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8 Ways Employers Can Minimize Workplace Stress

8 Ways Employers Can Minimize Workplace Stress
by Jay Starkman

Employees are the most important asset of any company, and those individuals’ mental health at work is just as important.

Mentally healthy employees are more productive, more creative, more committed and make better team members. In contrast, mental health problems in the workforce create a negative impact on companies due to increased turnover, excessive absenteeism and decreased productivity.

The largest contributor to mental health problems in the workplace is stress. Workplace stress is a major cause of poor performance, high turnover and human error. It also can be the cause of certain physical health problems, such as heart disease, headaches, depression, on-the-job accidents, anxiety and medication abuse.

Workplace stress further is the basis for thousands of work-stress illness claims being filed in courts throughout the United States.

There are costs associated with addressing these problems, such as the cost to hire and train a replacement employee. Researchers at Harvard University Medical School found that untreated mental illness costs the United States a minimum of $105 billion in lost productivity each year. The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that serious mental illnesses cost society almost $200 billion in lost earnings per year.

The following are ways your company can support employees to minimize workplace stress:

1. Proper management training

Nothing causes stress to an employee like poor management, so providing proper training to supervisors on employee management is important. This includes effective communication skills, setting achievable goals, providing adequate training for employees with appropriate follow-up, recognizing an employee’s value to the company, and tasking employees only with the work that their position requires.

Managers should also bring focus to the positive aspects of the work and the company by giving employees pride and purpose in their work.

Read full article on The Business Journals.