According to new research from Group Risk Development (GRiD), stress and stress-inducing situations are the main cause for short term employee absences. What can employers do to improve this statistic?
27% of employers believe work-related stress contributes to a higher-than-average absentee rate. Reasons for a higher absence rate include: dealing with staff shortages (29%), poor work/life balance (20%), and low morale (19%).
On the other hand, those that believe their absentee rate is lower than others claim good staff morale (57%), good work/life balance (50%), and offer flexible working initiatives (34%) as the reasons.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GriD stated, “When stress is an issue for employees, it’s an issue for employers too. Poor absence means poor productivity. The support is there, and we want people to know about it and use it.”
What can employers do to help employees deal with stress and reduce stress in the workplace?
Encourage physical activity - Exercise can improve mental fitness and significantly reduce stress. Studies have shown exercise reduces fatigue, improves alertness and concentration, and enhances individuals’ general cognition. Creating an environment that makes it easy for employees to exercise regularly can reduce stress. Encourage employees to get outside and walk during lunch breaks. Try offering discounted gym memberships or other incentives to promote wellness. Some organizations reimburse a portion of gym memberships, but if you have enough employees you can often negotiate discounted memberships with the gym.
Encourage movement throughout the day – Offering employees a sit-to-stand desk can improve office ergonomics and encourage more movement and stretching. According to Dr. Jaqmes Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions, “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking and kills more people than HIV. We are sitting ourselves to death.” Jobs requiring moderate physical activity accounted for 50% of the labor market in 1960; today they account for just 20% of the workforce, according to the Public Library of Science report. A new initiative created by Health Alliance Plan (HAP) called “Sit 60, Move 3”, encourages employees to take a break from sitting every 60 minutes and move around for three minutes.
Get employees out of the office – Encourage use of vacation time. Ensuring adequate staff and having back-up procedures will allow employees to feel more comfortable taking time off. A study by Project Time Off showed that while 96% of respondents recognize the importance of taking time off, 55% left vacation days unused in 2015. That equates to 658 million vacation days unused. Fears that employees would return to a mountain of work (37%) and that no one else can do the job (30%) were cited as the greatest barriers to using vacation days.
Provide resources to improve employee wellness – Wellness is more than physical well-being, it includes physical, emotional, financial, and social aspects. According to SHRM, from 2016-2017 nearly 25% of companies increased their wellness offerings. A complete wellness program addresses each of the four wellness components. Mary E. Corrado, ASE President and CEO, wrote a blog with some great wellness trends for 2018, which can be found here.
Reducing workplace stress can increase productivity, absentee rates, and improve employee morale.
ASE Resources
Dealing With Stress – This ASE course, available to both members and non-members, teaches how to become more effective in handling everyday pressures. It will assist participants in gaining insights and developing strategies to cope with stress factors at work and home. The next class is Tuesday, June 26, in Livonia. Register or learn more here.
Sources: Detroit.cbslocal.com, hap.org, projectimeoff.com, wfswellnessforlife.com, SHRM.org