The Effects of Work-related Stress on Employee Health
When an employee gets stressed, his productivity gets affected as well. As a result, the overall production of the company suffers significantly. Business owners should know that employee stress can affect their businesses and take action to manage the issue.
Often, employees feel more stressed when they are loaded with too many tasks and responsibilities. The unending workload may lead to job dissatisfaction, low morale job, and lack of motivation.
While one can’t simply eliminate stress from the workforce, high-stress levels in the working environment can harm the business’s reputation and cause other problems, such as:
- Poor employee health and decline in productivity
- High rate of employee resignation
- Absenteeism
- Recruitment and training costs
- Legal costs
Let’s talk about these issues one by one, starting with:
Poor Employee Health and Decline in Productivity
Business owners should always consider their employee’s health. Physical health decline is one of the most apparent signs of stress, especially in companies requiring an intense labor environment. When employees experience high-stress levels, they could suffer from anxiety, depression, and lack of work motivation.
What happens then? Stressed employees tend to make more mistakes, compromising the quality of work they produce. And in the end, this could be the reason why an employee would often seek medical attention or ask for a day off work.
In conclusion, poor employee health can have adverse effects on your business. But this could also cause them to rely on unhealthy stress relievers like excessive drinking of alcohol or binge eating. The worst thing that might happen is when the employee needs to get treatments for eating disorders if the situation gets out of hand.
A High Rate of Employee Resignation
One of the most direct effects of a stressful work environment is a high rate of employee turnover. It’s pretty apparent that when employees aren’t happy with their jobs, they leave. But it’s important to note that employees do not just leave out of the blue. They leave the organization when they see no signs of effort from the management to make the working environment better.
In most cases, they try to determine if the company can help make their life at work more bearable. However, many businesses fail to realize that their companies are causing too much stress to their employees.
Absenteeism
Another common sign of employee stress is frequent absenteeism. Employees suffering from chronic stress will often get sick, forcing them to be absent at work frequently.
On another note, absenteeism is also a sign that employees are too stressed, leading them not to come to work. If an employee asked to work from home in the meantime, it could indicate that he no longer feels productive in the office.
But it’s sad to think that most companies disregard this issue, considering that employees are just being irresponsible and lazy. They need to understand the truth- poor work performance is due to a stressful work environment.
Recruitment and Training Costs
As more employees leave the company, the business will be forced to spend more on training and recruiting replacements, which is not a good practice. Furthermore, business owners might also consider adding new training programs to ensure that new employees feel more motivated and satisfied with their respective jobs.
Legal Costs
When stressed employees feel neglected as the company fails to provide a healthy working environment, they have the right to settle matters legally. They can seek legal assistance to help them voice out their concerns.
Business owners should know that a healthy working environment isn’t just about providing a relaxing ambiance in the office. It’s also about having an environment free of harassment and bullying, with exceptional safety guidelines and complete training for everyone.
Legal feuds can be very expensive and might cost business owners a lot of money. Plus, it can also create hard-to-fix damages to the reputation of the organization.
What Should Business Owners Do?
Proper stress management in organizations will be evident in improving the employees’ productivity and reduced resignation.
If the management notices that most employees manifest signs of extreme stress, it’s wiser to consider integrating stress management and wellness programs for all employees. The programs will help them relieve stress and increase employee motivation at the same time.
Furthermore, companies should also conduct employee evaluations at least once a year to determine if their workload is too strenuous for them. The assessment will help the management figure out what causes their employees’ stress, giving them a better overview of what actions to take.
Always ensure that employees are happy and motivated so that they can do their jobs well. Keep the environment free from stress to help them stay work-driven, making the organization stronger and more productive than ever.
