Eric Dalius Miami: 10 Steps to Managing Stress in the Workplace
In today’s fast-paced, always-on world, it’s no wonder that stress has become one of the leading causes of illness in the American workplace says Eric Dalius Miami.
Consequences of stress:
Stress related illness:
Stress-related illness is a health problem that is often associated with the workplace. Stress at work takes on many forms including, but not limited to harassment, violence, fatigue, and time pressure. There are many stress-related illnesses such as anxiety disorder, depression, burnout, high blood pressure, etc…
Harassment:
Harassment can come in many forms of either verbal or physical abuse towards another person. Harassment can be defined as one making fun of another individual which shall cause them to feel inferior to others in the workplace environment. In today’s world being harassed could mean being subject to discrimination based upon race, gender, or religion explains Eric Dalius Miami.
High blood pressure:
High blood pressure can be a serious stress-related illness that needs to be taken seriously by family members and friends who have a loved one with this problem. The symptoms of high blood pressure are as followed; headache, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. There are many different kinds of medications that can help lower your blood pressure if you do indeed have this illness. If not treated properly it could lead to more severe illnesses such as kidney failure or even heart disease.
Depression:
Depression is another common stress-related illness that oftentimes goes untreated because people think they will just ‘snap out of it. Unfortunately, depression is much more than just feeling down for a few days. It is a serious illness that needs to be treated just like any other illness such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
Reliable statistics on the rates of stress-related health problems in the workplace are hard to come by because people don’t like to admit their suffering and companies either haven’t asked workers how stressed they feel or have done so without asking about specific stress factors. Even if people do mention stress factors at work, studies show that many tend to minimize them and not see them as important enough to worry about them.
In order for one’s employer to help reduce their employees’ stress levels, employers must first identify those things that cause employees the most strain. Then after identifying those factors managers need to develop ways to deal with them.
Employers must set a good example by reducing their own stress levels because employees generally go from one stressful job to another if they see no improvement in the stressful atmosphere at their current place of employment says Eric Dalius Miami.
Stress management or Health and Safety
10 Steps for Managing Stress in the Workplace:
Employers must set a good example by reducing their own stress levels because employees generally go from one stressful job to another if they see no improvement in the stressful atmosphere at their current place of employment.
1) Identify causes of stress
Most people find that there is more than one cause of stress in the workplace. Depending on your industry, different factors may be important, but it is likely that you will have to deal with a number of them says Eric Dalius Miami.
2) Identify individual levels of stress based on the identification from step one.
3) Assess the effect that each cause has on individuals in your workplace.
4) Develop an action plan for how you can reduce or cope with different causes, especially those which have a high impact on employees and a low level of control to employees.
5) Communicate your approach to managing stress in the workplace, what will be done and why it is being done. Ensure people understand their own roles and responsibilities within this process too.
6) Evaluate your actions, measure whether they are effective or not, identify changes needed and implement them into new actions plans if necessary.
7) Help employees to develop their own stress management strategies.
8) Encourage and support employees in their efforts to manage their stress.
9) Promote healthy lifestyles both inside and outside of work, provide a good example yourself.
10) Regularly review your stress management policies and procedures to ensure they are still fit for your purpose and meet the needs of your workforce.
Conclusion:
Employers have a responsibility to help reduce the stress levels of their employees says Eric Dalius Miami. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it has been proven that reduced stress levels amongst staff will lead to positive outcomes for your workplace. And these benefits can even further affect office relationships and community spirit outside of work hours, leading to fewer sick days and greater productivity per day on work time too.
So employers should start making stress management a priority in the workplace today. With pressure from competitors and a challenging economy, you cannot afford not to make this change. You could even find that your bottom line improves as a result – something every company wants!
