Come and Gone: 6 November 2019 International Stress Awareness Day
It’s not too late for you is it?
Besides to those of us who celebrated their birthday, Wednesday 6 November 2019 was another ordinary day. That International Stress Awareness Day went mostly unnoticed bears testimony to the fact that the world at large still underestimates the destructive influence of stress on our physical, psychological and mental health. In the world of business the ignorance is even worse and with even more serious consequences.
Bad Bosses everywhere
In my work as consultant I’m confronted on a daily basis with the impact of stress on employees. Stress is highly contagious. A manager that struggles to keep his stress under control can easily cause loads of stress to an entire department. The ‘Bad Boss’ syndrome is rampant. A stressed department will struggle to perform or co-operate with other departments. Deteriorating communication within an organisation soon leads to personal differences, turf wars and gossip. All fanning the flames of stress.
Stressed people lead to Stressed organisations which lead to Stressed people which…
It doesn’t take long before we find ourselves caught within a stressed organisation. Some of the major symptoms: losing good people, drop in productivity, increas e in absenteeism, more health and safety incidents and lousy consumer service. Overall: low employee engagement. Stressed organisations are severely hampered in their performance and easily go down the road of diminishing returns that prompt cost cutting and lay-offs which only cause even more stress and lower engagement. A dangerous cycle. Anything sound familiar?
A huge global epidemic.
Low engagement is the bane of companies the world over. Statistics are shocking. A 2019 Gallup survey reports that globally only 13% of workers are actively engaged. In South Africa it’s worse: only 9% are actively engaged. That means that 1 out of 10 workers actually enjoys coming to work and make a positive contribution. Even for professionals and highly educated employees the South African statistics are concerning. Only 1 in 2 feel engaged! As much as an individual who can no longer manage his stress levels needs help, so does a stressed organisation.
Treatment starts with the right diagnosis.
Fortunately, there are quite a few things that can be done. But nothing can improve if we don’t acknowledge the problem in our companies – and in ourselves. It’s all a bit stressful, isn’t it? Perhaps on your own, but I can help in identifying causes and solutions. Feel free to give me a call: Frank Vos, Vos Consulting (Pty) Ltd cell no 076 692 7675 Let’s take the temperature of your organisation. Rather be safe than stressed.
