Everything is Down Except Stress

Well, the economic news continues to be disheartening. During this economic turbulence it seems as though everything important is going down: Sales, profitability, and staffing. Businesses of all sizes are feeling the impact. As I am writing this article, GM and Chrysler are going through bankruptcy. Since both Bill and I have family working in the auto industry, we get feedback on how all of this is affecting them. It is worrisome to those still working and even more so to those who have retired out of that industry.

Because we provide recruiting services for companies in the printing and financial services industries, we have felt first hand the changes that are taking place in these industries.

Although a business may not need to hire to support growth, I continue to encourage owners and managers to take advantage of the increasing unemployment to find new talent to replace poor performers and build the infrastructure now so that they will be ready when the economy turns. However, I can tell you that very few are doing that. Despite the recommendations of printing economists and consultants, most printers are just trying to ride it out and hoping that all will return to normal someday.

The successful companies are focused on creating new sales to replace disappearing customers. They are partnering with their customers and conducting consultative sales to help them build their own customer base. On the other hand, other companies have made the choices to cut costs and make changes in staff through layoffs or through altered work weeks. These types of changes are resulting in increases in one thing: Stress.

Everyone is feeling it—owners, managers, customers, and employees and their families. It is pretty clear that those who are laid off suffer stress, but even the survivors and the supervisors doing the layoffs are feeling it.

Considering the wide impact of this economic downturn, it may be that you and your employees are also feeling additional pain from home mortgage issues, loss of investments, and job losses by other family members. In some cases, your employees may be suffering in ways that you don’t even know about. The anxiety and pressure they are feeling is affecting their health and wellbeing and is also interfering with their ability to perform to expectations. They may be irritable and moody, and that can create conflicts within your team that flow over into relations with customers.

All of these issues make it critical that business owners and managers learn how to recognize what is going on and learn how to relieve this pressure. Stress impacts your company’s performance and your bottom line. It will drag you down unless you address it.

Keep Stress Under Control

To remain successful, you will need to be proactive in dealing with stress. It is important to know that 90% of workplace problems, including accidents and employee conflicts, result from employees’ personal problems and the stress and pressure they produce.

If you don’t have one in place, seek help to set up an employee assistance program that the employees can call on for help. Look into local service agencies in your community that can provide this kind of help. Increase your communication with the employees and practice even more MBWA, Management by Walking Around. Take the pulse of your organization and find out what is going on and where you can help.

More importantly, you must be able to manage your own stress level. Stress management skills work best when they’re used regularly, not just when the pressure is on. Knowing how to “de-stress” can help you get through challenging circumstances that may arise.

Here are some suggestions that can help keep stress under control. Learn to use them for yourself and discuss these with your employees so they can apply them to their lives.

Take a stand against over-commitment. If you’re feeling stretched, consider cutting out an activity or two, opting for just the ones that are most important to you. Learn better ways to manage your time. You may get more done with less stress if you make a schedule. Think about which things are most important, and do those first.