Managers must have a feel of the workplace’s pulse

Many things about this time of year can leave any reasonable person feeling stressed. Whether it’s the desperate chaos that accompanies shopping events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, or the mad drive to hit targets and finish the business calendar on a high, the end of each year always seems particularly susceptible to stress.

This has got me thinking about how managers manage stress, and what they can do to reduce its impact, Given the inevitable workload that comes with management, there can’t be many managers who haven’t felt a fair amount of stress in their working lives.

Whatever time of year it is, you might be racing to put together a last-minute presentation one morning, checking off performance reviews in the afternoon, and responding to an urgent customer request after hours. All of this is bound to raise anyone’s stress levels.

Instinctively, many of us will recognise that stress weighs negatively on our physical health, our mental well-being, and our overall enjoyment of our work and private lives. You may realise that it isn’t coincidence you fall ill just as your workload cranks into overdrive, or recognise that dread on a Sunday morning commute is hardly conducive to a healthy relationship with your employer.

This isn’t simply instinct, of course. Rising blood pressure, aching limbs, insomnia — these really aren’t turns of phrases, but real threats to a person’s well-being. There are numerous studies that underline and explain the harmful impact stress can have on our health, and whole industries that have been built around mitigating the impact of stress that individuals absorb through their professional lives.

There is great worth in much of these efforts. However, whether it’s meditation or mindfulness exercises, there is arguably an element of them treating the symptoms rather than fighting the disease. As managers, in particular, there is another lever that could be pulled to mitigate stress — that of reducing the stress of those that report to you.

Small problems can fester

After all, while professional stress might be inevitable, there are certainly practical steps that you might take to ease the stress levels of your employees.

Managers, for example, might be able to relieve some of the stress that builds up like a pressure cooker when a corporate culture encourages people to bottle-up their opinions and issues. If a culture isn’t open to ideas-sharing, to open and honest conversation, and to direct conversations between manager and report, small problems can quickly fester into open sores. Such openness inevitably begins with the example of the manager, and so it is incumbent on them to set a tone that discourages people from repressing their concerns.

A good manager can also take practical steps to reduce the stress that comes with balancing working and private lives. Management could, for example, introduce flexible work arrangements that allow individuals to fit their work more comfortably around their other commitments. Parents could gain the time to comfortably take children to school before beginning work, removing a mad-dash school run from their day. People with health concerns might be able to visit their doctor without necessitating an entire day out of the office.

Managers can also encourage the kind of office atmosphere that is, almost inherently, less stressful. By recognising, for example, that vacation and break times are important, rather than a hindrance to productivity, they can develop a culture where employees see their wellness as important to their company.

Perhaps most importantly, managers are in something of a privileged position to closely observe their stress levels and areas of concern. Through informal chats and more structured meetings, a manager who is aware of indicators related to stress problems is well-placed to take immediate preventive action to stop an employee from becoming deeply stressed.

Taking a practical and methodical approach to stress is surely not an easy course. But while the effort of reducing stress is far from stress free itself, it is surely worth the effort for any manager looking to support their team.

The writer is CEO of Knowledge Group.