by Justin Standfield
Stress is an inevitable part of our professional and personal lives. It’s how we respond to stress that can make all the difference in our wellbeing. This week at Incendo, I’ve been delivering a Stress Management for Teams course and one useful analogy for understanding stress that I shared with participants was the concept of the Stress Bucket. Managers can easily introduce this concept to their teams to help them manage stress more effectively.
The Stress Bucket explained
If you’re not familiar with the idea of the Stress Bucket, here it is: imagine everyone has a bucket that represents their capacity to cope with stress. Stressors, when experienced, are like water being poured into our stress bucket.
Here are a few common stressors employees might face:
- Tight deadlines
- High workload
- Workplace conflicts
- Personal life challenges
When the water level is low, it indicates that we’re managing our stress well. However, as stressors pile up, the water level rises and when the bucket overflows we may develop stress-related problems such as anxiety, depression or burnout. The key to managing stress is not just to prevent the bucket from overflowing but to find ways to reduce the water level.
How the Stress Bucket drains
Consider the bucket as having a tap or a release valve (or holes). These taps represent stress reduction techniques that help to decrease the level of stress. By learning and applying stress management techniques, we can effectively open these stress-draining taps.
Some of the taps might include:
- Regular physical exercise
- Practising mindfulness or meditation
- Ensuring adequate sleep
- Nutrition and hydration
- Social support
Stress management tips for managers to share
Managers on my course this week agreed with me that they’re in a unique position to influence their teams’ stress levels. Although there may be organisational issues or company culture obstacles to navigate or reduce – which could be way outside the sphere of influence of these managers – there were some comprehensive tips that I shared during the training. I’ve described them below and I‘d encourage your team to see which of these you could implement.
Open Communication
Role model and encourage open, honest communication. Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable discussing pressures with time management, workload or stakeholder relationship difficulties that might impact their performance.
Work-Life Balance
Promote a healthy work-life balance. Support flexible working hours when possible, discourage the culture of working late (especially ‘presenteesim’) as the norm, and respect personal time and boundaries.
Resources and Training
Provide resources and training focused on stress management and wellbeing. This can include workshops, wellness programmes or access to counselling services (although this would usually be part of a wider Employee Assistance Programme).
Physical Health
Encourage regular physical activity and organise group fitness sessions if possible. Create initiatives for an active office environment, like standing desks and lunchtime walks. Some organisations offer things like discounted gym membership, exercise clubs and bike schemes, too. That said, it’s crucial to be aware of any disability a team member may have, especially one that’s ‘invisible’.
Mental Health Breaks
Advocate taking short and regular breaks throughout the day for mental recharge and offer access to mindfulness resources or relaxation areas where feasible.
Encourage Using Annual Leave
Ensure employees understand the importance of detaching from work during their holiday time. As leaders, we need to role model this ourselves (especially with regard to not checking work emails, Teams or Slack messages, or team WhatsApp groups when on annual leave)!
Team Development & Team Building
Organise team development activities – not just to forge bonds between team members and improve effectiveness – but for the relaxation and fun they can afford away from work pressures.
By understanding the stress bucket model, both managers and employees can more effectively identify their stressors and work proactively to manage their stress levels. Sharing these comprehensive tips, managers can champion a work environment that‘s more supportive, less stressful, and aims not just for productivity, but also the wellbeing of their teams.
None of the above tips should be used to provide staff members with a temporary feel-good salve to survive in a company culture that’s dysfunctional, or to force people to work around toxic behaviours or working practices. These are deeper issues that need tackling with a top-down approach over a longer period of time.
Comments are closed.