 Globally, more than 3 out of 5 doctor visits
are for stress related problems." -Foundation
for Integrated Research in Mental Health
"Stress is linked to the five leading causes
of death – heart disease, cancer, lung ailments,
cirrhosis of the liver and suicide." -American
Psychological Association (APA), 2005
62% of Americans say work has a significant
impact on stress levels. -APA
61% of workers list heavy workloads as a
significant impact on stress levels. -APA
54% of workers are concerned about health
problems caused by stress. -APA
The Wall Street Journal reported that one
third of people surveyed considered quitting
their jobs because of stress and 14 % actually
did.
One in four workers have taken a ‘mental
health day’ off from work to cope with stress -APA
Survey, 2004 |
What's a quick way to reduce stress?
If you associate the question with
the headline above it, you may think we're advising you
to let loose with a string of angry four-letter words
not suitable for printing here. Because—let's face
it—sometimes stress induces anger, including the use of
bad words in a raised voice.
But that's not the kind of
four-letter word we have in mind. We're thinking of
something that leaders can do in public and still remain
professional. In fact, those who use this stress-reducer
will find that it works immediately and can be used
multiple times to great effect. Although it may become
habit-forming, the CEO likely will not mind. In fact,
successful CEOs use this four-letter word themselves,
every day.
What is it?
T-A-L-K.
Before you decide that the solution
is too simple to reduce stress, you need to look at the
causes. In the Profiles report,
"The Leader's Guide to Managing Workplace Stress,"
we list good management practices that help reduce
stress:
• Learning about what causes
distress in the workplace, striving to improve the
working environment, and minimizing stressors within
your control.
• Finding out whether distress could be a problem for
individuals in your work group by implementing a
systematic assessment.
• Working to eliminate or manage internal issues that
are affecting staff.
• Understanding one’s own physiological response to
stressors and working to adopt a proactive stance
Of the actions listed above, which
one does NOT involve talking?
Right. All four emphasize
communication, or its shorter but just as powerful
buddy, talking. Although some people will argue that
there is too much talking on the job already, we believe
that talking of all kinds must occur throughout the
workday for employees to understand their job and
perform it well.
But talking has to have a purpose to
be effective, so we need to use what works and eliminate
what does not. Here are some ideas to that end:
• Time it right.
Plan the best time to meet. Just as you don't
text-message while driving to work on a busy freeway,
you should not initiate an important discussion with a
team leader an hour before her deadline on an important
project; that only causes more stress. Schedule regular
times to talk to your team leaders, and be flexible
enough to reschedule if one of the parties cannot meet
at that time.
• Listen. Although that's not a
four-letter word, it's implied as part of talking to
others. If you ask a manager what's going on and allow
other people to interrupt while he is telling you, your
attention is diverted and divided. He will lose his
train of thought or think that you don't care…and he may
be correct. So program your phone not to ring, ask
someone else to answer it, turn your cell phone off, or
meet in a room without phones. Make sure others know not
to interrupt during important meetings. If the meeting
involves several people at once, set ground rules that
including not interrupting the person who has the floor.
• Ask. Another short word with power,
this involves probing to make sure you understand the
issues. This is imperative if the discussion is
complicated or involves several facets. Even addressing
simple issues, asking questions and restating any
problem also lets the talker know that you were
listening.
• Dive deep. Talking with a purpose
needs to go beyond "How are you today?" or "Did you
watch the game last night?" Those are greetings or
feel-good questions. To learn something of importance,
you must ask open-ended questions: "What is left to be
completed on your project?" or, "What steps have you
taken to ensure that your new team member is fitting in
with the rest of your group?"
• Open your door. Ensure that everyone
who works with you knows he or she can come to you with
stressful issues. Letting people know this can be as
simple as keeping your door open. Also, you can
structure regular meetings with everyone on your work
team and have an agenda for each meeting.
• Don't blab. Make sure that
confidential communications remain so unless you have an
ethical or legal reason to report them. Even then, be
circumspect. Workers must have someone they can go to in
confidence to discuss sensitive issues. Involve your
human resources department or other departments as
necessary.
Starting out with that simple
four-letter word can help leaders reduce workplace
stress to the size of a small molehill. Remember that
stress is merely a six-letter word. Only neglect allows
it to grow.
Jim Sirbasku, CEO
Profiles International
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