[The four stress reduction tips in Part 1 of this article may be found in yesterday’s Advisor. ]Here are some additional things you can do to develop a stress-free company culture.
Have Walking Meetings and Boost Physical Activity
Physical exercise is known to increase overall rates of happiness and life satisfaction. So, one way to get your employees to de-stress is to get them moving. Conduct one-on-one meetings while you’re walking around your business complex or the park across the street. Or, have stand-up weekly briefing meetings where no one is sitting. Allow employees to work at stand-up desks throughout the day, as well, so they don’t have to sit all day in a chair without moving. You can even offer office yoga classes or encourage a workout buddy system, where employees go to your company gym to work out together a couple times a week.
Encourage Breaks and Time Off, and Manage Workloads Better
Offering paid time off and encouraging people to take their time off are two separate things. Encourage members of management and employees to take their time off so that they’re permitted to get the rest they need when they need it. When employees see their superiors taking time off, they’re more likely to do so themselves, so getting them to take breaks and time off is even more important.
Also, design ways to regulate and reduce individuals’ workloads when they’re too heavy, to further reduce stress when they need help. You can even multitask by designing cross-training opportunities that help employees better manage their workloads. Cross-trained employees can share workloads when someone needs to take some time off or when they need to help a team member who has a lot to do and is struggling to meet deadlines and objectives.
Offer Customized Learning and Development Opportunities
If you really want to keep employees’ stress levels low, offer them customized learning and development opportunities. Give them something to work on or toward that they really care about, something they’ve said themselves that they care about. Employees are happier when they’re directly invested in their own learning and development, and when they’re engaged. So, ask them what they want to achieve in the next year or what skills they want to learn, and help them achieve those goals and develop those skills.
Embrace a Transparency Policy with Positive and Clear Communication
Employees are happiest when open-door policies are in place—when they can go to management with their concerns and ideas, and when management is transparent and sets clear expectations for them. If you really want to make sure your employees aren’t stressed out, don’t keep them in the dark about what your company or department is working on and how they fit into those initiatives. Additionally, always remain positive when you need to offer feedback and insight to reduce stress, and remember to always share company “wins” (e.g., industry-sponsored awards won, positive customer recognition received) with everyone.
Use the ideas listed above as a starting point for developing your own stress-free company culture.