According to the World Health Organization, stress is “the health epidemic of the 21st century,” and the driver of many chronic diseases. While some amount of stress is essential for productive performance, excessive stress greatly affects the health, productivity and engagement of an organization.
The August 2015 exposé of Amazon in the New York Times was the tipping point for a nationwide conversation about stress and toxic corporate culture – where constant output and success at any cost is the number one priority. While many reactionary pieces talked about what employers need to do to alleviate stress among their staff, few discussed the reality of the situation–employees are always going to have some level of stress, but employers can arm them with the tools and techniques to better cope with stress and minimize the negative impacts of burnout. The best leaders promote mindfulness and resilience within their teams by offering solutions for employees to boost their coping skills and regulate their emotions when it comes to work. This is a powerful bottom-line-focused strategy: Not only will a resilient workforce yield better performance, but they’ll be more engaged and loyal to their employer.
meQuilibrium recently surveyed more than 1,200 people about stress and how it affects their work performance. The results further substantiate the need for employers to make resilience training part of their human capital management toolkit. Here are three of the most interesting findings.
What’s with the empty desks?
When asked if they have ever missed work due to stress, nearly one-third (31%) of respondents indicated they had taken a day or more out of work in the past year solely because of stress they were feeling on the job. But what are employees saying when they are skipping out to decompress? The most common excuse is calling out sick (81%), followed by taking a mental health day (32%), saying there is a family emergency (20%), claiming a household problem or car troubles (18%) and saying you have a doctor’s appointment (14%).
The alternative to having your employees out of the office – having them work while stressed – isn’t necessarily the next best option. Stressed employees don’t perform to their potential: When asked how they operate at work under stress, 56% said they’ll work overtime, 28% said they log regular hours and avoid extra work and 16% said they’ll take long breaks throughout the day. They might be in the office, but they are not engaged with their work.
“I’m sorry, I quit.”
Perhaps the most interesting piece of data: the number of respondents who admitted they have left a job because of the stress it caused them. Just over 40% of respondents said they quit because of stress, which should make employers and HR departments think a little more about how they can empower their employees to thrive in the stressful situations rather than bear the high costs of turnover, replacement and training.