April is Stress Awareness Month, and our partner Stress Matters have shared their thoughts on how employers can use this month to tackle the impact of workplace stress on their employees. Find out more below.
Stress continues to take a daily toll on both employees and organisations. In fact, a recent Deloitte study Mental health and employers: The case for investment – pandemic and beyond revealed how workplace stress costs UK employers an estimated £56bn annually (and rising), in absenteeism, turnover, and reduced productivity levels.
The burning question is this. What de-stressing measures can you take to enrich your people’s lives and mitigate risks to the business?
After all, workplace stress is different from employee to employee. Everybody has different thresholds, triggers and stressors, which can manifest in the workplace in one or more of the following ways:
- Physical and mental health issues
- Burnout
- Low job satisfaction
- Poor decision-making and more mistakes
- Stifled creativity
All these factors can have an adverse impact on the overall performance of an organisation.
The good news is, Stress Awareness Month is celebrated every April. If you’re interested in helping to de-stress frazzled team members, it’s a great place to start.
How to Benefit from Stress Awareness Month in the Workplace
Stress Awareness Month is a plum opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of stress in the workplace and promote efforts to reduce it. Besides talking the talk, it’s also a great time to get proactive. For example, you might use it as a launchpad for implementing initiatives that support employee well-being, such as:
- Offering flexible work arrangements
- Providing access to mental health resources
- Promoting work-life balance
In addition, how about encouraging staff to join the 30 Day Challenge, where they’ll pick an action a day to level up their emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. When they download the Challenge, they’ll also get heaps of free goodies, including:
- 7 Steps Achievement Plan
- Daily De-Stressing Planner
- Stress Guide
- Stress Test
When all is said and done, improved employee wellbeing and reduced workplace stress can catapult employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention. This ultimately leads to a more positive workplace culture – and a stronger bottom line!
So, why not take the time to acknowledge the impact of stress in the workplace this April, and work with your people to make meaningful improvements?
At Stress Matters, we know organisations and HR teams aspire to better workplace wellbeing. But your best intentions might be held back by a lack of in-house know-how, capacity and resources. If this sounds like you, get in touch for a chat about keeping the momentum going long after Stress Awareness Week is over.
This month we are launching our new Pocket Wellbeing Manager programme and is aimed at teams of 5 – 35 who are looking to support their team’s wellbeing but don’t have a massive budget. Get in touch with Devora to discuss how this can support your team.