Stress  Management


Stress Management Home Page | Faith411.com Home Page

Vital information and articles related to Stress Management.


10 Ways to Benchmark Workplace Stress


With almost 50% of workers complaining that their jobs are very stressful, it is no surprise that more than two-thirds of all medical problems are stress related.

Each day, workplace stress is credited with more than a million absences and at least 40% of all personnel turnover. Studies show stress is a primary cause of accidents, quality control problems, medical claims, and lost productivity.

Some people debate the exact percentage of stress related costs in each catagory, but few can object to the raw data or the results you see as you take action to control stress and improve productivity throughout your company.

Here are some practical ways to benchmark current stress levels and monitor future conditions.

1. Absenteeism - Require strict reporting of absences for any reason. It isn't unusual for people to shade the truth to get a day off. Some research indicates that 54% of illnesses phoned in are actually for reasons other than medical. Compare your numbers with the same period last year. Chart how absences coincide with business cycles.

2. Presenteeism - Keep track of those who show up sick and risk spreading their illness. Maybe they've used up their "sick days" because of stress and can't afford to stay home when they really should. If people miss work when they are well or if they feel too stressed to miss work when they are sick, stress control strategies are essential.

3. Tardiness - Develop daily reports and weekly summaries. Are some departments worse than others? Are people arriving late because they dread workplace stress?

4. Medical claims - Seek generic information from your health insurance company on the number and expense of medical claims. Categorize information by type of ailment and observe how the frequency of visits compares to major corporate activities or stressful times of year. You might find that stressful periods coincide with or precede increased medical claims.

5. Complaints and grievances - Keep records by department. Those with a greater numbers of complaints are probably ready for some stress- control strategies. Each grievance can cost you untold hours or more productivity.

6. Accident reports - Analyze reports from the perspective of stress involvement. Research how stress might have been the root cause of accidents. It has been said stress related accidents cost nearly twice as much as other mishaps.

7. Errors in judgment or misstatements - Develop a log of individual errors in judgment and misstatements - clear stress indicators. If employees are prone to making misstatements, they are prone to errors in judgment. Monitor decision-making ability and evaluate the cost of these mistakes.

8. Personal relationships - Note changes in the way people relate to each other and the actions that cause some people to become more argumentative. You can use this information to control stress for the entire organization or for individuals who are more sensitive to stressful situations.

9. Customer service problems - Review problems from a stress perspective. Reducing stress can lower the number of errors in order taking, preparation, shipping, and invoicing and improve customer relations.

10. Quality problems - Include a description of stress-related activities occurring before and during the period of concern in your quality reports. Watch for trends among certain employees or departments. Look for causes of stress and what can be done to control the stress reactions.

Corporate leaders and managers sometimes erronously manage stressed people by using increased demands and closer supervision. Instead, you should use stress-reducing techniques to manage the stressors. Benchmarking will help you prioritize and allocate assets to stress control.

Good managers understand the importance of positive stress in maximizing accuracy and productivity. And they know how to control the negative stress for the benefit of those involved and the bottom line.

Outside consultants and trainers can help you evaluate current stress levels and train everyone involved. Remember, stress control is a leadership responsibility.

Get my article about the top ten workplace stressors by sending blank email to auto-responder 10stressors@couragebuilders.com

Dale Collie - professional speaker, formerUS Army Ranger, CEO, and a Fast Company top50 innovative leader. Author of "WinningUnder Fire." (McGraw-Hill) collie@couragebuilders.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Stress management 101
BCLocalNews, Canada - Jun 21, 2008
Stress management is a subject I taught for decades, so many people may think I would receive an A for how I manage mine. Not so. ...


Iowa Lt. Governor Judge Updates Flood Information, Encourages ...
All American Patriots (press release), Sweden - Jun 17, 2008
By admin - Posted on June 17th, 2008 June 16, 2008 -- (JOHNSTON) – At a press conference today held at the Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa Lt. Governor ...


Change the style of administration
New Vision, Uganda - 8 hours ago
Policy makers should look into introducing stress management into teachers’ training curriculum. Apart from taking school security seriously, ...


Updates to Stress Relief Tips On Instant Stress Management .com
The Open Press (press release) - Jun 8, 2008
InstantStressManagement.com , says that the new articles complete the basic system of instant stress management. He claims that becoming a regular ...


Times Online

Dead good: how killer Dexter is the nicest guy around
Times Online, UK - 9 hours ago
“I have always been impressed with Dexter’s capacity for stress management,” Hall says, “and that capacity is really taken to new levels in the second ...


Identifying key stress management competencies
Online Recruitment, UK - Jun 6, 2008
This research points to the need for managers to embed stress management into everyday people management activities and into their organisation's culture. ...


4-H program coming to Meigs, Gallia Counties
Daily Sentinel, OH - 5 hours ago
During the institute, teams of youth and adults participated in workshops including decision-making, identifying risks, stress management and youth-adult ...


Yoga in schools to ease stress
Howrah News Service, India - 12 hours ago
Our aim is to soothe the child’s nerves and help in stress management. We are staring yoga and laughter sessions form next week and we will monitor the ...


Krishna sermons to battle stress
Calcutta Telegraph, India - Jul 2, 2008
Iskcon is enlisting its ex-IIT devotees to conduct stress management sessions at its Rathyatra fair on the Park Circus Maidan this year. ...


Source: Betriebswirtschaftliches Institut und Seminar Basel AG
Business Wire India (press release), India - 15 hours ago
... Institut Basel are, according to Thoma, geared to help students with the challenges in dealing with time, stress management, and motivation. ...

Stress-Management - Google News



Stress Management Articles Home Page | Stress Management Articles Site Map | News | Faith411.com Home Page
EZmatic.com | IgoJo | UpBee | Blue Ryder | Health | ZippyGo | Ken J Wagner

Faith411.com - all Vital information and articles related to Stress Management.

© 2006