According to a 2013 study conducted by American Psychological Association, more than one-third of American workers experience chronic work stress. It’s no wonder that with many organizations trying to “do more with less” that it often translates into heavier workloads for employees and higher stress levels.
But what can you do to alleviate workload stress for your employees? Here are some excellent strategies from the University of St. Andrews that leaders can employ:
- Monitor workload and refuse additional work when your team is under pressure
- Set realistic deadlines
- Foster a problem solving approach
- Developing action plans and plan/forecast workloads
- Review processes to identify improvements
- Provide training when needed
- Promote task rotation/job enrichment
- Identify additional resources that can be brought in such as temporary or part-time help
Additionally, they identified unhelpful management strategies that you will want to avoid (or stop) doing:
- Delegate work unequally
- Create unrealistic deadlines
- Listen, but don’t take action
- Demonstrate lack of consistency in approach or indecisiveness
- Panic instead of planning workflow and deadlines
- Stay oblivious or unaware of team pressures
What has worked for you in monitoring and managing workload stress for those you lead?
Anita Rios
Higher EDge 