How to reduce stress at work

Imagine working only four hours a day, nine months a year and earning all the money you need to do exactly what you want with all your free time. Does that sound like your life?

That's the life a futurist of the early 20th Century predicted the average worker would be living by the 21st century.

Yet despite the introduction of many labour-saving devices in the workplace and home, Harvard University Economist Juliet Schor found by the 1990s people were working the equivalent of one month a year more than they did at the end of World War II.

As an example, Schor explained in her book Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure how the introduction of automatic washers and dryers resulted in an increase in time spent doing laundry. Laundry that had previously been sent out now stayed home, and standards of cleanliness went up.

Laundry isn't the only task that has grown over the last century.

It seems that whenever a significant new "labour saving" product or service is developed we use it so much our workload actually increases.

After all, wasn't our work supposed to be made easier by voice mail, fax machines, cell phones and email? On the contrary, many of us find we are constantly on-call, frequently interrupted, and overwhelmed with communications that people expect to receive immediate responses to.

That's on top of the already heavy workload existing in most organizations. For an employee, the consequences of this overload can be stress, burnout, and illness. For an employer, it can result in high turnover and poor performance.

Addressing the problem of overwork can help companies keep good employees.

A recent study by AON Consulting found that management recognition of an employee's need to balance work with personal life is one of the top five drivers of employee commitment to a company.

To help overworked employees, managers should be trained to notice signs that employees are overburdened. Such signs include consistently working late, working through lunch, coming to work even when sick, taking work home, rushing to meet very tight deadlines, expressing frustration, and not taking vacations.

Employees who are overwhelmed with work may not always tell you how they feel so make the effort to ask how they are doing. For some employees, having the opportunity to express their concerns and hearing appreciation for their extra effort may help alleviate stress during a temporarily busy period.

If an employee's heavy workload is more than temporary, you can assist them in brainstorming solutions to relieve their situation. And if you are the one who is overworked, you can try some of these solutions yourself. Here are some steps you can take to get your workload under control:

Spend your time working on things that are important.

This may sound obvious, but many of us are tempted to work on easy tasks first so we can have a sense of accomplishment. Time spent on those "easy" tasks can quickly add up, creating even more stress when there does not appear to be enough time left for the important work.

To find out what your time is being spent on, start keeping an "activity log". Every time you start and end a new activity, including taking a break, make note of the time. Most workers who charge by the hour have learned to do this automatically.

If you are not used to tracking your time it may be a bit of an adjustment, but within a few days you should be able to notice any time-wasters you might not have been aware of.

Set daily goals.

When scheduling your time, assume that something unexpected will come up and build in a cushion of time to deal with it. To minimize the stress of meeting self-imposed deadlines, avoid making promises about when tasks will be completed. If you must commit to a date, be conservative. If you consistently under promise and over deliver you could earn a great reputation while reducing your stress.

Aim to meet or even exceed expectations, but don't try to achieve perfection. Wherever possible, delegate routine tasks even if you think you can do them better than someone else.

Unless you are expected to be on call, work on eliminating interruptions. Select a time of day when you will return phone calls and emails. During other times, let your voice mail take messages for you. You can also create an auto reply for your email to let people know their message has been received. If your email says you will respond within 24 hours if a reply is required, it may deter someone from repeatedly trying to contact you in the meantime.

Avoid letting other people's problems become yours.

As Richard Carlson, author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work, says "If someone throws you the ball you don't have to catch it." Some managers find themselves solving their employees' problems instead of empowering employees to find solutions themselves. When someone comes to you with a problem that isn't yours, try limiting your contribution to advice instead of taking on the task yourself.

When you are feeling overwhelmed, say so. Companies want to keep good employees so most bosses will want to know when you are having difficulty. However, instead of saying "I can't do it," offer some possible solutions.

For example, if you won't be able to get a major report completed by a particular deadline, perhaps you could tell the boss you can either complete a condensed version of the report by the deadline, complete the entire report by a later date, or meet the deadline if you get some help from co-workers or temporary staff.

These techniques probably won't help you enjoy the life of leisure envisioned by those early futurists. But they can cut down on your stress and may make your work both more manageable and more enjoyable.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow How to Reduce Absenteeism at Work

It is more difficult to find employees who have a strong work ethic and are willing to put in a "good days work." A lot of people tell me, "I hire for attitude and train for skills." That philosophy is as outdated as carbon paper when you consider today's work environment.

Today, there are more jobs than people. Employers now tell me it's tough to find either the attitude or the skills. So what is a boss to do?

First accept the fact, that we are going to have to manage people differently today. What worked yesterday is the very same thing that will get us in trouble tomorrow. Further complicating the matter is you can't treat everyone the same. With each new employee you hire they bring a totally new set of expectations, needs and problems. It takes more time and skill to manage today's workforce. Bad managers are the biggest cause of high turnover, low attendance and low morale.

For those of you who have people with good attitudes and good work ethics... count your blessings and insure you take good care of them so they don't leave you for someone else. Here are a few ideas to think about.

Nucor Steel has a unique pay-for-performance compensation system. Employees earn money based on their individual productivity. Employees are paid a lower than industry average hourly rate. On top of that they receive an additional bonus if they exceed hourly quotas. For example the steel industry average says an individual should be able to straighten 10 tons of steel an hour. Therefore, Nucor's goal is to straighten 8 tons an hour and for every ton over 8 tons they get an additional 5% bonus. However to qualify for the bonus they have to meet the following requirements.

• If they are late to work they loose their bonus for the entire day.

• If they miss a day of work during the week they loose their bonus for the entire week.

As a result, Nucor's productivity took off like a rocket. Absenteeism rarely falls below 1.5% a year. The key strength of this program is employees see a direct correlation between what they do and their paychecks a major incentive. Employees were working so hard Nucor decided to give them 4 non-forfeiture days a year. Even with this only half their employees use their 4 days.

Lottery System-One company uses a lottery system to reduce absenteeism. Only employees with no absenteeism during the month can participate. The lottery includes prizes such as a television, a bicycle and so on. They were able to reduce of absenteeism by 75% and reduce costs by 62%.

Play Poker-Another company improved attendance in a game of poker. Employees who came to work each day were allowed to draw one playing card. Those who attended all week owned five cards on Friday. The player with the best hand wins 20 dollars.

Try a Perfect Attendance Program-One large rental business has several excellent incentives for its 200 plus employees. Any employee who has perfect attendance during the year receives $300.00, a limo ride to a restaurant for a free dinner with their spouse and a gift certificate worth $100.00.

These ideas won't work in every situation and could backfire if you are not careful. Keep in mind that good employees don't need the carrot and stick approach and might find these ways offensive, unfair or unnecessary. The key is to know the individual needs of your workforce.

Be aware that workers who have child care responsibilities find it difficult, if not impossible, to have a perfect attendance record. One study completed in Canada shows that women with preschoolers took an average of 11 days off in 1998, compared with an average of 6.3 days for men with preschoolers.

Flexibility may be the best strategy. A better attendance strategy may simply include flextime for people who have children or parental responsibilities. Some businesses give their employees 5 personal days in addition to normal vacation times to be used any way the person sees fit.