Six Areas in Which to Improve Workplace Stress

“Workplace stress: it all comes down to six areas of work life that need to be in balance,” says Dr. Michael Leiter, recently appointed Canada Research Chair, who studies workplace stress at Acadia University. These six areas include workload, sense of community, control, reward, values and fairness.

Statistics Canada has calculated the cost of work time lost to stress at $12 billion a year. This loss is in terms of absenteeism, lost productivity, poor customer service and escalating short and long-term disability claims. The good news is that management can take preventative measures to ensure a healthy work environment.

1. Workload - The amount of work to be done in a given time. A manageable workload provides the opportunity to do what one enjoys, to pursue career objectives and to develop professionally. A crisis in workload is not a matter of simply stretching to meet a new challenge, but of going beyond human limits.
2. Community - The quality of an organization's social environment. People thrive in communities characterized by support, collaboration and positive feelings. Mismatches occur when there is no sense of positive connection with others at work.
3. Control - The opportunity to make choices and decisions, to solve problems and to contribute to the fulfillment of responsibilities. A good match occurs when there is a correspondence between control and accountability. A mismatch occurs when people lack sufficient control to fulfill the responsibilities for which they are accountable.
4. Reward and Recognition – A meaningful reward system – both financial and social – acknowledges contributions to work and provides clear indications of what the organization values. People experience a lack of recognition as devaluing their work and themselves.
5. Values - Values are what is important to the organization and to its members. When organizational and personal values are congruent, successes are shared. Mismatches occur when differences exist between an organization's values and the values of its staff, or if the organization does not practice its stated values.
6. Fairness - The extent to which the organization has consistent and equitable rules for everyone. An important element is the extent to which resources are allocated according to generally understood and consistent procedures. Fairness communicates respect for the members of an organization's community. A lack of fairness indicates confusion in an organization's values and in its relationships with people.

Source: refresher.com