Stress Is Tearing Down Organizational Performance

I was recently introduced to The Chair.  It is no ordinary chair, of course. It has headphones that play relaxing sounds, dark glasses to bring the hemispheres of the brain into balance & numerous rotating and gyrating elements to provide a soothing massage. By reducing stress it is said to improve staff performance.  As a result, a growing numbers of organizations are investing in them and making them available for use on site.

This reminded me of a company where I used to work where there was a billiards table in the conference room. It also brings to mind a manufacturing client of mine where, every time I visit, I find a foursome is playing ping-pong in the gym.   Were the employees happier, more productive, more engaged?  Some research says yes.

It’s easy to discount and dismiss this topic or push it to back burner to address more pressing matters. But according to the American Institute of Stress at ‘Job Pressure’ is the biggest single cause of stress in the US. The annual cost to employers in stress-related health care and missed work, they suggest, is a massive $300 Billion – and it’s getting worse.   So if your company is looking for ways to reduce costs and increase profitability, stress reduction could be the way.

According to Towers Watson’s Global Benefits Attitudes survey, workplace disengagement increases significantly when stress is high, and so do levels of sick leave.  Also stress employees tend to ‘retire on the job’ – that’s the practice of showing up to work & consistently being under-productive.

Should HR and Talent Development professionals be paying more attention to finding solutions to stress? Or should they focus on areas that are easier to measure?

What works best to de-stress and motivate in your organization?

And what stressful issues are you dealing with presently?