According to the American Institute of Stress, 80 percent of employees feel stress on the job, while almost half of them admit to requiring assistance in managing stress. Is your workplace becoming too stressful for your employees?

Stress is a serious issue to consider in the workplace; it can lead to some serious health conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Research suggests that up to 77% of people regularly experience physical symptoms from stress, from back pains and headaches to severe nausea.

While work is an important part of life, so too is the balance of life away from the office desk. Overworked and stressed employees may not only be suffering from physical symptoms, but stress affecting the quality of work they produce.

“Stress-related health care and missed work are costing employers $300 billion a year.”-Inc.com

Finding Balance

Improving work/life balance is key to a happier, healthy life, and more productive and engaged employees for businesses. It doesn’t take much effort to help employees find a better balance with their work and personal life, given a few simple tips:

Flexible working hours

In a digital world, flexible working is becoming more common. It takes some trust on behalf of the managers, but giving employees flexible hours can really help to turn their lives around and help them produce the high quality of work you’re seeking. You can still ensure they are working the required amount of hours per week, but consider letting them chose certain days to come in at a later hour or to work from home. That spare time means employees can run errands, go to the gym or have a bit more family time that would otherwise only be available at the weekends.

Promote a healthy lifestyle

Offer healthy food around the office, like fruits and vegetables, and make sure there’s always plenty of water on supply – staying hydrated is crucial to a healthy lifestyle. Consider dedicating time each day for employees to stretch and move around; weight gain is proven to lower self-esteem and therefore increase stress.

Be approachable

As the person running the show, a manager will benefit by having a good relationship with employees. Try to regularly talk to your team and engage with them in a friendly, informal manner. The more relaxed they feel around you, the more relaxed they’ll feel about their work.

Pets & plants

Plants can offer a wide range of healthy benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and helping to purify air. If your office building allows it, consider a ‘pet’s day’, when your employees can bring in the beloved buddies for a day at work. It’s another fun way to reduce stress and allow your staff to bring balance to their work and personal life.

How You Can Measure & Manage Stress?

Of course, it can’t be all fun and games. Work is still work and it needs to be done – the goal is to allow your staff a balance that doesn’t see them fall into the pit of stress.

Employee computer monitoring is one solution to accurately measure and manage productivity and employee attendance. With software such as KnowIT, you can set up individual work schedules for employees that will record when they’re logged into company devices and working. If you’ve allowed them certain days to come in late, you’ll be able to see if they’re doing so or if they’re abusing that trust. You’ll also be able to see how long they’re not active, meaning you can ensure they’re taking breaks responsibly.

KnowIT will take all of this into account to produce a productivity report for each employee and the workplace as a whole – so you’ll be able to see for yourself if your new work/life balance practices are having the desired effect in the workplace.

What work/life balance policies do you have in your workplace?

Let us know in the comments below!