Managing Stress and Change in the Workplace

Summary

• Utilize talents and skills wisely.
• Find balance for those who may face burnout.
• Delegate wisely.
• Be flexible.

As a supervisor, you may be tempted to push your employees to excel. Or, your own boss can be pushing for more. You may have trouble envisioning options for positive change outside of just asking for more.

While all of us must work intensely at times, try to avoid overloading workers. Instead, utilize talents and skills wisely. Do everything in your power to find balance for those who may face burnout.

The dangers of piling on work

• The quality of the work can suffer. Employees forced to jump through hoops may neglect important details. Or, they may learn to fake part of their work, or fudge a bit on the truth.
• You’ll be seen as “out of control.” Managers and supervisors who assign too much are perceived as out of touch. You can lose trust and respect in the long run.

Employees respect supervisors who know how to “grow” them properly. Do this through effective, predictable delegating. Take each employee up the ladder by layering on assignments that are each a little more difficult. At the same time, learn to anticipate when an employee needs a break.

How to get the best out of employees

Any job, of course, requires sweat and wrestling with the inbox. However, as a supervisor, you can keep employees motivated to do hard tasks and acquire more skills.

Think of your larger goal: You want your department to run as a well-oiled machine. Each person should feel some control over stressful work. Offer employees a few physical or emotional escape routes, so they can recharge and fuel up when needed.

To lower the pressure in your department:

• Interview each person. Define tasks each person enjoys. Discover what each person prefers to do under pressure—and which tasks causes the fastest burnout. Try to rotate certain tasks, if possible, to keep your team cool and calm.

Even if you can’t send in a pinch hitter for someone who dislikes writing reports, you can offer that person several 15-minute breaks during the day.

• Help employees balance unpleasant tasks with pleasant experiences. It’s easier for an employee to walk through fire if supervisors understand and reward the challenge taking place.

“I’ve found out that people can tolerate the most unpleasant assignments imaginable—if they feel balance coming in terms of fun stuff,” says Jim, a banking executive. “On weeks we have auditing and eye-straining work, I take my employees out to a nice restaurant after work. We also have Fridays when everyone dresses up like a cartoon character. The customers love it, and it takes the sting out of mad-rush Fridays.”

• Use the volunteer system. For example, ask an employee, “Would you be willing to take several Internet-intensive marketing classes? Our board of directors is working on international expansion. If you can market ideas via the Internet, you’ll certainly impress the top bosses.”
• Put it to a vote. If possible, give employees a vote on unpleasant tasks. Some choice is better than no choice. For example, you might say, “I need two volunteers to pull an all-nighter to get the payroll done. Also, I need one volunteer to edit the quarterly report in detail. I’ll let you decide among yourselves.”
• Arm them with true power. How? Offer them input, tools, and flexibility. These three things will help any employee stay open to weird work hours and tough deadlines.
• Communicate the true picture you are facing. As a supervisor or manager, you might be forced to layer on work. Let employees know you don’t have a choice. Tell them, “My boss is pushing me. Or say, “I’ve gotten word we have to pay more attention to productivity.” Don’t resort to political games, guessing games, mind reading, and stressed-out body language to gain cooperation. Employees appreciate honesty.
• Ask for—even require—their suggestions. “Employees love figuring out how to climb a mountain—if they feel their input will be taken seriously,” says Angela, a human resources director. “But people balk and go crazy if they’re whipped and pushed up that mountain. They feel too out of control. Let them plan some of the steps, even if the steps are imperfect. This helps avoid emotional mutiny. Disheartened employees give the barest minimum.”

By Judi Light Hopson

©2002-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Summary

• There are ways to help employees adapt to change and stay motivated.
• Downsizing can be tough, but there are ways to help employees adjust .

In unsure times, workers turn to their supervisors as a key source of information, seeking guidance and coping skills. Senior management also expects supervisors to keep workers energized and motivated. This is to make sure that productivity and customer service don’t suffer.

Helping workers adapt to changes is also a big part of the manager’s job. By being efficient, you can help them learn new organizational structure, technology, techniques, and workplace plans without wasting time.

Changing and staying driven

George Fuller, author of Win-Win Management: Leading People in the New Workplace, advises managers to be “prepared to answer a multitude of questions, some of which may not always be sensible and many of which will be repetitive. Your patience may well be tested at times, but don’t forget that helping your employees adjust will make it easier when future changes take place.”

Fuller advises four ways to help staff adapt to change and stay motivated:

• Stay accessible. Whenever there is a change in the workplace, employee anxiety can run high. Make sure employees know that your door is open.
• Explain the basis for change. Once employees know the reasons for change, they feel less threatened. The needs of staff will differ with the type of change. Some change may be procedural and call for little more than a brief explanation. Major events such as mergers and reorganizations will take more time.
• Don’t undermine top management change by being critical. Be as forthright as possible. Avoid conveying a negative attitude. If you think senior management didn’t handle the situation in the right way, don’t put your career at risk or undermine any change by criticizing it.
• Show results. Point out the positive results after a change happens. This makes it easier to convince workers to accept other changes in the future. Refer to a successful change if you meet resistance when introducing something new.

Re-energizing your team after downsizing

Has your group recently gone through a round of layoffs? Is everyone looking over their shoulders and wondering if they’re next? How can you keep your staff motivated and focused on the job? Bob Nelson, author of 1001 Ways to Energize Employees, suggests six steps:

1. Communicate all news to all staff all the time.
2. Gather workers from different levels and areas. Ask what they would change in the organization and how they’d change it.
3. Encourage staff to improve one process, procedure, or aspect of their job, each day.
4. Give staff the go-ahead to say “yes” to customers and the help to do so.
5. Break down barriers between departments.
6. Encourage employees to set aside time to focus on their highest priority tasks.

By Rosalyn Kulick

©1999-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Source: Win-Win Management: Leading People in the New Workplace by George Fuller. Prentice Hall, 1998; 1001 Ways to Energize Employees by Bob Nelson, Ph.D. Workman Publishing, 1997.

Summary

• Outline goals and expectations.
• Follow up regularly.
• Focus on strengths.

When members of the armed forces spend years on active duty, and possibly at war, they may find it hard to adapt to a civilian job. Not only has the service member been a part of something that may be hard for civilians to relate to, but they have been away from the civilian lifestyle. They may feel behind on business trends, uneasy with office camaraderie, or nervous over their own job expectations.

Managers and co-workers need to know that a new veteran entering the workforce is unlike other new staff. While the transition might be different, this new employee has years of experience and skills that will benefit the team.

Goals and expectations

Returning veterans sometimes have difficulty seeing how the military system of order differs from the civilian world.

The military has a very clear hierarchical structure, and that is what the veteran knows. Be sure the worker understands what their job expectations are and how they fit in with the overall goals of the company. Share information about the structure of the organization as well. Alert the worker to any training that is offered. A new veteran will be used to clear roles and missions.

Extra time and attention may be needed during a worker’s first weeks on the job.

Follow up regularly

Have meetings at set times to talk about performance, expectations, progress and transition. This lets the worker know where they need to make changes.

Any potential issues may not emerge right away, or happen all at once. Your time and interest, shown by asking questions, can go a long way.

Capitalize on military training

Learn how the service member’s skills can be applied to his current job. There may be leadership or technical skills that can be used. Finding ways to use those strengths is one way to focus on the good, and the strong contributions that returning veterans can make in the workplace.

Post-traumatic stress concerns

Some in the workplace may worry about veterans returning with post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and being a danger. Do not make assumptions about this.

Take the time to learn about it. Not all veterans that experience combat will develop PTSD. Employers and co-workers should not assume that every veteran will have difficulties.

And not everyone who has PTSD is a danger to themselves or to co-workers.

Symptoms of PTSD include:

• Irritability and angry outbursts
• Unexplained absences from work
• Being easily startled
• Threats
• Dramatic mood swings
• Falling asleep on the job

There could be others. If your employee has been diagnosed with PTSD, know that many issues that arise can be managed within the workplace just as any other disability issue. Specific suggestions depend upon the area of struggle. Make sure they know that they can get help from their unit, employee assistance program, Human Resources department or a veterans’ center.

By Rachel Latham

©2012-2021 Carelon Behavioral Health

Summary

Managers can take action to increase resilience by encouraging their staff to be positive, focused, flexible, organized and proactive. 

A long-awaited payroll system that will save the company millions of dollars is about to be implemented. Everyone agrees the change is for the best. But the implementation is beset with problems and ultimately fails. What went wrong?

Managers failed to anticipate and effectively deal with resistance to change. They overlooked the “peopleware” issues lurking below the hardware and software everyone was so focused on installing, says change consultant and psychologist Daryl Conner.

Conner believes that in every project facing resistance to change, there are negative implications for people impacted by the change. As a result, he focuses on teaching people how to deal with the impact of change by increasing their resilience.

Increase your own and your staff’s resilience

Increased resilience is the single most important factor in the success of major change initiatives, according to Conner. Successful managers accept that change is one of today’s management challenges. They also accept that many of their staff may be threatened by change and can become angry and stressed by the ambiguity it imposes.

Managers can take action to increase resilience by encouraging their staff to be:

1. Positive—see life as complex but filled with opportunity.
2. Focused—create a clear vision of what to achieve.
3. Flexible—demonstrate pliability when responding to uncertainty.
4. Organized—develop structured approaches to managing ambiguity.
5. Proactive—engage with change rather than defend against it.

People with high resilience can become architects of their own and their company’s future. People with a low resilience quotient, however, will be victims of imposed change. Conner calls these “danger-oriented” or Type D people. Type O people, on the other hand, are “opportunity-oriented.”

Managers can develop the 5 resilience factors in themselves and their employees, increasing the ability to assimilate change and boosting resistance to its negative effects. They can help seed the organization with Type O employees.

The flexible manager

A special challenge facing managers is the need to develop their own flexibility. This requires an ability to be less judgmental and more pliable.

To be more resilient as a manager, it helps to suspend judgment as you listen. Try to engage in what people say, and save the counterpoints until later. Don’t run tapes of “this isn’t going to work” or “they’re wrong.” Instead, listen to their ideas and then, after listening carefully, present your ideas.

Practice explaining change from the vantage point of someone who disagrees with you. If you are having trouble with a boss, a peer, or an employee, sit down and say, “If I were her how would I feel about this?” Then verbally respond out loud—it gives you a better feel for what the other person might be thinking.

The proactive manager

Even managers resist change. If you find yourself digging in your heels, become proactive by getting involved in the change up front.

You will not only be a positive role model for your staff; you will also coax yourself out of the fear or resistance, and get involved when change occurs.

The organized manager

If you have trouble with stacks of paper, lost files, or missed appointments, it can sink your efforts to become more resilient. Disorganization wastes time and causes frustration. Take some classes on time management and organization.

How to deal effectively with resistance to change

• Understand the basic mechanisms of human resistance.
• View resistance as a natural and inevitable reaction to disrupted expectations.
• Interpret resistance as a deficiency of either ability or willingness.
• Encourage and participate in overt expressions of resistance.
• Understand that resistance to positive change is just as common as resistance to negatively perceived change. Both follow their own respective sequence of events, which can be anticipated and managed.

By Eleanor Vincent

©1999-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Source: Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail by Daryl Conner. Villard Books, 1993.

Summary

• Prepare well—know your facts, company policies, benefits, etc.
• Communicate clearly and directly.
• Remind employees of supportive resources.

Letting people go is well-established in most companies, but it is still a hard process for all involved. Your human resource team should walk you through the process by giving you the tools, paperwork, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Managing the people

Never forget that as a manager you set the “thermostat” for your people. They take their cues from you. Being engaged and available during the process sends the message that you are still with them—even in the hard times.

Before you meet with employees:

• Talk to with Human Resources. Know the benefits package offered and any other relevant company policies, including any policy about giving references for workers who are let go.
• Prepare what you are going to say in advance. Know the facts: Who, where, when, etc.
• Have all the materials you need in place.
• Determine if an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counselor should be on site.
• Secure a place to hold the meetings.
• Determine if there is a need for security to be present.

When you meet with employees:

• Explain in clear language why the downsizing is occurring. Stay on message and do not editorialize or blame.
• Get to the point quickly and directly. Avoid words like “fire” and “terminate.”
• Keep the one-on-one meeting brief and consistent. Have material for the people leaving your company to take away and describe the steps in the process.
• Be prepared to listen sensitively but limit the discussion to the procedures and their specific concerns.
• Do not discuss other employees or managers.
• Never minimize the anguish or fear that laid-off workers are going through. Acknowledge their feelings but don’t offer personal advice.
• Do not argue or justify.
• Don’t offer false hope by saying things will be back to normal soon, or that they will easily find gainful employment.
• Be on hand for follow-up questions, or direct questions to the right Human Resources staff.
• Thank the employee for service and commitment to the company.

Prepare for emotional reactions

Common emotional reactions include:

• Embarrassment
• False bravado
• Sadness and grief
• Feeling out of control
• Anger and sarcasm
• Blaming or insulting the company or specific managers or executives

Be prepared for tears and anger. If employees become emotional, respond calmly. Some laid-off employees may cry. Others may divulge personal hardships during this meeting as a way of letting you know how tough this will be for them.

Listen attentively and remind them about the EAP. Have information about the EAP to give to them.

Some employees may become loud and angry. If you suspect that one of your employees may become hostile or violent, be prepared. Have other managers or security close at hand. If you feel threatened, call for help or stop the meeting. Safety always comes first.

Take care of yourself

There are no easy ways to deal with layoffs. It is painful for everyone. Managers often pay a steep emotional price because it’s painful to see the people you have worked with and care for lose their jobs. Their pain can easily become your pain.

Make sure that you have emotional support. Talk with fellow managers, friends, and family. If you are feeling overwhelmed, the EAP is available for you as well.

By Drew Edwards, M.S., Ed.D.

©2009-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Summary

• Understand the normal stages of grief and phases of life transition to help you gain a sense of control over your emotions.
• Conduct yourself in ways that befit your personal values and professional standards.

Reductions in force have become common in the business landscape, leaving managers with the task of helping workers adjust to continual change.

This challenge becomes harder when it occurs in your own backyard. Managers are not immune to downsizing.

What happens when managers receive layoff notification along with their employees? Increasingly, companies ask downsized managers to stay and help with the transition. It can be stressful to prepare your employees to leave the business while also attending to your own departure.

This task becomes more difficult when the team is asked to work beyond the layoff notification for some period of time. In some instances, the manager is laid off but the team is not. How does the manager keep everyone’s motivation and productivity high?

First, get psychologically squared away: Focus on what you can control

The key to coping constructively with stress is maintaining a sense of control over your life. Your life has been changed by decisions made by others without your consent or involvement. In today’s tough business climate, layoffs happen to even the best employees; it’s beyond your control.

You do have a choice. You can be overwhelmed and paralyzed by the layoff, or you can do things to help yourself—and your team—cope and successfully move on. Your mindset will help or hinder you. Focus every day on what you can control, not on what you cannot.

Recognizing the normal reactions to loss helps you gain control over your emotions and prepares you to help your team. The three stages of grief response are: denial, emotional turmoil, and acceptance. They coincide with the three phases of transition that are part of any major life change: endings, middles, and beginnings.

People react to loss with shock and disbelief. It is difficult to grasp that part of life is ending. After the initial denial comes the flooding of emotions—anger, sadness, anxiety, fear—which signals the onset of the middle phase, when people can lose a sense of direction and focus. Finally, the third phase—beginning—involves acceptance, letting go, and renewal when people focus on the future and move on.

Everyone experiences similar reactions to loss but individuals differ in the intensity of their emotions and the speed by which they move from non-constructive to constructive coping. The manager’s job is to provide leadership in a way that promotes the team’s ability to constructively cope with this emotional transition while maintaining productivity.

How you can help yourself and your team

• Be true to yourself. Your final task is to part with your employer on the best of terms. The world is small. You are virtually guaranteed to cross paths with your colleagues down the road. Conduct yourself in ways that befit your personal values and professional standards.

Action step: Ask team members for suggestions on how to improve the transition process.

• Provide leadership with a human touch. Now more than ever your team needs you to answer questions with honesty, provide guidance, and extend support in a caring manner.

Action step: Be a good listener for team members who need to express their thoughts and feelings.

• Stay involved. You may think of yourself as a lame duck, but you remain a valuable staff member. Coordinate with other departments to transition work. Leave complete written records of your protocols and contacts.

Action step: Hold weekly meetings with your team to address questions and concerns about the transition.

• Be realistic. Do not reduce your standards, but be reasonable in what you expect from yourself and others.

Action step: Take time every week to touch base with each team member to exchange feedback.

• Stay positive. It is counterproductive to allow negative energy to drag everyone down.

Action step: Publicly recognize one team member each day for a positive attribute or contribution.

• Take care of yourself. Do everything you reasonably can to help your organization survive and your team function and cope, but don’t try to be a superhero. Attend to your physical and emotional health. Put personal goals at the top of your daily to-do list. You won’t be much good to your team if you don’t set an example by taking care of yourself.

Action step: Create wellness opportunities (for example, walking breaks, potluck lunches, lunch-and-learn sessions).

• Recognize signs of stress—and take a break. Muscle tension, increased heart rate and jaw grinding are early signs of stress. Responding to these early signs can keep stress from building up and prevent you from becoming exhausted.

Action step: Step away from your desk and take a 5-minute break when you are feeling stressed. Close your eyes, meditate or massage your pressure points. 

A job loss, however nerve-racking, presents opportunities for personal growth and positive change. Keeping an open mind to the possibilities ahead, while taking control over yourself in the present will help you maintain integrity and self-confidence, help your team effectively cope and function, and earn the respect of your colleagues.

Resource

Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, Revised 25th Anniversary Edition by William Bridges. DaCapo Press, 2004.

By Karen S. Dickason, L.C.S.W., C.E.A.P.

©2010-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Summary

• Outline the work and delegate tasks appropriately
• Avoid forcing outcomes.
• Tackle hardest tasks first.
• Encourage employees to alert you to problems early.

Many studies suggest that meeting work deadlines causes more stress for workers than any other single factor. In addition, managers and supervisors can feel this pressure even more severely.

Coaching your employees to meet deadlines is both a skill and an art. You must, of course, outline the work and delegate tasks appropriately. But motivating workers to face an overwhelming time crunch takes creativity, focus, and a calm resolve.

General tips

As you push others to the finish line, keep communications open. Also, park your ego. Tell your employees, “I’m open to hearing your suggestions.” To save time, do this via email or any method that does not require a formal meeting.

Ideally, you can go to your own boss for ideas when the heat is on. Furthermore, have a couple of mentors in place in case you reach a crossroads or crisis.  

When a tight deadline first enters the picture, make sure your employees can honor the work that’s already on their plates. Don’t just postpone it.

Ask your employees to deal strategically with every client or customer who will be affected by any delays. Some clients may not require an explanation, but for those that will, make sure employees let them know what’s going on.

When a deadline looms

• Avoid forcing outcomes. Instead, plan well to make sure you can meet your department’s deadline. Be realistic. You may need to hire temporary workers or outsource specific tasks. Or, you might need to call certain clients and negotiate an extended deadline, if possible.
• Tackle the stubbornest parts of a project first. Say to your employees, “Let’s figure out the equipment, research, and resources that will be difficult to get in place.” More than any other factor, doing the hard parts first will help you meet your deadline. This prep work creates the flow and gets everybody’s energies in sync.
• Encourage employees to alert you to problems early. Tell them, “I want to know if you hit a stumbling block or brick wall.” Certain employees may try to hide important problems—perhaps acting out anger about having to work overtime. Sniff out anyone who’s not coming through early on, but do it gracefully.
• Be honest with your own boss. If you will need certain resources to make sure you can meet your deadline, tell your boss. Never promise what you know your department cannot deliver.
• Help employees pace themselves. Help employees manage their energy levels; employees usually know how to manage their stress levels and where they can focus best. For example, some may work best from home a couple of days each week. Others may wish to work at the office late, after everyone has left.
• Protect employees from energy drains. Employees save energy when they can focus on the tasks at hand. Your goal is to help workers avoid interruptions and energy drains. Help them plan how they will get focused time and a relaxed working space, if possible.
• Encourage rest breaks. It’s easy to forget that working harder, without rest, is counter-productive. Employees can start to work in circles. Exhausted, they can feel they are working when they’re not. Remind employees to stand up, move about and get their blood flowing.
• Make sure everyone understands everyone else’s role. Interface these roles on an assignment sheet, leaving no one out.
• Draw a clear picture of what you need on paper. Write down your expectations, outline them, or draw them as sketches. Ask your employees to fill in the details and get back to you. Make sure you all envision similar outcomes through visual aids—such as charts, circles, boxes, or anything that makes sense to you.
• Do your best, and forget worry. Worry eats up your energy. If you get uptight, your employees will catch this frenzied feeling—bogging everything down. When you stay calm and do your best, you’re more receptive to ideas and better able to fine-tune your approach or find last-minute advisors. When you feel in control of what happens, it feels more like a game. This keeps everyone’s spirits up.

By Judi Light Hopson

©2003-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Summary

• Mindfulness reduces stress and provides a framework for efficient management.
• Thorough examination of situations help managers act.
• Mindfulness works with individuals, interpersonal conflicts, and bigger issues.

Years ago, people in Western cultures saw mindfulness as part of Eastern philosophy. Mindfulness practices are now widely used around the world, and businesses are reaping the benefits.

Mindfulness is a simple concept: non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. Science shows that it has many benefits, especially decreased stress. This is good news for busy managers.

Meditation is the most common mindfulness practice. It is a proven stress reliever. Breathing exercises and other calming physical activities also reduce stress.

Managers can use these activities to set the tone of calm awareness. Mindfulness also provides a useful framework for effective management.

Mindful management

Three concepts of mindfulness will guide you:

• Be aware. Don’t assume you understand situations.
• Be present. Don’t rely on the past.
• Be non-judgmental. Judgment clouds clarity and decisions.

Follow these mindful steps in your work day:

• Slow down. Don’t rush and rely on habits that may not be working well. Be aware of your own needs, too (for lunch, breaks, etc.), so you are able to perform at your best.
• Observe. Non-judgmental observation lets managers see things clearly. Managers can notice how things truly are when they do not judge how they should be.
• Investigate. Attention to detail can help identify waste or breakdowns in communication.
• Communicate. Give your full attention in the moment.
• Problem solve. Use all you have learned through observation and investigation.
• Make a firm decision. Mindfulness leads to purposeful action.

This practice also creates a teambuilding atmosphere. Non-judgment observation means less finger pointing and fear. Employees are able to find their hidden strengths. Managers and employees are more likely to help each other find success. This type of supportive problem-solving opens the door to innovation.

Individual employees

Consider an employee who is not performing to expectations. His work may be unfinished or poorly done.

Pause, and determine your specific concerns before you talk to the employee. What are his particular duties and responsibilities? What is the problem? Who else does it affect? Observe what is happening without judgment. Is the employee absent often? How does he interact with others? Is he distracted? Look deeper. Check work, records, or timelines. Vague concerns are merely complaints and do not initiate change. With mindful awareness you can choose to present objective, factual feedback rather than feedback based on judgment or emotional reactions.

Handle face-to-face conversations privately, if possible. Explain your concerns and goals. Ask the employee what is going on. Listen actively to what she says. Make eye contact and show her you care what she is saying. Building rapport will decrease defensiveness and yield a better, more communicative relationship. Discuss possible fixes, considering her ideas, too. If the problem is not immediately critical, take time to think before making a decision.

Review the situation using all of your information, remembering not to invalidate the employee’s perspective. Decide how you want to proceed and why, and then communicate these things to your employee. Mindful and purposeful plans of action are more likely to succeed than knee-jerk reactions.

Interpersonal conflicts

Conflicts between employees call for the same process. When employees argue, do not assume the issue is petty. It could be the result of a real problem. Observe and investigate impartially. Be sure to talk to everyone involved.

Your goal is to solve productivity issues, and to do so in a way that works for all employees. During the problem-solving phase, stay present and aware of each person’s needs, and guide them toward a shared goal and plan of action.

The bigger picture

The mindful management game plan is the same for issues that extend beyond one or two employees, though they call for more time and a broad view. In these cases, a manager must be aware of individual jobs and how they fit into overall operations.

Team, department, and business level problems will eventually reveal themselves. Visual signs of an overworked and stressed staff may be frequent conflicts or an interrupted workflow. Something as small as a repeatedly late or inaccurate report may call attention to a large scale issue. Quick fixes, like allowing for extended time for that report, are short-term solutions. The mindfulness process can help managers find a way to turn a problem into a chance for innovation.

For example

Employee A is responsible for an analysis of the company’s gains and losses. Employee B handles the sales-related gains and losses. Employee C handles costs of day-to-day operations. When B or C falls behind, A cannot analyze the data and the report is late. When B or C rushes to catch up and makes mistakes, A uses inaccurate data and the report is inaccurate.

Their manager uses the mindfulness framework instead of rushing to judgment. He slows down, observes how A, B, and C work individually and as a team. After clear and non-judgmental communication with all three people, the manager realizes that each person is trying, but the system is working against them. He moves his focused attention to the employees who supply the data to B and C. He begins asking questions. Is there a better way to handle the raw data? Are there more efficient ways of distributing or reporting the data? Are jobs more complicated than they need to be? Using mindfulness, the manager is able to use the problematic report as an opportunity to try different strategies.

Resource

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation

By Beth Landau

©2014-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ﾓWorkplace Health Promotion.ﾔ 2016. www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/workplace-health.htm; ﾓMindful Leadership: When East Meets West.ﾔ Harvard Business School. September 2010. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6482.html; Mitchell, Rebecca J. Bates, Paul. ﾓMeasuring Health-Related Productivity Loss.ﾔ Popular Health Management. April 2011, 14(2): 93-98; National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org; National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health. http://nccam.nih.gov

Summary

• You can benefit from reaching out to others when stressed by work demands.
• You can tap into the support of your own manager and mentors.

Think, plan and manage creatively, tactically, and strategically; negotiate solutions; juggle many tasks; oversee implementation; communicate clearly.

Those were just a few of the skill sets listed for a management position in a recent ad. They may sound common to you. You’re likely expected to demonstrate them, plus much more, in your job.

You’ve worked long and hard to get where you are now. You know the current technical aspects of your job. You’ve got good people skills. You can think through problems and figure out solutions. And yet, sometimes, things just don’t go well. You may feel overwhelmed and stretched past your comfort zone.

Employees are encouraged to turn to their managers for coaching when they need help. Often they ask for guidance on job matters, and even confide about family and health concerns. They access human resources and make use of their mental health benefit or the employee assistance program.

Consult with others; don’t go it alone

But, some people think that being a manager means they can’t ask for help. They believe that they must show strength at all times with all people, even when they don’t feel that way. This sense of how they should act can lead to isolation. This can have a harmful result on their personal relationships and overall well-being. Such an inward go-it-alone focus can become counter-productive to one’s career, as well.

If you feel that way, consider for a moment a different scenario. Think about the times you’ve taken your car for a tune-up or consulted with an IT tech about your computer. You reached out for help without giving it a second thought. Isn’t it possible in our fast-paced, often changing work world that as a manager you might need to do the same thing?

Who can help

If you’re open to reaching out for support when you are stressed, options include:

• Your manager—Just as you’re in charge of supporting your employees, she is in charge of supporting you. There may be help she can give, if she knows your constraints.
• A mentor—If your company has a formal mentor program, take advantage of it. If not, think about asking a manager you respect and trust to take on that role. A mentor can be invaluable in boosting your self-confidence and broadening your outlook.
• Network of managers—Think about forming a small group that could meet to share and brainstorm solutions to common problems. At a minimum, you can build a relationship with an individual manager that is mutually beneficial, supportive and non-threatening.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)—The EAP is a great tool for managers because of its inherent confidentiality. Its team of professionals have broad experience and offer solution-focused services. Your EAP is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at no cost.

Resource

American Psychological Association
www.apa.org/helpcenter/job-stress.aspx

By Cynthia Sulaski, M.S.W., C.E.A.P.

©2011-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Summary

• Give employees the full story, in as much detail as possible.
• Focus on the near term.
• Ask employees for their help and don’t just give their ideas lip service.

When changes at a company such as a merger or layoffs happen, the workplace may be full of stress and anxiety. The need to communicate with openness, honesty, and respect is never greater than at such times.

Tell more than they “need to know”—clarity and completeness are key

First, management experts say, you need to tell the whole truth. Explain in detail what is happening and why. Be direct. Drop the business jargon and don’t read from a script. Talk as you would to family or friends. Clarity and completeness are what employees want, even if the news is bad.

“The more you can be transparent and honest about communicating the facts to employees, the more willing they are to accept them,” says corporate communications consultant Lynne Baker.

This seemingly simple rule can be hard for many managers to follow. One reason is the natural human tendency to avoid unpleasant situations. Managers may also fear getting into trouble by telling too much.

If for valid reasons you cannot disclose some fact, say so. “Only say ‘I don’t know,’ if that is the real answer,” says executive consultant-coach Stefanie Smith. “If the real answer is, ‘We can’t give specific answers to that,’ then say so.”

Listen and learn—two-way communication is important

Your choice of communication channel—written or oral, to large groups or small—will depend in part on your management scope. The CEO of a firm with 20,000 employees can’t deliver critical news about the company in small-group meetings. But even that CEO should find time for as much two-way communication as possible and answer employees’ questions.

Face-to-face presentations are more practical for managers at lower levels. But good communicators can be as effective speaking to large gatherings as they are in small groups.

What’s most important, says author and executive trainer Susan Smith Kuczmarski, EdD, are the leadership qualities you convey. “If you’re good at expressing compassion, transparency, and humility in a large group, that’s fine,” she says. Smith defines “humility” in this context as “caring more about the relationship [with employees] than about the power base.”

Whatever the venue, says strategy consultant Patrick Gray, “it is critical to have give-and-take and some question-and-answer period.” This two-way communication serves at least two purposes:

1. It lets people know that “their input is being heard and they can at least let off steam,” says Gray.
2. It enables managers to see things from the employees’ perspective.

One key to effective communication in any setting is to know where your audience is coming from. What do they already know? What are their concerns? What are their objectives? Question-and-answer sessions give managers a way of answering such questions.

Know your audience—find out what they’re thinking before you speak

Gray suggests taking a few employees aside before a meeting to sound them out and to get a sense of what your audience will be thinking. You might find that everyone is wondering if they will keep their jobs, and that they’re not in the mood for a flashy corporate presentation.

Focus on the here and now

Talking about the long term and the big picture has its place, but it’s not what employees need to hear at a time of crisis. They need to know what the company is doing now to get through the rough spot and save their jobs. They also want to know what they can do to help.

Smith suggests meeting with teams of employees to figure out what they can do in the short term, such as the next eight to 12 weeks, to improve the company’s outlook. “Maybe you can pull the team together to find a way to improve customer service or discover a quick revenue generator,” she says. “It’s absolutely critical to focus on short-term wins.”

Smith also advises managers to get employees to focus on short-term personal goals, such as mastering a computer program or honing public-speaking skills. “Though it may be counterintuitive, this is the perfect time” to encourage such professional development, she says. If nothing else, it bolsters confidence. The more skills you have in your toolkit, the more ready you are to face an uncertain future.

Ask for help and ideas

It is important that managers have an action plan and explain it, but it is just as important to engage employees as partners. “Employees want to be part of the solution, not the problem, so they often ask what they can do to help,” says Baker. “The company should have an answer—or several.”

Managers should also be ready to ask for ideas and to put the good ones into effect. “Actually listen to their suggestions,” Baker says. “Take their suggestions and move them up the line when you think they are valuable.”

You can’t expect miracles from this process, but it’s a good way to produce hope. And it’s far better for people in your organization to see themselves as empowered participants than as passive onlookers.

Resource

Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently About Leadership by Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas D. Kuczmarski. Book Ends, 2012.

By Tom Gray

©2009-2019 Carelon Behavioral Health

Source: Lynne Baker, President, Intus Communications Inc., Northbrook, IL; Stefanie Smith, Principal, Stratex, New York, NY; Susan Smith Kuczmarski, EdD, Kuczmarski & Associates, Chicago, IL; Patrick Gray, President, Prevoyance Group Inc., Fort Mill, SC