10 Ways to Monitor Corporate Stress Levels

Good military leaders work hard to balance the

positive and negative stress. Positive stress

encourages high performance. Negative stress

degrades individual and unit capability. The best

leaders know how to use positive stress to get the

most out of their personnel. And they know how to

tone things down to when negative stress threatens

productivity

The Army is fanatic about training officers and

sergeants to take care of the troops. And these

well-trained leaders are fanatic about carrying

out their responsibilities. The soldiers in their

command don’t always realize why these leaders are

so focused on having everything ready –

personnel, equipment, and training 100 percent

ready.

Even the most personable leaders are sometimes

accused of managing “by the book” or of being too

concerned with their own personal recognition and

promotion. But those who make these allegations,

miss the point. Just the opposite is true.

These “fanatic” leaders are primarily interested

in the welfare of their troops. They want to

complete the unit mission with minimum personnel

loss. Strict discipline, intensive and complete

training, and numerous inspections are essential

for combat readiness.

Failing to enforce regulations, conduct detailed

inspections, or practice combat readiness is

tantamount to dereliction of duty. The extra

effort that goes into intensive training programs

creates additional stress in the unit, but less

persistent commanders actually endanger their

troops and their mission when they fail to

schedule training that teaches troops how to deal

with stress.

—Detecting Stress—

Some corporate jobs are just as stressful as

military assignments. And some ongoing business

situations are as stressful as armed combat. You

can find the stressed employees by monitoring the

frequency of the conditions such as:

1. Anxiety

2 Indecisiveness

3. Irritability

4. Complaining

5. Forgetfulness

6. Loss of self confidence

7. Argumentativeness

8. Insomnia

9. Rapid emotional shifts

10. Physical exhaustion

— How to objectively measure stress —

Privacy laws prevent accumulation of specific

medical histories. But there are ways to get a

handle on what’s going on in your company.

Here are some practical ways to bench mark current

levels and monitor future stress related

conditions.

1. Absences - require strict reporting. Watch for

changes or trends; The more absenteeism, the

greater the chance that stress is a factor.

2. Tardiness - Develop a daily report and weekly

summaries. Are some departments worse than others?

Are people arriving late because they dread the

upcoming stress?

3. Medical claims - Seek generic information from

your health insurance company on the number and

expense of medical claims. Categorize information

by type of ailment and observe how the frequency

of visits compares to major corporate activities

or stressful times of year. You might find that

stressful periods coincide with or precede an

increase in medical claims.

4. Professional assistance - Experts can analyze

the ways stress might be at the root of physical

ailments. They can help you examine the cause-and-

effect relationships that escape the attention of

those who aren’t as well trained in stress

control.

5. Complaints or grievances - Keep records by

department. Those with a greater numbers of

complaints are probably ready for some stress-

control strategies.

6. Accident reports - Analyze accident reports

from the perspective of stress involvement.

Research how stress might have been the root cause

of accidents.

7. Errors in judgment or misstatements. Develop a

log of individual errors in judgment and

misstatements. If certain employees are prone to

making misstatements, they are prone to errors in

judgment. Monitor their decision making to

evaluate the cost of stress for your company.

8. Personal relationships - Note changes in the

way people relate to each other and the types of

action that cause some people to become more

argumentative. You can use this information to

control stress for the entire organization or for

specific individuals who are more sensitive to

stressful situations.

9. Customer service problems - Review customer

service problems from a stress perspective.

Determine whether some kind of stress reduction

could improve relations with customers or reduce

the number of errors involved with order taking,

preparation, shipping, or invoicing.

10. Quality problems - Include in your quality

reports a description of stress-related activities

occurring before and during the period in

question. Watch for trends among certain

employees or departments. Try to find the causes

of stress and what can be done to control the

stress reactions.

Corporate leaders and managers sometimes try to

manage the stressed people by using increased

demands and closer supervision. Instead, you

should use stress-reducing techniques to manage

the stressors.

While the demanding remedies of dictatorial

managers might get short-term improvement from

stressed employees, such relief is usually only

temporary. The increased urgency and focus on

details typically generates even more stress, and

the problems shift from slight distractions, such

as back pain, headaches, and inattention, to more

drastic reactions such as absenteeism and medical

problems, both good indicators that stress levels

need attention.

Just as in the Army, most leaders must be taught

to manage stress and to observe for negative

stress reactions. All managers need to understand

the importance of positive stress in maximizing

accuracy and productivity. And they need to know

how to control the negative stress for the benefit

of those involved and the bottom line.

If you don’t have qualified staff in your company,

outside consultants and trainers can help you

evaluate current stress levels and train everyone

involved. Remember, stress control is a

leadership responsibility.

To learn more about controlling the top workplace

stressors, request a free 3-session mini course by

sending a blank email to 3sessionstress@sendfree.com

Dale Collie - professional speaker, former US Army Ranger, CEO, and a Fast Company top 50 innovative leader. Author of “Winning Under Fire.” (McGraw-Hill) collie@couragebuilders.com

Because of the fast paced nature of our society, overcoming or reducing stress has made it to the list of top ten New Year’s Resolutions. Approximately 19 million Americans suffer from stress related illnesses. The hormone, cortisol, is released during stressful events. When stimulated constantly, over time, it can lead to mental disturbances and a risk of infection and disease. Learning to manage stress leads to healthier and happier living. Here are seven solutions for regulating stress.

Adequate Sleep. Sleep is the number one defense against stress. It allows the mind and body to rejuvenate. When we awaken refreshed, we are more able to handle stressful situations. For the average person, adequate sleep is eight to ten hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Meditation. Meditation is the opposite of the fight or flight mechanism. It is a deep state of restful awareness that counters stress. Practicing twenty minutes a day helps us to remain calm is stressful situations. Deep breathing, relaxation techniques or visualization are all helpful in lowering cortisol levels.

Exercise. Resistance Training or lifting weights has proven to be very effective in controlling stress. A high intensity workout, of no more than sixty minutes, is a successful strategy in stress management. A moderate aerobic workout, such as walking or bicycling for thirty to forty minutes, three times a week, is also effective. A balance of both types of exercise is optimal.

A Balanced Diet. A healthy diet containing B vitamins and magnesium helps to relieve chronic tension. B vitamins are essential for stress management. Magnesium helps to ease muscle tension, stress and anxiety. When exercising to reduce stress, a balance of carbohydrates and protein is necessary.

Laughter. Laughter boosts the body’s immune system and reduces the amount of hormones, such as cortisol, that your body produces during stressful times. One way of using laughter is to picture the ridiculous. The next time you feel that you are losing your mind, picture your brain flying out of your head and landing someplace silly, like in the soup. Go to a good comedy show or rent a tape. As well as reducing stress, laughter has healing properties.

Attitude. Chronic stress is a factor of how we perceive the events surrounding us. We can remain optimistic when confronted with challenges or a new situation. How we perceive situations is a choice. When looking at a situation, break it down into manageable components. Instead of making sweeping negative statements, look at the situation realistically and create steps for resolving it.

Be social. Studies have shown that people who are more active socially are better able to handle stressful situations. If you don’t have one, set up a network of friends and family who are listeners. When you feel stressed, call someone in your network to talk or set up a date to do something fun. Allow your friends to be supportive.

Try one or more of these solutions if your New Year’s Resolution is to reduce stress in your life. Any one these will aid you in reducing stress levels. Choose one that is slightly above your comfort zone but workable for your lifestyle. Learning to manage stress will lead to a happier, healthier you.

About the author:

Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker and balance mentor. For more information on health and fitness or to receive her newsletter, visit her at http://www.balancedwellnessonline.com

Whenever we think of stress , negative thoughts come into our minds. Most of us believe that stress is similar to worries, tensions, failures, sadness, pressures, and what not. Basically negative things. Dictionary meanings of stress are mental pressure, physical pressure, illness or an extra force on a word or syllable. These meanings also signify the negative attributes of stress whether directly or indirectly.

Stress is negative. This is what most of us believe or I must say we have started believing. This negativity ruins us. Whenever a person is under stress he feels strange, afraid, dull and weak in a way that now he can do nothing and needs a medicine or rest. This slows down our lives and destroys our creativity. In this world one thing is very interesting most of the people are mostly under stress. So how will be this world if we start believing stress as a positive force than a negative one.

Then this world will be a great place to live in.

Great philosopher OSHO emphasizes on positive side of stress. He believed that we suffer because of stress because we treat it as a condition or a position. So whenever we people are in a position or condition of stress we find ourselves weak and search for some cure. BUT stress is an indication not a condition or a position. It is an indication of more strength, more energy, more enthusiasm and more life. Whenever someone has a cut on his body blood and pain are there. These are the indications that something is going wrong inside your body.

In same way, stress is an indication that something is going wrong around you and your body is ready to fight, so fight. If we take an example of business professionals they are mostly under stress. This stress is not gone if they start resting their bodies. This stress will go if they will work on their projects and finish them. It is the case with students also. When they are to take tests they are under stress and they go to a doctor or take a medicine and sleep. But then also stress is there. When they try and finish the syllabus stress is gone without any medicine.

So stress must be seen as a positive force and not a negative one. It should be treated as an indication of more power, more energy more enthusiasm and more life.

This will change our lives.

Bharat Gaurav Kapur
(Lecturer in Commerce)
Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management,
Ludhiana, Punjab India.
E-mail - bgkapur_bg@yahoo.co.in
bgkapur_bg@rediffmail.com