How to combat stress of team members

Stress is a big enemy of an effective workplace and the successful functioning of a team. While stress at certain levels can be even productive and positive, too much stress leads to fatigue, a higher error rate, disagreements within a team and eventually to burnout of employees. Here are some steps you can take to keep stress among subordinates at a reasonable level.

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Identify the stressors

Stressors are factors and situations that induce stress in employees. According to The Muse, first of all you must identify these stressors, describe them, analyse them and learn how they emerge and who they can affect.

Determine who is most at risk of stress

With each stressor you must identify employees who are most at risk of being affected by it. Remember that stressors need not come from just the work environment but may also originate in the personal lives of employees or in an imbalance between personal and work life.

Offer suggestions for improvement

How might you eliminate individual stressors? How to prevent them occurring or lower their impact? There are many possible solutions. You could delegate work to a different team at peak periods, or adjust current procedures and change the way you distribute tasks within the team, or you may decide that your team will simply not deal with certain problems at all.

Consult with employees

When looking for solutions and identifying stressors, do not lock yourself in your manager's office. Discuss the issue with your employees in an interactive manner and try to find the best possible solutions together, as a team.

Implementation and long-term analysis

Your task does not end by just implementing the changes; you should check the status in the long run so you always know whether the solutions are working and how the situation with stress in your team is developing.

 

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Article source The Muse - U.S. website focused on smart career advice and long-term professional development
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