Alleviating work stress and related sick days

Stress is a reaction to an overwhelmed workload. Because of the economy, too few people end up trying to complete work that in reality requires more resources than they have. That leads to stress and stress leads to illness in many shapes, forms or fashions. Either the work needs to be reduced or the process for the work needs to be simplified and matrixed to help alleviate stress. A person can only give 130% for a certain period of time before their performance suffers and their health is impacted.

Stress is also instigated by lack of clarity on processes for projects. A well-defined and managed project plan that identifies milestones, tasks, resources and responsibilities can alleviate stress for many workers because they can clearly identify what needs to be done, by whom and when. Without a plan, sometimes a worker can feel like they are trying to 'sort confetti in a windstorm’.

In addition to a well-defined and managed project plan, quality control plans are helpful. Using a quality control plan like the Japanese Poke Yoke plan identifies where problems could occur and plans for ways to avoid or manage those problems before they happen. A sudden, unknown problem can spike incredible stress, incur health issues and cause project problems that impact the business results due to the loss of work time.

In a nutshell, all the issues that cause stress can be greatly reduced by effective leadership in people management, project management and quality control. Remember though that it is not micromanagement that is needed; it is effective collaborative leadership that helps workers and reduces stress. Leadership is a different creature than management. Leadership is influential, encouraging and supportive. It is organizational but not dictatorial. It can be transformational, democratic and is definitely influential. A good leader can help create healthier workers by reducing stress. If workers have a good leader, their sense of motivation, belonging and ownership of the work is increased and it becomes less ‘work’ and more ‘teamwork’ that offers a certain self-gratification and definitely can be less stressful and more intrinsically rewarding.

- Patti Mynatt (I sent this to Executive Briefing through skillsoft.com.)