As an executive leadership consultant I have seen that employee stress is serious business, and it can lead to any number of problems. Employees who are stressed tend to be less engaged in their work. Their morale is lower, which means your employee retention can suffer. Stressed employees are also less healthy, which can mean more sick days and higher insurance costs. And of course, employees who are under a lot of stress can make a lot more mistakes.
The thing is, work can be stressful for all of us — no matter our industry and no matter our position. The 9-to-5 life takes its toll. Stress is inevitable for your team members, and if it’s not managed properly it can lead to burnout.
But how can you, as a leader, keep that employee stress in check?
Know What Causes Stress
The first thing you can do is simply to step back and understand what leads to stress. Studies show that stress is caused by many factors, and they may be a little different from one employee to the next. Generally speaking, though, the factors that cause stress are workload, work-life balance, lack of job security, and relations with co-workers.
If you’re not sure why your employees are stressed, I recommend simply starting a conversation with them. Make this a conversation topic during annual reviews, and…
