A highly stressed employee usually equates to someone who does not have the ability to focus on their productivity in the workplace. When they’re overly worried about things, it impedes their ability to concentrate on the task at hand.
Sure, a little bit of stress can keep employees on their toes and ward off complacency. But time and time again, we have found that while much management-driven stress is unintentional — and many managers are unaware of the consequences of their actions — that doesn’t change the reality that too many helpings of stress
seldom get management where it wants to go.
There have been numerous documented findings of the negative consequences of workplace stress on both the health and productivity of employees. A recent StressPulse survey notes that 64 percent of employees report high stress levels, with 29 percent missing three to six days a year due to stress, and 16 percent missing more than six days per year. Not only is this stress-related absenteeism, but also an employee state of “presenteeism” — meaning an employee is on the job, but distracted and not functioning well.
As greater demands for additional productivity are placed on our management team, the stress associated with it gradually affects their management civility by taking their frustrations out on the employee. The result of this almost always ends the same way — a capable employee voicing their dissatisfaction by leaving
the organization for what is perceived to be a less stressful situation, with an employer forced to rehire, retrain and work short-handed in the interim.
As managers, we tend to increase stress levels because we’re concerned we’re not getting the productivity we want. The irony is that, in so doing, we often unwittingly further diminish the productivity we hope to increase. Make sure you use the power of “Managing by Walking Around” by engaging with your employees to gauge their stress levels. Many employees manage stress through interaction and conversation, so all managers need to ensure they are approachable and available to employees in times of high stress.
