| Are You STRESSED OUT? by Dale Collie Internal stressors are responsible for some of the workplace stress. Things like illness, improper nutrition, inadequate rest, bad attitudes to name a few. But most of our stress comes from external factors. The physical stressors that come from outside our bodies can be categorized in three ways. - Sensory Overload — Extremes in temperature, dampness, dryness, noise, odors, etc.
Imbalance of Relationships — Poor interpersonal communications, criticism, fractured friendships, and inadequate supervisory contact. Imbalance of Expectations — Workload, deadlines, appearance, skills, talents, and desires.
Your employees can experience high levels of stress when they find a level of difference between what they expect and what they get. Stress begins when discomfort takes over, when they cannot get their assigned work completed, and when personal relationships go awry. Some people are more stress-tolerant because of previous experiences, different attitudes and different personal goals, and differing levels of morale. But stress has a serious impact on individuals and on company profits: 40% of workers say their job is "very or extremely stressful" (Survey by Northwestern Life) 26% of workers say they are very often "burned out or stressed" by their work. (Survey by Families and Work Institute) 29% of workers say they feel "quite a bit or extremely stressed at work." (Survey by Yale University) 25% of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. (Northwestern National Life) 75% of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. (Princeton Survey Research Associates)
Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor - more so than even financial problems or family problems. (St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co.) Good managers recognize that negative stress affects productivity and take action to prevent situations that affect the bottom line. Good managers (at all levels) can control stress to make a better workplace and boost the bottom line. ©2004 Dale Collie Dale Collie - professional speaker, former US Army Ranger, CEO, and a "Fast Company" top 50 innovative leader. Author of "Winning Under Fire." (McGraw-Hill) www.couragebuilders.com F`r`e`e Courage Builders Newsletter by emailing MailTo:subscribe-956606571@ezinedirector.net To learn more about the top 10 causes of workplace stress and what you can do about them, send blank email for autoresponder: MailTo: toptenstressors@couragebuilders.com For more about this author, click Authors. |
