Workplace stress is the leading cause of conditions like heart disease and stroke. Providing a safe environment for your team is as important as productivity. How can you make your workplace less stressful? Here is how to recognize the common causes of stress and implement strategies to make your team’s job less stressful, so they enjoy coming to work.
Create a Peaceful Office Environment
Grey walls and rows of cubes aren’t the most inspiring office environment. Take time to plan out a space that makes your employees feel good about coming to work daily. This could mean a change of color, adding calming elements and art, and comfortable furniture designs.
Encourage Regular Breaks
Burnout often starts with employees feeling unable to take time off. This means both breaks and lunches daily and vacation and personal time. Ensure your team doesn’t feel like they’ll face retribution if they’re out of the office.
Allow for Private Workspaces
Open workspaces have been a trend for a while. The idea was to promote collaboration, but it often made the office uncomfortable. At its worst, it was less inclusive to workers needing different accommodations in the workplace. If someone works better in a private workspace, accommodate that requirement.
Pay Attention to Psychological Safety
Since COVID-19, we have recognized the evolving need for feelings of personal safety in the workplace. Let your employees know they are being heard and provide regular updates about health and safety when they come into work.
Improve Communications
Sometimes stress is caused by not knowing what’s going to happen next. You can mitigate that by being transparent with your team members. Improve communication so they know what’s happening in the organization.
Provide Autonomy
Micromanagement can be stressful. You hired your team for a reason, and it’s essential to trust that they can do their jobs. Give them autonomy and focus less on how they accomplish the work and more on the results.
Give Recognition
Be sure to always recognize the accomplishments of your team. It can be as simple as saying thank you regularly. You can also provide rewards and incentives that help them feel valued.
Are you looking for great additions to your team? Call CornerStone Staffing to see how we can help today.
