What is your stress level? What are your employees’ stress levels? The pandemic has placed tremendous burdens on every human—and every company – on the planet.
Closed businesses and lost jobs have taken a significant toll on the economy and human wellbeing.
Stress is at an all-time high. A 2020 Harris Poll found that US adults’ average stress level was 5.4 (on a 10-point scale). This rating is significantly higher than the 2019 average stress level of 4.9.
Parents with children under the age of 18 rated their stress level at 6.7. That’s unfortunate, but not surprising.
For example, a client recently described an online team meeting where a key player had to beg off from participating because her three school-age children all had online sessions simultaneously as the company meeting. Each child had to log in and participate on a different platform with a different device. Mom was on learning support duty.
Effective leaders know that one of the most important things they can do to support team members is to remove employee frustrations.
During pre-pandemic times, lousy systems, poor communication, disrespect, and poor follow-through typically generated employee frustrations.
During the pandemic, employee frustrations have grown. Working remotely doesn’t solve the above issues—it amplifies them.
Leaders can do three things to help address employee frustrations:
First, ASK. Proactively engage with employees. Ask them how they’re doing. Ask what their biggest frustrations are with getting work done today.
In today’s three-minute episode of my Culture Leadership Charge video series, I outline the other two things leaders can do to reduce employee stress.
This is episode ninety-three in that series. Each episode is a 3-4 minute video that describes proven culture leadership and servant leadership practices that boost respect and results across your work teams, departments, regions, companies, homes, and communities.
You’ll find my Culture Leadership Charge episodes and more on my YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon Podcast channels. If you like what you learn, please subscribe.
Have you responded to this month’s culture leadership poll? Add your ratings to two questions. It’ll take less than a minute. Once you vote, click “results” to see the responses from around the globe.
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