High absenteeism and low motivation and morale are key indicators of stress among employees. Diane Xuereb, HR manager at an international IT company, gives Stephanie Fsadni some insight into the possible harmful consequences of stress for both employee and employer, and how to avoid it.

The workplace can be imbued with stress factors, such as shift work, tight deadlines or work overload. The level of responsibility and relationships with people at work – whether direct relations with colleagues and/or superiors – can also be sources of stress.

Some employees may be able to handle the daily job pressures, but others may simply let stress overwhelm them.

“Employees have different personalities and coping strategies, so the sources of stress at work impacts individuals differently,” points out HR manager Diane Xuereb.

“Also, stress is manifested through a variety of ways and behaviours.”

Employees may also be stressed out because of personal problems, which may exacerbate the situation at work.

“There are employees who are able to separate their private life from work, whereas others tend to bring their personal problems to the workplace,” says Ms Xuereb. “At the same time, there are people who ‘switch off’ from their work-related stress when they leave the office, while others find it difficult to do so.”

Foreigners working in Malta are faced with the added stress of being away from their families and friends and the need to adapt to a different country.

Ms Xuereb emphasises that stress can pose a serious health hazard if not managed properly.

“Stress can be manifested in minor complaints of illness, serious ailments or social problems that impact both the employee and family members to different degrees.

“Research shows that stress at work is associated with physical symptoms, mental health problems and negative behaviour.

“These can impact directly one’s health, such as insomnia, headaches, high blood pressure, heart disease, nervous twitches and other conditions. It also plays a key role in several types of chronic health problems, including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems and psychological disorders.”

Also, employee stress indirectly or directly affects the employer. Poor decision-making, low motivation and morale, and poor time-keeping, for example, lead to low productivity, high absenteeism, a high number of mistakes and, in the long run, decreased efficiency.

“Stress at work costs a lot of money to companies in the form of sickness absence, high turnover, lost productivity, increased recruitment and selection costs and healthcare expenses.”

The best way to prevent stress is to create and maintain a positive work environment

Therefore preventing employee burnout should be a top priority for management.

“The best way is to create and maintain a positive work environment,” claims Ms Xuereb.

This can be done by: fostering good employee/manager communication; creating realistic deadlines for projects; promoting a no-blame culture across and within departments; allowing flexible work arrangements; empowering employees; coaching managers to recognise and deal with stress; and offering family-friendly measures.

“One should also facilitate access to gyms, since research shows that moderate exercise is very effective in combating stress.”

Ms Xuereb adds that these strategies could also help employees cope with their personal problems.

“Furthermore, employees can be encouraged to seek psychological help to deal with personal problems that are affecting them at work and in their personal life.”

Some employees may hesitate to reveal their problems to HR staff or their immediate superiors, most often due to some unnecessary fears. A positive work environment could also help employees overcome this communication barrier.

“What’s important here is to adopt an open-door policy to make it easy for employees to open up about their problems.”

Tips for employees to handle stress

• Try to figure out the source of your stress.

• Understand what is in your control and focus on that.

• Stay healthy – avoid indulging in smoking, overeating or undereating or drinking alcohol.

• Do physical exercise regularly.

• Manage your time well and avoid procrastination.

• Get enough relaxation and sleep.

• Remain as positive as possible.

• Set realistic goals for yourself.

• Do not be afraid to reach out to others when you need help.

• Maintain a healthy social life.

Guidelines for employers to reduce and manage worker stress

Give the right job to the right person

• Discover what your employees like to do and where their talents lie.

• Assign them work to those areas whenever you can.

• Ensure the work assigned is challenging, as well as interesting.

• Evaluate your team’s workload and ensure it is evenly distributed across the team.

Set clear expectations

• Ensure everyone on your team knows what’s expected of them.

• If an employee doesn’t meet your expectations, point this out as soon as you can.

• Be sure all employees know what their main duties and goals are.

• Don’t set expectations too high.

• Don’t change your expectations from week to week – be consistent.

Provide support

• Ensure your employees have all the tools and resources they require to do their jobs well.

• Give them access to appropriate training and equipment.

• Offer advice, guidance and encouragement to the team regularly.

Recognise hard work

• When your employees work hard, make sure you recognise and reward their efforts.

• Let others know about the hard work they’ve done too.

Allow fun

• Create an atmosphere in your office where fun is accepted.

• Find reasons your team can celebrate together, such as birthdays or project milestones.

• Organise small parties to celebrate these events.

• Invite your colleagues from other departments to join the celebrations.

• Allow inoffensive jokes in appro-priate situations.

Celebrate differences

• Create an environment where differences are celebrated.

• Use people’s different personalities, backgrounds, skills, aptitudes and life experiences to benefit the organisation.

• Accept different work styles.

• Match different work styles to the most suitable roles and teams.

Promote personal interactions

• Get to know your team members, both professionally and personally.

• Encourage your team members to get to know one another.

• Create a feeling of unity among them.

• Find out a little about each person’s personal life, and what they enjoy doing outside work.

• Occasionally arrange team events that can take place outside office hours.

Recognise helpful behaviours

• Recognise and reward behaviour that is particularly helpful.

• Send a personal e-mail to thank helpful employees, or point out their helpful behaviour at a meeting.

Communicate openly

• Meet with your employees regularly – do not just send e-mails.

• Keep them informed about what is going on in the organisation.

• Ask for their input when making any decisions.

• Provide them with meaningful and regular feedback.

• You should also receive feedback from your team.

• Listen to your employees and value what they have to say.

• Be honest at all times.

• Be approachable.

• Follow up on their concerns.

Show respect for your team

• Ensure your employees feel valued for the unique contributions they make to your organisation.

• Treat people fairly and consistently.

• Don’t show favouritism.

• Let your employees know they can rely on you and trust you.

• Be consistent in your behaviour.

• Don’t disclose information that you’ve been told in private.