Over the years there have been many waves of workplace issues that have captured public attention. In the 80’s there was RSI, then came Sexual Harassment and Equal Opportunity, this was followed by Bullying and now we are moving to focus on such complex issues as a mental health and stress. We have previously written on the conflux of mental health and conflict in the workplace.
Stress and its side effects in the workplace has moved a long way from the rotund executive in the corner office with a stomach ulcer… Stress in the workplace is very much like a watering system. When there is too much we are overloaded, hit with a tidal wave and flooded. Our personal ‘nervous’ or ‘well-being’ systems become overwhelmed. We now far better understand the debilitating effects on individuals and entire teams that undiagnosed and untreated stress causes.
High potential people also suffer stress
Recently a client in the customer service industry asked us to come in and work with their middle management group. They had a manager who was identified as a high potential making a series of poor decisions and apparently irrational decisions. ‘John’ had become paralysed on how to deal with a difficult direct report during a Performance Management process who was threatening a stress claim. John was doubting himself, not just with this direct report but with all of the Team. Our client realised that if John was struggling then how much more so must his colleagues must be! That’s when they called us, not just to work with John but with the entire management group.
We know our clients are increasingly identifying issues as stress related, stress compounded and where stress is identifies as a major factor in resolving workplace conflict and tension. We are regularly being asked the following questions:
- How do you manage stress during performance management and other difficult processes – their stress, my stress, my manager’s stress?
- How do I respond when an employee tells me they are stressed?
- How do I respond when an employee threatens a stress claim?
- How do you manage individual employees who are more easily stressed than others?
- Why is the workplace calmer when ‘X’ is not present?
- What can I do to make my team respond better to bad news?
Need assistance with an answer to one of these questions? Or can you add another one to the list? The ZALT Group are putting focus on supporting their clients with these issues, particularly performance management and other difficult workplace discussions or processes. We’d love to know your questions, concerns and scenarios. Please be in touch.
When engaging us for training or workshops some clients have utilised their Risk Management Funding from their WorkCover Agent. This is an annual entitlement that must be allocated by 30 June and cannot be rolled over into the new financial year. With this deadline fast approaching drop us a line if this is something you’d like to explore this financial year.
