{"id":673,"date":"2007-02-13T04:43:30","date_gmt":"2007-02-13T12:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/systematichr.com\/?p=673"},"modified":"2007-02-13T04:43:30","modified_gmt":"2007-02-13T12:43:30","slug":"employee-morale-and-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/systematichr.com\/?p=673","title":{"rendered":"Employee Morale and Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dog\"<\/p>\n

A lot has been written about the connection between low employee morale and stress.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0Melissa Bushman<\/a> even claims it to be\u00a0 \u201cThe most common cause of low employee morale.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

On the face of it, this sounds reasonable.\u00a0 If I\u2019m stressed at work, I\u2019m probably not happy at work.\u00a0 Take a deeper dive on this statement, however, and different conclusions will be realized.\u00a0 We must start by defining stress.\u00a0 I believe stress to be the internal response to external stimuli.\u00a0 Because we are all different, individuals exposed to the same external stimuli will react differently.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure everyone reading can think of someone in the office who seems to be constantly stressed while others always appear calm and at peace.\u00a0 So stress is a very individualized phenomenon.\u00a0 If this is true, then stress is a symptom, not a root cause of low employee morale.<\/p>\n

What might stress be symptomatic of?\u00a0 This website<\/a> gives a good overview of the events that cause stress in people\u2019s lives.\u00a0 What becomes striking, is that most stress that people experience in their lives has little or nothing to do with what takes place in the workplace.\u00a0 Perhaps we need a list of workplace stressors.\u00a0 We could list items such as having a bad boss, a bully for a co-worker, bad air conditioning, lousy chairs or other elements of a bad working environment. All of these elements are very subjective.\u00a0 The fact remains that while brain surgeons hold someone\u2019s life in their hands and it would seem to be one of the most stressful jobs there is; the surgeon\u2019s hand is steady and seemingly stress free.\u00a0 Meanwhile, no one ever died from bad plumbing (presumably), yet there are stressed plumbers in our world.<\/p>\n

So, are companies wasting time and money when they offer stress reduction programs?\u00a0 Does treating the symptom (stress) that is more than likely caused by either non-work related events or a worker\u2019s individual propensity to experience stress from seemingly minor events actually have the ability to improve employee morale?\u00a0 Certainly, workplace stress reduction programs show the company cares about its employees.\u00a0 The programs may make the workplace more tolerable.\u00a0 And for an individual, some of the stress reduction programs could lower absenteeism.\u00a0 Just look at some of these ideas:<\/p>\n