy employee is an underperforming employee.
A Forbes article claims that – the workload of the typical business professional ranges from 30 to 100 tasks. Contemporary employees are distracted for up to 2.1 hours per day and disturbed seven times per hour. Also, four out of every ten employees at large corporations are affected by a significant corporate restructuring, which leaves them unclear about their futures. This could be the reason why more than 40% of adults claim to be kept up at night by stressful daytime activities.
In a high paced society such as the UAE. Stress is a common factor but at BTS we introduce a number of easy ways to keep everything calm.
Stressbusters
Promote workplace health
Your two biggest defences against work stress are exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Exercise helps workers concentrate on the task at hand by taking their minds off the stress of their jobs. By stimulating the creation of endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemicals, it also elevates emotions.
- Urge staff members to take a stroll during lunch
- Subsidize access to the gym
- Bring a yoga teacher to work once a month.
- Organize a step competition between teams for people who have fitness monitors.
- Provide wholesome snacks at work
When your staff believes you are concerned about their wellbeing, they feel appreciated. According to a Peapod.com study, 83% of respondents thought having access to fresh and healthy snack alternatives was a significant bonus, and 66% of respondents indicated that having the refrigerator and cabinets supplied on a daily basis made them extremely or very pleased. Little things like keeping cartons of yoghurt or fresh fruit in the refrigerator go a long way with staff.
Upgrade the environment.
Stress is often caused by the surroundings. Consider each feature of your office and what it contributes to (or detracts from) the team’s overall wellness. Employee engagement can be impacted by seemingly unimportant factors such as the calibre of the coffee or the height of the cubicle walls.
Add more plants, a cheerier colour palette, or new cutlery to the office to update it. Consider installing a ping pong or foosball table if you have the room so that workers can temporarily forget about their stress. Any adjustments that make employees happier will reduce their stress.
Offer Mental Health services
It’s likely that both your employees’ mental and physical health may suffer if they are dealing with severe stress. The general wellbeing of your staff and of your business will benefit from providing a safety net to deal with those issues.
41% of small- to medium-sized businesses offer their employees access to benefits, according to a study. Although providing access to a benefits package can initially seem pricey, there are several perks. Workers who have access to health insurance will work harder and be more committed to the business. According to an Aflac study, 26% of small business employees would switch employers for better benefits.
Make time for solitude.
While stress cannot entirely be avoided, it can be lessened when it does. Make sure there is a rest area available for your staff.
According to research, more than 80% of hostile and disengaged workers preferred the chance to take necessary breaks or other stress-relieving breaks like naps or massages. The craziness of the daily grind can be perfectly contained in a small room, a lounge area at the end of the corridor, or even a seat outside. Consider taking longer, more introspective trips, which can accomplish the same thing.
Consider launching “No Meeting Mondays” or a similar initiative if your company has the resources to do so. This would allow staff members to concentrate on individual tasks without being distracted by meetings or a heavy workload.
Conclusion
Although stress is a natural component of life and work, too much of it can negatively impact team morale and productivity. It is the responsibility of the business leaders, managers and HR to manage the levels.
At BTS we incorporate Fun Fridays to indulge the inner child of our employees, because creativity truly stems from a stress-free environment!
