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David
Lee
Consultant
Speaker
Author |
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For
More Information:
David Lee, Principal
HumanNature@Work
P.O. Box 430
Bar Mills, Maine 04004
Tel: 207-929-3344
E-mail: info@HumanNatureAtWork.com |
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AR
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How
to Maximize Employee Performance
While Minimizing
Employee Stress |
| By
David Lee |
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| Excerpted
from Stress and Safety by David Lee, published
by MEMIC |
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Many managers and business owners
mistakenly fear that reducing employee stress
requires reducing productivity or creating
a "country club" atmosphere, which
in today's marketplace could be fatal. Nothing
could be further from the truth; in fact, the
opposite is true.
When organizations manage in ways that bring
out the best in people, they also reduce employee
stress. That's why most of Fortune magazine's "100
Best Companies to Work For" are industry
leaders and enjoy high employee productivity.
Employees in these companies are both happy
and extremely productive.
The key to maximizing productivity while minimizing
stress is understanding the factors that influence
whether someone working very hard will feel
stressed out and burnt out, or whether they
will feel motivated, excited, and committed.
Scientific research on stress, combined with
best practices of high performance companies
offers clear clues about the key factors that
determine whether employees will be stressed
out or energized by workplace demands.
To Maximize Employee Productivity And Performance,
Organizations Can:
Give Employees
As Much Control Over Their Jobs As Possible - Research shows that control
is the biggest factor in whether people feel
stressed out or invigorated when facing a
challenge. The more control people have over
their work, the greater their job satisfaction,
the higher their work quality, and the lower
their stress level. Giving employees control
includes giving them the power to make job-related
decisions, the flexibility to organize their
work in the way they find optimal, and the
authority to find make improvements on how
their job is done. Making this work requires
providing employees with the training, coaching,
and information they need to make intelligent
decisions.
Communicate Clearly
and Often About Everything Important - One of the greatest sources of
employee stress is not knowing - not knowing
about changes taking place in the company,
not knowing their supervisor's job and performance
expectations, and not knowing if they are
doing a good job. Communicating clearly in
these areas not only reduces employee stress,
it also helps them do a far better job.
Talk With Your
Employees About What Makes Your Company Great,
How You Bring Value To
Your Customers, and How Your Employees Make
That Possible - People want to feel
part of something great, and they want to
feel that
they are making a significant contribution
to that greatness. When they feel this way,
they not only become energized by challenges,
they're also more able to endure difficulties
without becoming burnt out. You can put this
principle into action by making sure you
always deliver a high quality product or
service, by talking with employees about
the value your company provides to your customers,
and explaining how them doing high quality
work makes it all possible.
Make Sure Supervisors
Know How to Bring Out the Best in People -
Supervisors play a huge role in employee
morale, performance, and
stress level. Supervisors who know how to
provide guidance, support, and encouragement
minimize employee stress. Supervisors with
poor management skills or with personal problems,
not only can't help employees deal with stressful
times, they themselves are a tremendous source
of stress. The time and financial resources
you invest in selecting and training managers
will pay huge dividends in reducing employee
stress, increasing productivity, and minimizing
turnover.
Encourage Employees
to Talk Freely and Support One Another -
An "all work and no play" environment
burns out people quickly. Having a workplace
where co-workers can talk without worrying
about getting into trouble, is especially
important in high pressure jobs. Encouraging
connections among co-workers also reduces
stress ,because having social support reduces
the negative effects of stressful situations.
According to a large body of scientific research,
having supportive friends and family members
is one of the most important factors influencing
a person's ability to handle stress and major
life crises without becoming physically or
emotionally compromised.
Help Employees
Design Their Jobs To Be As Rewarding As Possible - Although not all
jobs are equally rewarding and fulfilling,
much can be done to make even the least desirable
ones more enjoyable. The more opportunity
employees have to make decisions, use their
mind, and take responsibility, the more fulfilled
they will be. To make this work, employees
need to be involved in the job enrichment
process. If changes are made without their
input, this will most likely backfire. If
employees have worked for years in an environment
where they were told what to do, it might
take time for them to learn how to take a
more responsible and active approach to their
jobs.
Improve Your Hiring
and Orientation Process - Because the first few months on the job
are often the most stressful, new employees
are often the most vulnerable to accidents
and injuries. For companies that have a "sink
or swim" approach to new employees,
these first few months are also a time of
high turnover. The more effective your hiring,
new hire orientation, and training is, the
more likely new employees will be well-suited,
and prepared, for their jobs.
Make Sure Employees
Have the Resources and Training to Do Their
Jobs Well - When people
feel inadequate, when they feel ill-equipped
to handle a challenge, they get stressed
out. If employees don't have the tools, technology,
time, staff, or training to do their job's
well, they are going to be stressed out,
and won't be able to work at their true potential.
Investing in these areas pays huge dividends
both in terms of reduced stress-related costs,
and in increased productivity. |
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About the Author: David Lee is an internationally recognized authority on organizational and managerial practices that optimize employee performance. He is the author of Managing Employee Stress and Safety, as well as dozens of articles on employee and organizational performance that have been published in trade journals and books in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. For information on his programs and service, click here.
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