by Justin Standfield
When we think about the causes of stress in everyday life, it’s hard to isolate one thing as a definite trigger. There might be one big thing causing you stress, but stress can also be caused by a build-up of small pressures. This might make it harder for you to identify what’s making you feel stressed, or to explain it to other people. That said, firmly there in the top 10 contributing factors to intolerable, increased levels of stress is ‘work’ – or, at least, a cluster of several work-related issues.
In my own career, I have definitely found that a challenging job can be interesting and stimulating; I feel very lucky to love what I do for a living and at the same time I would not describe the work that I do as ‘easy’. However, some job situations that people face are incredibly demanding and stretch them way beyond what constitutes healthy challenge into something altogether different. That’s what we typically think of when we bring the phrase ‘work-related stress’ to mind.
This week is International Stress Awareness Week; as in previous years, this particular date in the calendar aims to raise the awareness of the impact that stress can have on our psychological wellbeing and mental health. We all know how it feels to be stressed, but with recent studies showing that up to 74% of us have felt so stressed that we have felt unable to cope, it’s vital that not just individuals, but also employers understand strategies to manage stress.
The types of workplace stressors that we hear being talked about again and again are:
- Poorly-managed change, leading to unnecessary fear and uncertainty
- Lack of recognition for effort put in
- Few opportunities for growth, learning and development
- A dysfunctional or ‘toxic’ culture
- No clarity about what’s expected in the role
- Low level of control over how, where or with whom people work
I believe that every single one of these has one thing in common and that is ‘leadership’. Wellbeing has always been part of our leadership development programmes at Incendo; over the years, some clients have been more interested in this aspect than others! Since the pandemic, the majority of employers have realised how important wellbeing is to the healthy functioning of their organisations and teams. In some cases where this has never been an area of focus before, I wonder if this has changed because people in positions of authority in those organisations were forced to look at the topic as an individual, perhaps for the first time?
Whatever the motivation, the last decade has seen more employers tap into the wellness offerings of companies like Incendo, as well as making staff support packages available through apps, websites and structured employee assistance programmes. Many businesses have implemented wellbeing days and other schemes that make a genuine difference to employees’ sense of wellness and mental (and physical) health. This is a positive shift for both employers and employees, and in many cases for the users of the services/products that companies provide.
Nowadays, we know that the negative impact of stress can be prevented – or at least counteracted – in large part due to the positive actions of individual managers. This doesn’t remove the responsibility of organisations as a whole, of course, yet it does offer an immediate source of support with the effects of stress. I’ve been encouraged by so many anecdotal stories of people who have been treated with compassion and understanding by their manager during the pandemic, which has often been more appreciated than some of the formal business processes that COVID-19 has necessitated.
If you’re a team leader, supervisor or manager and you’re wondering what everyday difference you can make to your team to support them during times of stress, here are my top tips. The good news is that none of these things require you to spend any of your department budget or seek authorisation from anyone in advance.
Schedule ‘zero work’ time – Let your team know that you expect them to schedule in some clear ‘zero work’ time into their calendar; this is especially important if your team members are still working from home, as the boundary between work and personal has become very blurred during the pandemic. Consider how you will make this workable if you manager an international team in different time zones.
Be a role model – Linked to the first tip in my list, make sure that you role model good wellbeing practices within your team. For example, set your own ‘zero work’ time in your diary, make this visible to your team and do whatever you can to stick to it – thereby giving permission for others to follow suit and take the commitment for themselves seriously.
Start the day with a plan – Encourage everyone to take 10 minutes at the start of each working day to plan and prioritise a realistic set of targets for the day ahead. As before, make this a team approach that everyone can stick to and respect that 10 minute period wherever possible, so that people don’t hijack each other’s planning time because they know they won’t be on a call or stuck into a meaty piece of work yet! As before, make this possible for staff who work in different time zones also.
Accept less than perfect – Dial down your ‘pace-setting’ leadership style, if you would normally rely on it quite readily to get the job done. The pace-setting style is present when we set high-performance benchmarks and are obsessive about doing things better and faster, and expect the same from others (often in a tight timeframe). Perfection isn’t always needed in every situation – sometimes, the work being completed to an adequate standard is OK.
Check time off is taken – Keep an eye on how your team members are using their annual leave allowance. This isn’t about simply meeting HR targets with regard to percentage of annual leave remaining (or whatever goals your organisation sets); it absolutely is about ensuring that you enable your people to use their time off work to the full. Put processes and agreements in place with the team that mean people don’t have to check work email, the team WhatsApp group, the Slack channel or whatever during their precious time off. As before, role model the expectation yourself too.
Become a coaching manager – Adopt a coaching mindset, use good open questions and generous listening during 1:1 conversations – both ad hoc informal chats and more structured, planned 1:1 meetings – to help your team members to focus on pride in their work and build self-confidence in their ability. People often tell me about the resilience they draw from having regular, trusting communication with their immediate line manager.
Promote your EAP – If your organisation has an employee assistance programme (EAP), remind your team about the benefits that it offers and where possible, share an example of how you’ve used it yourself. Signpost to people how to find out more about what’s included and how to access the services – do this during team meetings and at 1:1 sessions.
Introduce mindfulness training – Give your team the opportunity to learn how to practise mindfulness for better wellness levels – not just during periods of stress but for everyday life, on good days and bad. Once you have implemented some of the previous tips on my list, offering some optional mindfulness training can help to build on the practical leadership changes you’ve made and let people bring a new quality of awareness into their whole life, serving them well at home as well as at work. Mindfulness is not a magic pill… you can’t paper over the cracks of an exhausting, chaotic or negative work environment by throwing a bit of mindfulness training at people! Try a 5-minute stress relieving guided meditation now.
In summary, don’t underestimate the positive difference you can make as a manager. Believe you can make a difference and the chances are, you will – especially if you’re armed with some of the ideas I’ve shared here and combine them with resources from some of the organisations doing great work in the field of stress (links below). In many examples that I’ve seen in recent years, the problem hasn’t been workplace stress as such, but unhealthy coping mechanisms and lack of leadership support.
Additional sources of support and information
Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOS) https://iosh.com/
Mental Health Foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
Stress Management Society https://www.stress.org.uk/
Combat Stress (for veterans’ mental health) https://combatstress.org.uk/
Anxiety UK https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/
Guided Meditation: Relieving Stress
This short guided mindfulness meditation offers a moment out of the everyday stressors that we all experience. It’s five minutes long and you can begin now by clicking on the image below (video will launch in a new window).
Duration: 5 minutes
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