Having problems with your employees saying that they are stressed out?

Unfortunately this is much too common these days with employers looking to do more with less people in order to save money.  The impact on our people is great.  So what is it that you can do as a manager to positively impact your team?

Here are some thoughts:

Encourage time off

Everyone needs and deserves time away from work.  There are many studies that point to increased productivity to those that truly get away.  They come back refreshed, re-energized and more focused.  Whether this is time during the work day to take a break outside of the office, or whether this is time off.  Ensure your people take this very valuable time.

Maintain a positive attitude.

Smile.  Your employees will see this and appreciate it.  A smile and positive attitude is contagious!  And…it doesn’t cost anything!

Listen to your people

What are they saying?  Are there things you can do to improve the work environment?  Are you responding?

Celebrate!

Celebrate team accomplishments!  Whether it is a cake, a fruit tray, a pat on the back, gift certificates etc., ensure to notice and celebrate these milestones.  It will allow employees to look back on their hard work and know it was all worth it.

Have fun!

What can you do to encourage some fun and some laughter?  Team building, a bulletin board with comics and funny stories, a fun column added to the employee newsletter…think outside of the box.

Flex time – do you offer it?

Look at establishing core hours and creating some flex time in and around these times as long as the hours of work are put in in a day.

Stress management workshops

Consider offering a workshop to your employees to provide them with some additional tools to assist with coping mechanisms.

Have you looked at the workload?  Is it too much?  Can it be spread out?  Can you hire more people?  Is there anything that can be done to minimize a consistently very heavy workload?

Burnout is very common and employers lose many employees due to prolonged exposure to stress in the workplace.  Keep “in tune” with your people, talk about stress, discuss solutions and act on them.  When employees see action, and understand that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it will help carry them through these periods.

References from Employers in Canada – What is your policy?

It happens all the time; a former employee calls the employer for a reference.  Do you provide one?  What do you say?  What if the employee was not a particularly stellar employee?  Could it backfire on you?  Do you have a work policy on who in the company can provide references?

Ahhh  another area of caution…references.  Let’s try to attack this very succinctly.  If you provide references to past employees, be cautious.  Ensure you have a policy around reference providing so both the current employees, management and your departed employees are aware of whom they go to.

I would strongly advise you have one designated individual or department that completes references.  Usually I recommend that this department is HR.

Legal action CAN be taken against the company if negative statements are made about a past employee and they cause some kind of economic harm or if there is deemed to be a defamation of character.

So what DO you say?  Though not all provinces have privacy laws around personal information this is growing and former employees expect you to protect their personal information.   Disclose minimal information – hire date, termination or departure date, job title, duties.  Feel free to pass along your policy to the reference checker – that only the above information is shared for all references.

Looking for additional protection?  Upon the departure of an employee – have them sign a reference disclosure form – listing the above information and that the employee consents to this information being passed on as part of a reference check.

Key words for this article:  “Proceed with caution”!

It happens all the time; a former employee calls the employer for a reference.  Do you provide one?  What do you say?  What if the employee was not a particularly stellar employee?  Could it backfire on you?  Do you have a work policy on who in the company can provide references?

Ahhh  another area of caution…references.  Let’s try to attack this very succinctly.  If you provide references to past employees, be cautious.  Ensure you have a policy around reference providing so both the current employees and management and your departed employees are aware of whom they go to.

I would strongly advise you have one designated individual or department that completes references.  Usually I recommend that this department is HR.

Legal action CAN be taken against the company if negative statements are made about a past employee and they cause some kind of economic harm or if there is deemed to be a defamation of character.

So what DO you say?  Though not all provinces have privacy laws around personal information this is growing and former employees expect you to protect their personal information.   Disclose minimal information – hire date, termination or departure date, job title, duties.  Feel free to pass along your policy to the reference checker – that only the above information is shared for all references.

Looking for additional protection?  Upon the departure of an employee – have them sign a reference disclosure form – listing the above information and that the employee consents to this information being passed on as part of a reference check.

Key words for this article:  “Proceed with caution”

If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter – you are missing out!  Each month we deliver two quick HR related articles – one geared toward management and the other toward job seekers or employees.  Here is a sample of this month’s article geared to managers:

Having problems with your employees saying that they are stressed out?

Unfortunately this is much too common these days with employers looking to do more with less people in order to save money.  The impact on our people is great.  So what is it that you can do as a manager to positively impact your team?

Here are some thoughts:

Encourage time off.  Everyone needs and deserves time away from work.  There are many studies that point to increased productivity to those that truly get away.  They come back refreshed, reenergized and more focused.  Whether this is time during the work day to take a break outside of the office, or whether this is time off.  Ensure your people take this very valuable time.

Maintain a positive attitude.  Smile.  Your employees will see this and appreciate it.  A smile and positive attitude is contagious!  And…it doesn’t cost anything!

Listen to your people.  What are they saying?  Are there things you can do to improve the work environment?  Are you responding?

Celebrate!  Celebrate team accomplishments!  Whether it is a cake, a fruit tray, a pat on the back, gift certificates etc., ensure to notice and celebrate these milestones.  It will allow employees to look back on their hard work and know it was all worth it.

Have fun!  What can you do to encourage some fun and some laughter?  Team building, a bulletin board with comics and funny stories, a fun column added to the employee newsletter…think outside of the box.

Flex time – do you offer it?  Look at establishing core hours and creating some flex time in and around these times as long as the hours of work are put in in a day.

Stress management workshops.  Consider offering a workshop to your employees to provide them with some additional tools to assist with coping mechanisms.

Workload.  Have you looked at the workload?  Is it too much?  Can it be spread out?  Can you hire more people?  Is there anything that can be done to minimize a consistently very heavy workload?

Burnout is very common and employers lose many employees due to prolonged exposure to stress in the workplace.  Keep “in tune” with your people, talk about stress, discuss solutions and act on them.  When employees see action, and understand that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it will help carry them through these periods.

As I have been sitting here putting the final touches on a full day workshop for a management group, I am swimming with all kinds of thoughts in my head around the core duties of a manager. We can absolutely talk about what makes an effective manager, we can talk about the importance of feedback, conflict management, and so many other components that make a manager great, however I find myself continually going back to one main trait.

Can you guess what it is?

Think about when you have been an employee and the major complaints that you had….

Ok, here it is…listening.  Everything seems to stem from this imperative skill.  If a manager isn’t listening to his or her team, listening to the comments, complaints, concerns, that come forward, they can’t effectively manage, improve and enhance the team.  If a manager doesn’t truly show the team that they are listening and ACTIVELY listening, they will lose the respect of their team. Confidence in their abilities will diminish and the downward spiral begins.

I consider Active Listening to be among the most important management functions, from here there are so many other things that all come into play to strengthen the management relationship and effectiveness.

Are you a great listener?  What makes you a great listener? What could you improve upon?