Health wealth and happiness at work:

Building a stress- free work place

Dr. K. Kuhathasan

CEO - Cenlead

Building a stress-free work place is one of the prime roles of modern managers. This involves understanding the needs, the background and the causes of the stress for the people working with the managers.

Listening, empathy, transparency in behaviour, participative management, open door policies, building a congenial working environment are some of the practices which a manager/ supervisor should put into his day-to-day working.

However, it becomes imperative on his part to be stress-free first, before he endeavours to build a stress-free work place.

Stress management

* Understand your staff well, as individuals.

* Recognise the cumulative pressures on them.

* Be aware of their lives outside work (this does not mean knowing everything about them).

* Recognise that it is better to spend some time with them.

* Offer challenging and rewarding tasks and make them to enjoy such challenges.

* Understand that stress management is integral to good management practice.

* Recognise that stress has both positive and negative aspects: both need to be managed for enhanced performance and advantages at work.

Awareness of stress as a serious issue

* Express commitment to managing stress at the highest possible level.

* Raise stress as an issue at management meetings and get people talking about its positive and negative effects.

* Nominate a senior manager to oversee and coordinate activities

* Develop approachability by:

Getting to know people and how they are.

Listening to their views on an informal basis.

Generally displaying an interest in people and how they are progressing.

Giving full attention to staff when you are with them.

Looking out for early warning signs of inability to cope with their work.

Develop a stress policy

* Include in stress policy statement:

The organisation's commitment to:

Managing stress effectively

Fully utilising the potential of employees

Enabling employees to maintain good health whilst meeting their job demands.

A recognition of:

The links between performance and stress as well as organisational culture and stress.

The cost to the organisation of unhealthy stress.

The potential for the manager to aggravate the situation by carelessly applying extra pressure.

The importance of:

Monitoring performance.

Recognising the symptoms of unhealthy stress.

Acting promptly on stress problems.

Counselling skills and stress coaching.

Communication of any addition policies or procedures such as:

The circumstances in which a problem should be referred on and how to do so.

The supports available, such as an employee assistance programme.

* Develop a plan to implement the policy.

* Ensure that the policy is communicated clearly to all employees.

* Ensure that they have the skills and resources required to implement it.

* Monitor the implementation.

* Promote development of healthy working environment.

* Ensure that lines of communication are clear and well implemented.

* Foster a climate of frank exchange where people's opinions are eccepted.

* Find out people's views on their work organisation and consult them on decisions that affect them.

* Inform people of developments that are likely to affect them, in good time.

* Encourage those who work together to share information about what they are doing and why.

* Allow people, where possible, to decide how to manage their tasks.

* Listen carefully to what people have to say.

* Examine opportunities for involvement in decision making and procedural changes for both teams and individuals.

* Discuss career progress and training opportunities with your people.

Create a personal stress code

Preparation of a stress code as detailed below, will go a long way to build a stress free organisation with the help of all.

* I am worthy of being treated with respect.

* I deserve to be listened to and taken seriously.

* I can express views that are different from other people.

* I am able to express my feelings freely.

* I can say 'no' when I feel it is justified without feeling guilty.

* It is all right for me to ask for what I want, although I accept that I might not get it.

* I can make mistake, try to correct them and learn from them.

* I can admit ignorance and, if appropriate, will be prepared to learn.

* I can act as I believe, as long as it does not harm others.