Stress Reduction For An Increase In Employee Productivity

A different perspective to handle employee absenteeism

In every business, whether small or large, the consistent attendance of staff is an important factor in productivity and success. Absences can be a challenge to manage, costly, and a source of stress for all involved.
 

According to the United States Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 4.2 million workers in January 2018 missed work because they had an illness, injury, or medical problem or appointments. How can these absences be addressed so that business can continue to flow and be productive?
 
One way is through compensation. Some large companies may overstaff to compensate for employee absenteeism. Small businesses often struggle with sales when there is an employee absence, having fewer resources or replacement staff to compensate. With these kinds of impacts, it may be necessary for businesses to look at different options to reduce costs that may not be optimal for the success of the business.

In many organizations, there is tremendous seriousness while conducting business. Employees are pushed to constantly deliver in an atmosphere of tension. Some of my clients have reported that a frequent verbal assault from their manager had created an environment akin to a sword hanging over their head, resulting in fear of losing their job.
 
In the short-term, an organization based on stressfully meeting deadlines may seem to create quick results. However, in such cases, the problems soon outrun the short-term wins. For a company that uses stress as a fuel, there can be quick employee burnout, contributing to lowered productivity, or employees frequently reporting sick or otherwise absent. It may also create a higher rate of employee turnover for the company.
 
These outcomes can prove costly and stressful. To effectively address the stress, infusing ease and joy into the company’s culture can be very impactful. With the presence of these ingredients, it’s easier to retain happy employees that contribute to a company’s success.
 
Having ease and joy does not mean that there should be an unproductive, lethargic attitude within the company. Creating and having an environment of ease and joy in organizations actually provides employees with a space they enjoy working in, resulting in less absenteeism and greater overall productivity.

There could be different approaches to creating a more joyful work environment. Some large companies contract with an external agency, facilitator, or coach to confidentially engage with their employees to support getting the stress factors out of the way. This may benefit the employee tremendously as detailed conversations over multiple months could eliminate or reduce the source of the stress factors that cause frequent absenteeism.
 
We have learned that we have to manage our sources of stress, much like finance management or people management. It is best to let go of stress and anger rather than keep it and manage it. So, rather than looking at managing 'stress' and 'anger', we could start exploring ways for stress 'reduction' or 'elimination.'
 
Here are some tools for stress reduction that have worked for several corporate employees:
 

We always have a choice. We have the choice to carry forward past hurt, upset and anger as excess baggage. And we also have the choice to burn up the excess baggage. The person who seemingly hurt us is often fine with the past incident, while we suffer more as we carry it wherever we go when we are unwilling to forget the past. I call it ‘excess baggage.’
 
We have the choice to burn ourselves up with various negative emotions by carrying forward the memory of past hurtful incidents or we could just burn up the past hurt and save ourselves!
 

Asking questions is an extremely powerful tool. Some questions we could ask:
 

a. What would it take for me to have so much fun at the office today that I do not even notice that other people judge me?

 

b. What would it take for me to have so much ease at the office today creating this ___?

 
In the blank space, the title of a current deliverable can be inserted, such as ‘project plan’ or ‘proposal’ or ‘email.’ When we are willing to have ease and joy, difficult situations dissolve for us to complete the deliverable in an easier way. The company productivity increases whenever personal productivity increases.
 

c. What is right about me I am not getting?

 
This is a great question to keep asking 10-20 times a day, for about 10 days, whenever a person is feeling all bogged down or is going through a period of low self-worth.
 

d. What is right about this I am not getting?

 
This is a great question to ask 10-20 times a day for 10-20 days whenever a person is burning oneself up with emotions rather than burn a memory from the past.
 
‘Why is this happening?’ is a question that is best avoided as this means we are ready to keep understanding why it is occurring. When we ask questions with ‘why’ we tend to stay in a state of stagnation to understand it. Is the stagnation worth it or is it time to move on for a better opportunity?
 
None of the above questions are to be asked by looking for an answer. When we ask any of these questions with an expectation of what could show up or through visualization, we actually restrict something better from showing up in our lives. Asking these questions with no expectations could actually change the situation for something better than we imagined.

Sometimes people do get sick. However, sickness due to stress is one of the greatest contributors to frequent absenteeism. “Stress” is a large umbrella that encompasses so many things.
 
Stress for a person could be fear of losing a relationship, fear of not getting a raise, fear of not being able to pay bills on time, anger with self for choices made in the past, frustration with people at work and at home, frustration that things are not going at the pace they want, worry, low self-confidence, taking care of a sick person at home, dealing with abuse, dealing with a relationship issue or managing several balls in the air including that of being a single parent!
 
The “stress” could also be from fear of making mistakes, fear of becoming poor, fear of people stealing from them. And the list goes on. It’s not always evident what an employee may be going through.

When an employee is frequently sick, it may benefit both the employee and the company to have an open conversation. It can be a simple solution to what looks like a bigger problem.
 
In the conversation with an often-sick employee, the expression of kindness or concern about the frequent absenteeism from the company’s representative can sometimes be all that’s required for change. It’s also an opportunity to gather more details on what’s going on for that employee. A conversation with kindness can then move on to motivate them to work on overcoming their issues.
 
When the need for attention is great, or when a person is so unused to getting attention, such a conversation may sometimes be just the reassurance they are looking for. This could, in turn, motivate employees to make important changes and get the stress out of the way.
 
If the conversation ends with “let me know whenever you have a problem,” it could create a situation where the employee is now emotionally dependent on having a conversation with this person to sort out their problems. It is good for such a conversation to be concluded in a way that the ownership of getting better, remains with the employee.
 
An employee who feels their issues have been heard with kindness may move towards holding a greater commitment to their future role in the company. It’s a simple solution for creating less absence and more possibilities for increased productivity for the company.
 
For a company to be truly productive, it requires its employees to be present! Happy, minimally-stressed employees are less likely to get sick, less likely to be absent, and can be more productive with kindness and support. It’s not the way everyone thinks business should be, but it is an easy and effective way to increase productivity and ultimately increase the success of the company.

Deepa Ramaraj is a Computer Science Engineer and Life Transformation Coach for individuals, CEOs and executives, guiding them in areas that require growth, such as leadership, profitability, personal finances, relationships and overall well-being. She is a facilitator for several specialty programs by Access Consciousness®, including Being You. With an unconventional and effective method, Deepa facilitates effective workshops for corporations to boost sales, dissolve challenges, and transform the way business is done using unconventional tools to remove barriers to success. Follow Deepa