Six Ways to Alleviate Work-Related Stress

Work-related stress is a primary cause of why people’s health degrade over time. Prolonged exposure to stressors in an office environment can lead to heart complications, mood disorders, and other illnesses. As a manager or business owner, it falls in your realm of responsibilities to maintain a workplace that promotes minimal to no stress. Not only does this benefit your employees but your business as well. A low-stress work environment can benefit the business through cost savings in company health insurance, lower employee turnover rate, higher productivity and quality of output, and so on. Read on further as we discuss six simple yet powerful ways to reduce work-related stress:

Identify the Stressors 

Before you can start to make changes in your workplace, you’ll need to first know what stressors exist. Is it the traffic noise coming from the outside? Perhaps not enough space for each employee which creates desk border disputes? Maybe it’s the stringent and unnecessary regulations that your company imposes? Regardless, identify and keep track of your stressors and then come up with solutions for each.

More Sunlight 

Studies have shown that exposure to artificial light can increase the risk of gastrointestinal, mood, and cardiovascular disorders. Natural light, on the other hand, has been proven to improve mood and temperament as well as help regulate certain disorders, such as seasonal affective disorder. If that’s not enough reason to switch to or add natural light to your office, studies show that natural light also reduces energy costs by more than 50 percent.

Offer Remote Work Option 

The ability to work from home at least once per week is another great way to help employees alleviate stress. For most employees, the daily commute to their workplace is already stressful enough – you either have to brave the highway traffic or stuff yourself inside a cramped bus or train cart. By letting them stay at their homes, they skip these nuisances and are afforded some much needed time with loved ones and they get to recollect their thoughts in their own private space.

Encourage People to Relax 

Employees tend to tense up whenever there’s authority figures roaming around the workplace. If you soften up on the corporate energy within the office, you can encourage employees to relax. Encourage them to take regular breaks to walk, stretch, eat a snack, or go to the bathroom. By taking regular breaks, you and your employees can mentally reset and come back refreshed to take on the task at hand. That being said, make sure to establish boundaries as you don’t want people to be slacking off at their desks.

Introduce Tech Into the Workplace 

Technology is evolving at a rampant scale, and many of them are targeting the commercial space. Take advantage of this fact by revamping your business with the latest technology including cloud-based databases and servers, social media marketing campaigns and influencers, and DMS. You might ask, what is a DMS? In a nutshell, a document management system automates the way that you organize, secure, digitize, tag, and accomplish tasks with your business data. Technology streamlines many of the mundane tasks that cause employees unnecessary headaches every day. Work becomes more fluid and you get to enjoy higher productivity and output.

Host Company Events 

Give your employees a chance to know their coworkers outside the workplace. You want them to build strong, positive relationships with each other so it becomes fun and easy for them to work with each other on a daily basis. Host family picnics, karaoke nights, or board game nights.

Final Thoughts 

Work-related stress is a serious yet often overlooked problem by business owners and managers. They seem to think that people will continue to optimally function regardless of what poor working conditions they are put in. As a smart business owner or entrepreneur, you can use this to your advantage by creating a happier and low-stress environment for your employees.

by: Dennis Hung

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