Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 27) By Karen Leland Don’t Sweat It Being Stressed Out Is Bad For Business Six Minutes to Less Stress Dr. Jay Winner advocates that even as little as six minutes of relaxation at a time can lower stress on the spot. In his new book, Take the Stress Out of Your Life (Da Capo Lifelong), he outlines a simple meditation technique that can be done at your desk. Below is a modified version of Dr. Winner’s basic relaxation process: To begin, find a quiet location and a comfortable place to sit. Sit up with a straight back, arms and legs uncrossed, and begin noticing your breathing. Let your eyes close and with each breath in let your abdomen gently expand and rise. Place your hand on your abdomen until you feel T he results are in, the surveys tallied and it’s official—stress is at the top of the list of workplace woes. According to a recent report by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 40 percent of U.S. employees cite workplace stress as the main reason they’re considering leaving their jobs. Even more telling is the answer their companies give when asked why they think staff might leave. “We found a disturbing disconnect between the view of employees and the perspective of employers,” says Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards for Watson Wyatt Worldwide. “The two top reasons management cites are base pay and career development opportunities. Stress did not even make it into management’s top five answers.” In a second, related survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, nearly half of U.S. employers (48 percent) say stress is affecting business performance. However, only 5 percent are actively addressing the concern. “This should be a wake-up call to companies to be more mindful as to their level of workplace stress,” says Sejen. “This is something that is important to employees and will affect their decision to stay with an organization.” Since staffs are voicing their discontent with stress levels, and their bosses believe it to be a problem that impacts productivity, why aren’t more companies doing something about it? Dr. Kathleen Hall, founder of The Stress Institute in Atlanta, says that U.S. businesses are significantly behind Europe’s when it comes to stress reduction and work/life balance programs. “In Europe, they have taken the threat of stress seriously for twenty years,” says Hall. She believes that U.S. businesses are lagging because they suffer from a “Wall Street Mentality.” “Companies are obsessed with the immediate bottom line,” says Hall. “They feel that if they spend money on a stress-reduction program, they have to see hard results right away.” And Hall says she could continued on page 28 show it to them. “I could take everyone’s blood pressure and do a cortisol (a stress hormone) swab test to measure stress levels every day. Within sixty to ninety days of a program being in place, I could demonstrate positive changes in physiology,” says Hall. “The problem is companies just don’t want to pay to have that done.” Hall says that U.S. companies are beginning to catch on and recognize that the ground to be gained from introducing stressreduction measures (including decreased turnover, reduced absenteeism and greater employee retention) outweighs the costs. For companies that want to take a first step, Hall suggests starting with a Self-Care Program that teaches workers specific ways to take responsibility for their own psychological and physical wellbeing. “When most people join a company, they are handed a booklet on stress from Human Resources, initial a piece of paper to acknowledge they received it and are sent on their way,” jokes Hall. “That is not a Self-Care Program.” Hall believes that the key is to stimulate and motivate employees by providing training that focuses on stress-reduction techniques, meditation, identifying stress triggers, etc. She is also an advocate for companies putting into place “relaxation rooms” where employees can go to meditate or listen to music, and “play rooms” where employees can partake of video games, cards or | April 2008 | Incentive | 27 incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com
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