How to Deal With Stress in Your Business

There is no entrepreneur or senior level executive I know of that hasn’t experienced serious stress during the course of their business career.  Certainly there are times when the pressure builds and builds and builds – forcing executives and line personnel alike to struggle just to keep up!

Stress causes all kinds of problems – more often than not compromising the individual’s ability to concentrate and get work done.  Certainly the costs of neglecting stress in your business can be very high. And, strangely, stress is sometimes overlooked as a health and safety issue by small businesses. Yet the unexpected absence of just one member of staff can affect productivity, and efforts to secure cover can be costly and time-consuming.

This is doubly true during a busy season – including the Holiday season whether your company markets to the seasonal market or not.

Stress can cause many workplace problems, including:

• a fall in your personal productivity and that of your employees
• poor decision-making – at a time when prudent decisions are most important
• an increase in mistakes which may in turn lead to more customer complaints – or worse, the loss of good customers/clients.
• increased sickness absence
• high staff turnover
• poor workplace relations

Stress often has a cumulative effect. If one member of staff becomes ill through stress, it places added pressure on those covering for them.  And, today, with companies struggling to keep costs down, the likelihood that additional personnel will be hired to absorb extra work is unlikely.  Every employee from line to executives must perform at a higher productivity level.

A stressed manager may find it difficult to create a positive working environment and monitor stress levels in others.

It’s also important to tackle any stress you face as an entrepreneur or contractor (1099). This is often caused by working excessively long hours or from a feeling of isolation.

Your legal duty on stress

Employers have a legal duty to ensure employees aren’t made ill by their work. This includes taking steps to prevent physical and mental illness brought about by stress. These steps need not cost a lot of money and the benefits can be significant.

You must assess the risks of stress caused, or made worse, by work as part of your overall health and safety risk assessment.

One of the best ways of assessing stress levels in your business is to carry out a stress audit. Contact SPIA for further information (www.spiainc.com). Failure to take action could leave you open to a compensation claim from workers who fall ill due to work-related stress.