Shawnee Love   •  
July 24, 2015

Everyone please take a deep breath in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

And one more time.  Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out.

How do you feel?

Did you use those two breaths to center and ground yourself?

Or

Are you more stressed because you could have used that 10 seconds for something you perceive as more productive?

The answer for many people is the latter; however, in my experience, if you can’t take 10 seconds to catch your breath, chances are you are stressed.

Stress isn’t good for us physically, mentally or emotionally. No matter where your stress comes from, you probably carry it with you where ever you go -including to and from work.

As an employer, you can recognize signs of stress in your staff.  Look for:

• Forgotten courtesies and rudeness,
• Anxious but hushed conversations,
• Mistakes,
• Tears,
• Illnesses,
• Inconsistencies,
• Absences,
• Personality conflicts,
• Allegations of bullying or harassment, or
• Violence.

As stress levels escalates, negative behaviours progress.  The challenge for employers is that work is affected no matter where the stress comes from.

And while employers have some control over workplace stressors and can take preventative measures (e.g., hire more staff, offer time off, improve processes, etc.), they can’t change what happens outside of work.

What employers can do is help employees build resilience.

Increased resiliency enables people to manage their stress more effectively.  Come back next week when we discuss how your company can help employees build resilience.