We have variety of quick and easy online courses and guides to help you increase productivity and comfort in your workplace. Following on our previous post about how to spot workplace stress in your employees, here are some tips on how to prevent this in the first place.

Workplace Stress: Tips for the Employer

Prioritize Tasks: Instead of dumping last minute work on your employees, allocate efficient time for them to complete high priority tasks. Employees may be overwhelmed due to an employer’s time management ability. Break large projects into smaller tasks: Allow employees to manage one part of the project at a time before giving them another part of the project to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed. Delegate the work accordingly: Some individuals may be able to handle more than others. Get to know your employees and delegate tasks accordingly.

Be willing to compromise: Not all rules and timelines are meant to be followed. Unforeseen circumstances and situations arise where you may have to bend the rules a little bit. Being able to find that happy medium between you and the employee can go a long way in reducing stress levels. There is a difference between stress and pressure. Be alert with how much pressure you put on a employee. Pressure is something that is experienced daily and could be used to motivate an individual to perform to their best. However, too much pressure from an employer can result in a high level of stress. Break bad habits: This includes reducing perfectionism, thinking negatively and controlling the uncontrollable. Sometimes it is good to find humour in the situation. Evidence has shown that humour is a great way to reduce stress in the workplace. Importance of praise: Whenever possible, reward your employees. I am not saying you need to reward them with materialistic items but a paid for lunch once in a while can positively affect workplace environment. Non-materialistic items such as praise for good work or voicing how valuable one is to the organization has been seen to be beneficial. Educate yourself on supports: It is important you know how to handle occupational stress. An individual may need support from you or a professional. Get more information regarding how you can help an individual dealing with stress at work. Also, increase your knowledge of health care professionals available to you and the employee. An employee may turn to you to seek out a health care professional. Ergonomics and Stress: Did you know there is evidence supporting ergonomics and job stress? Making sure your employees are comfortable at work and minimizing discomfort can reduce workplace stress. EWI Works has a variety of great online courses  to help you understand ergonomics in the workplace for the comfort of your home or office. The online training courses include everything from office ergonomics to industrial ergonomics. Many of these approaches involve you consulting with your employees. Just being able to talk to them on a daily basis can positively impact workplace environment. It is important that you build your communication strategies. This involves verbal/non-verbal communication. Active listening to understand your employees and make them feel they are being heard can reduce levels of stress. Allow individuals to have a voice in certain decisions that may affect their job. This can include anything from their projects to their work environment. Involve them in the process to increase their commitment. One of the main reasons employees feel overwhelmed at work is due to employer’s unrealistic deadlines. Be upfront with your employee and you will notice that work is not rushed and given in a timely matter without affecting their workplace stress levels. EWI Works offers many services that can improve your quality of life. Find out more about our Online Training,Services, and Resources.  Follow us on Twitter for more updates and offers, or sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our homepage.