Stress reportedly costs American businesses more than $300 billion a year in terms of poor performance, absenteeism, and healthcare costs. Yesterday we saw how the erratic economy has sent employee stress levels soaring. Today we’ll look at ways you can help your workers manage their stress.
The potential sources of stress are many and varied. According to the Stress Management course in BLR’s new Employee Training Center, some of the most common include:
- Personal problems, such as concern about finances, the illness of a family member or friend, struggles with children, or relationship problems with a spouse or other family members
- Lifestyle changes, such as getting married, having a baby, starting a new job, the death of a loved one, or even moving to a new home or neighborhood
- Job problems, such as new assignments, a new boss, added responsibilities, performance appraisals, relationships with co-workers, or even a promotion can add stress to your work life
- Everyday hassles, such as commuting to work, screaming children, crowded stores, cooking, cleaning, and getting the kids to their activities
Try a demo of BLR’s remarkable new Employee Training Centerat no cost or obligation.
Methods for reducing, eliminating, or managing stress can generally be grouped into four major categories:
1) Lifestyle Management
Exercising or even basic stretching or yoga will give you the endurance and energy you need to get through stressful events. Proper diet also contributes to successful stress management. And adequate sleep is essential for reducing stress. Rest gives your body and mind a chance to recover from stress and prepares you to meet the new day’s challenges.
2) Avoiding Stress
Although you might not be able to eliminate all stress from your life, you can probably do something about some of the minor annoyances. For example, maybe taking an alternate route to work or leaving a few minutes earlier could mean you miss the traffic. Also, try to pace major lifestyle changes so that one storm dies down before taking on another stressful project. And you must understand your limits. Accept that some things are—and may always be—out of your control.
3) Stress Therapy
Try to maintain a sense of humor about stressful situations. Also, try to make some time each day for relaxation. That could just mean some quiet time doing something you enjoy. Talking over the things that stress you with someone you trust and respect can also be a big relief. And, though it may sound a little silly, pleasant thoughts can also help relieve stress. Take a few moments to remember a pleasant experience such as a vacation, or think about your favorite place or person.
4) Organization
Organization will help give you a better sense of control, and that can diminish the impact of stress on your life. Set priorities. Not everything is equally important. Develop a basic routine for your life. That way, waking up each day won’t be so stressful because you already have a framework for what you’ll be doing. Develop the habit of using a calendar or personal organizer to write down everything you have to do each day. Finally, remember to be flexible. The best laid plans will often need to be changed due to any number of reasons.
This is just a small sampling of the kind of advice and training you’ll find in the Employee Training Center’s Stress Management course. The 28-slideaudio presentation also includes detailed speaker’s notes and a quiz to make sure your workers get the message.
And the Stress Management is just one of more than 45 safety training courses available in the Employee Training Center. These are all motivational, actionable programs—for both supervisors and employees—in such key areas as hazard communication, back safety, general workplace safety, bloodborne pathogens, OSHA requirements, and many more. And, what’s more, we add new programs continually.
Unlimited training—one low cost. Demo the new Employee Training Center. There’s no cost or obligation.
Just as important, the Employee Training Center automatically documents training. As trainees sign on, their identifications are automatically registered. And when the program is completed, the trainee’s score is entered. So, when you want to see who has or hasn’t yet trained on any subject, or look at the across-the-board activity of any one employee, it’s all there, instantly available to you, your boss, an inspector—even a plaintiff’s attorney.
The Employee Training Center also includes a similar selection of HR courses—you decide whether you want just the safety courses or both the safety and HR modules.
And from the standpoint of your accounting office (an important standpoint in these tight times), you always know exactly what training will cost, no matter how many programs you use or how many times you use them. There’s just one low annual fee for unlimited training, calculated by the size of your workforce. Budget once and you’re done!
We urge you to sign up for a no-obligation demo by visiting the new Employee Training Center. Or, feel free to call our customer service people toll-free at 866-696-4827.