Stress Can Kill Performance

Revive it with resilience

Stress in the workplace is on the rise. Even in normal times, workplace stress costs businesses over $300 billion annually in the U.S. alone as a result of absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity and accidents. Burnout, a phenomenon closely linked to stress, is estimated to cost more than $340 billion globally. COVID-19 has only worsened the situation, which is why it just makes sense that HR leaders are looking for ways to reverse the trend.
 

The numbers are astonishing. One global survey reported that approximately 45 percent of people say they feel at least slightly more stress due to working from home. Another U.S. focused survey reported that 69 percent of workers say this pandemic has resulted in the most stressful time of their careers, and 70 percent agreed that people in their organization are significantly less productive because of stress and anxiety surrounding COVID-19. 

Stress can be caused by a multitude of factors and is exacerbated when the pressure and demands on people overwhelm their resources and abilities. Exhausting workloads, a low level of control, feeling unjustly treated or a lack of support, dealing with challenging people issues and tension between work and family demands are all common causes. The pandemic has added heightened worry about job security and new concerns about health and safety upon returning to the workplace.

Build Resilience

While those stressors aren’t going away, there is something people and organizations can do: build resilience. Resilience refers to people’s ability to “bounce back” from adverse experiences and is characterized by the capacity to cope, recover and learn from them. It is associated with reduced stress, increased engagement and better performance. Resilient people may, in fact, perceive the same condition as less stressful than less resilient people do. They are more engaged and better at adapting in the face of new conditions, demonstrating positive change-related attitudes and higher levels of individual effort and performance. Resilient teams display enhanced collaboration resulting from team cohesion and cooperation, enabling a greater capacity to act and innovate. Through these kinds of individual and team benefits of resilience, organizations become more agile. For leaders who hope to accelerate performance and capitalize on change and uncertainty, it has moved from highly desirable to absolutely crucial.

Impact of Resilience

Just before the effects of the pandemic became widespread, Dale Carnegie Training conducted a study of more than 6500 employees across 21 countries and territories to better understand the impact of resilience on how people perceive and handle stress. Even before COVID-19, 51 percent said they feel stressed at work at least half the time and 70 percent wished they handled stress and worry better. Fifty-five percent thought stress at work negatively impacts their ability to do their job, and nearly a quarter have taken time off due to stress, making it clear that high levels of stress have real consequences for individuals and the organizations that employ them.

Some companies are already stepping up their efforts to help employees cope, but only 42 percent of survey respondents say their employer has a program to help employees deal with stress. A combination of reducing excessive demands, along with building employees’ resources can help strengthen resilience and minimize the impact of stress on employees. 

Six Strategies to Reduce Stress

In an economic downtown, additional resources may be in short supply, but that’s just what’s needed to help build resilience in employees. The good news is that most of those resources don’t need to cost an organization money. Instead, they are intangible capital that makes people feel confident, valued and connected. They include the following steps:

1. Model and support a positive attitude. Not all stress is the same, and it can help to separate the good (eustress) from the bad (distress). It requires a positive attitude to manage perceptions of stress, but doing so can improve psychological, attentional, physiological, and behavioral responses to stress, and enhance subsequent performance and well-being.

2. Give sincere appreciation and recognition to make people feel valued. Some of the most common reasons for stress are related to not feeling valued. Being appreciated, in contrast, has been shown to be one of the most important factors in increasing motivation, satisfaction and well-being.

3. Support a learning culture. When people are able to develop their skill set, it makes them more confident. That can make job instability and changing roles at work just a little less scary. In fact, data suggests that many organizations are prioritizing learning during the downturn with the goals of reskilling their workforce and enabling internal mobility.

4. Keep people connected to the real purpose of the work and to each other. When employees feel they have an important role in achieving a larger goal, they are more resilient, and the social support that comes from trusting relationships with colleagues can offer protective benefits from stress.

5. Communicate a clear strategy and priorities. It is important to understand balancing stress with the reality of job demands. This is especially true when people are being asked to do more with less. Establishing and communicating clear priorities help people understand which work matters most and empower them to make tradeoff decisions. Feeling control over one’s work helps reduce stress. 

6. Reduce uncertainty whenever possible. In turbulent times, uncertainty is a major contributor to stress. Leaders can’t be expected to predict the future, but when they share decisions promptly, with empathy and are transparent about what they do know, employees can worry less about the unknown. 

Creating a resilient organization that can deal with and grow from stress and adverse experiences have become increasingly critical given today’s challenges. HR professionals have a major role to play in ensuring the organization’s leadership leverages strategies that can help them move toward that goal. Whether implementing formal programs, targeted training, or just a conscious effort by leaders to provide any assistance they can, all help employees deal effectively with stress. It’s a conscious decision and worthy endeavor that can bring positive effects to organizational culture and the bottom line. While no leader can change the fact that their employees will feel stress and face adversity, they may have more power than they think to help them deal with it in a healthy way.

Mark Marone, PhD, is the Director of Research and Thought Leadership for Dale Carnegie & Associates, where he is responsible for ongoing research into current issues facing leaders, employees, and organizations worldwide. He has written frequently on topics related to corporate culture, leadership, sales, and customer experience and has coauthored two books on sales strategy.  Connect Mark Marone