And Mitigating Stress in the Workplace by | Bobbi Kloss

and Mitigating Stress in the Workplace by | Bobbi Kloss

MAGAZINE

Reproduced with permission from Benefits Magazine, Volume 57, No. 1, January 2020, pages 40-45, published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (www.ifebp.org), Brookfield, Wis. All rights reserved. Statements or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of the International Foundation, its officers, directors or staff. No further transmission or electronic distribution of this material is permitted.

Employers have a duty to provide a safe workplace for employees. The author discusses preventive measures employers can take to reduce the risk of workplace violence and create a psychologically healthy work culture.

40 benefits magazine january 2020 and Mitigating Stress in the Workplace

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t is not uncommon now to turn on ment, intimidation, or other threaten- ployee has the ability to report claims the TV, read online or receive an ing disruptive behavior that occurs at of behavior or safety violations. alert on a mobile device describ- the work site.” Workplace incidents may Each and every employer should in- I ing a mass shooting at a place of include (1) threats, (2) verbal abuse, (3) stitute a policy that says that they have employment. Last May, 12 people lost physical assaults and (4) homicidal be- zero tolerance for such behavior and their lives at a municipal building in havior. Employers should be aware that will discipline employees promptly and Virginia Beach, Virginia following an workplace violence can also be identi- appropriately for violating that policy. attack by an alleged disgruntled worker. fied as discriminatory behavior under A zero-tolerance policy should in- In August, a Marriott hotel worker in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, clude not only physical violence and ho- Long Beach, California reported that a the Age Discrimination Act and the micide but threats, bullying and verbal disgruntled employee had threatened Americans with Disabilities Act. abuse as well. These should not be just to shoot staff and guests. Thanks to the OSHA has compiled the following line items in an unacceptable behavior worker who reported it, the attempt statistics about workplace violence: policy. Best practices would suggest that was foiled. • Annually, two million workers a separate workplace violence preven- But with the impact of fear that report being a victim of some tion policy be adopted. Policies should “this could happen to us” due to what form of workplace violence. include training for supervisors and em- can seem to be an escalation of mass • 18,400 nonfatal workplace assault ployees as well as a response plan that homicidal workplace incidents, em- injuries occurred in 2017. is coordinated with building managers, ployers are turning to human resource • Homicide is the fourth-leading local law enforcement and hospitals so (HR) professionals for answers for how cause of fatal occupational inju- that employees are proactively prepared to prevent this type of situation. While ries in the United States, with 458 to respond appropriately. there may not be any guaranteed an- fatalities in 2017. swers to prevent 100% of potential Under the OSHA general duty Company Culture: More violent workplace situations, there are clause, employers are “required to Important Than You Think preventive measures that employers provide their employees with a place Is that enough though? Will that should adopt to mitigate risks. of employment free from recognized stop violence from happening in the hazards that are causing or are likely workplace? Not necessarily. Employers What Is Workplace Violence? to cause death or serious physical need to proactively provide and sup- The Occupational Health and Safety h ar m .” 1 OSHA prescribes that employ- port a positive culture that embodies a Administration (OSHA), the regula- ers should maintain a zero-tolerance workplace where people want to work. tory agency with oversight of workplace policy toward workplace violence and Why is this? safety, defines workplace violence as “any that the policy should include a griev- The current generations in the act or threat of physical violence, harass- ance process through which an em- workplace are looking for a holistic, positive workplace culture. Terms like mindfulness, thriving, well-being and takeaways peak employee experiences are adjec- • Annually, two million workers report being a victim of some form of workplace violence. tives that are being used to describe a • The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) prescribes employers to 21st century workplace culture and an maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence. employer of choice. • In addition to zero-tolerance policies, employers should work to promote a positive An employer can have a consider- workplace culture that minimizes worker stress, discourages workplace bullying and fosters able amount of control when imple- professional, bilateral communication. menting marketplace solutions for • Comprehensive employee assistance programs (EAPs) can help employees deal with stress creating these positive environments as well as violent events that may occur in the workplace or in the community. conducive to attracting and retaining employees, such as a robust compensa-

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tion package, an effective onboarding process, a continuous can recognize or unearth the reason(s) behind poor perfor- performance management system and employee engage- mance if they want to have an ability to retain employees. ment tools. Employers—regardless of size or industry—should be What can an employer do to support a positive workplace aware of warning signs and how to coordinate with HR for culture embodying a “stress-free” atmosphere that can meet taking appropriate action with the employee as well as safe- the needs of its employees, and why is a stress-free environ- guarding the workplace. Some of the more obvious signs of ment so important? unhealthy stress levels include: • Intimidating, belligerent, harassing, bullying, or other Stress Costs inappropriate and aggressive behavior Workplace stress costs employers billions of dollars in • Numerous conflicts with supervisors and other employees losses due to employees being disengaged and unproductive.2 • Statements indicating desperation (over family, finan- The American Institute of Stress estimates that job stress cial and other personal problems) to the point of con- costs U.S. industry $300 billion a year in absenteeism; turn- templating suicide over; lower productivity; and medical, legal and insurance • Drug/alcohol abuse costs.3 And a Korn Ferry study finds that workplace stress • Extreme changes in behavior. levels are higher than they were five years ago, with 40% of The workplace may not even be a main factor of stress. workers saying their job is very or extremely stressful.4 Employees may be struggling with external events that are Stress may be inevitable in certain jobs. And, believe it or affecting them in the workplace. These external events, also not, some employees tend to thrive on certain levels of stress called high-impact life events, could be traumatic events, when they feel they have control over management of their such as divorce and domestic violence, but also include tasks. However, when a person has no ability to control these events that trigger financial or emotional stress such as pre- situations, a sense of powerlessness arises which, according paring for children going off to college, caring for aged par- to the American Psychological Association, is a “universal ents, and the birth or adoption of a child. While we would cause of job stress.” Instances include: all like to be prepared for any event that comes our way, the • Loss of job reality is (1) we are not always prepared and (2) that even • Failure to receive a promotion when prepared, the actuality of the event happening can • Discrimination in the workplace still cause stress levels to rise. As the sense of control indi- • Workplace bullying viduals may feel diminishes, they are sent into stress mode, • Unsafe working conditions i.e., fight or flight. • Unclear and inconsistent supervisor communication and directives How to Address Stress at Work • Too many responsibilities but little authority or control Supervisors can ask the following questions to determine to move the ball forward. whether the worksite is adding to the stress level of employees: Even the act of assigning additional job duties to someone • Is communication professional? Professional doesn’t who is already feeling overburdened could cause stress levels mean that good-natured conversation cannot occur, to rise. but is the communication promoting an atmosphere of Studies have shown that stress can lead to aggressive be- respect, or is it demeaning and/or discriminatory? havior.5 Employers see stress displayed by their employees in • Is workplace bullying occurring? many behaviors: good performance deteriorates; increased –19% of Americans are bullied, another 19% witness it. absenteeism occurs; cooperation with team members erodes; –63% of Americans are aware of abusive conduct in and a once focused employee becomes distracted, potentially the workplace. creating safety hazards. Supervisors and HR traditionally have –60.3 million Americans are affected by it. dealt with these issues through performance improvement –70% of perpetrators are men; 60% of targets are women. plans up to and including termination of employment. It is –61% of bullies are bosses.6 important for employers to know their employees so that they • Is there bilateral communication where top manage-

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ment and employees are sharing information, ideas • Does the company have a comprehensive employee as- and feedback? sistance program (EAP)? • Is there a conflict resolution process in place that pro- • Is the EAP used in the performance management motes employees having authority to resolve matters process? While employees may be going through with each other and/or their supervisor and bring stressful situations, and employers should have com- them to the attention of HR when needed? passion, there is also the reality that quality perfor- • Is the team adequately staffed and are job duties evenly mance is still required. A supervisor referral to an distributed? EAP can include discussion with the EAP on the per- • Are the right people being hired for the right jobs? formance standards that need to be brought up to Does the recruiting process include background par. While the supervisor is not a party to the EAP/ checks and assessment testing? employee discussions, the supervisor can have check- • Are employees paid competitively for the work that ins to identify whether workplace performance goals they are doing? are being achieved. • Is there a proper work-life balance culture? • Is the EAP used in followup to overwhelming events in • Can employees take time off for family, school events the workplace such as a death of an employee, a seri- and doctor’s appointments without the fear of being ous accident occurring, or even a discriminatory or reprimanded? harassing behavior? Events such as these could poten- • Are job responsibilities clearly defined? tially give rise to an employee suffering from • Are the tasks and the management of those tasks com- post-traumatic stress disorder. This can occur in em- municated to the candidate? ployees who either personally experience or observe a • Are candidates for positions having to show how they traumatic event. will handle the burden of the related job tasks? • Are employees encouraged to use their paid time off Remove the Stigma (PTO) and unplug from company communication? More than 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with –How does the company view unused PTO? 52% of mental illness at some point in their lifetime.8 Stress is a employees left PTO unused in 2017, which ac- known contributing factor to depression, anxiety and oth- counted for more than 700 million days that went er mental health issues.9 Employees should be proactively unused and $62.2 billion in lost benefits.7 made aware of the mental health provisions that come with their health insurance benefits not only for themselves but for any dependents on the plan. Many times, only the doc- tors and hospitals, deductibles and copays are the discus- learn more sion points. Education The EAP should have a visible face to both the employee 29th Annual Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE) and the supervisor population, with a representative visiting January 20-22, Clearwater Beach, Florida the workplace. The EAP should conduct supervisor train- Visit www.ifebp.org/hbce for more information. ing throughout the year that includes (1) awareness of the Workplace 2020: Mental Health as a Strategic Asset EAP, (2) how to effectively communicate with employees, (3) On-Demand Webcast making referrals, and (4) increasing employee awareness of Visit www.ifebp.org/webcasts for more details. the benefits and availability of the programs offered. From the Bookstore Training for supervisors should cover how to communi- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Benefits: 2018 Survey cate with sensitivity and empathy to employees and still in- Results clude in the conversation the need to maintain the require- International Foundation. 2018. ment for productive performance. Visit www.ifebp.org/mentalhealth2018 for more information. An agenda for the employee meetings would include tech- niques for stress management, building successful teams,

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diversity in the workplace and preventing harassment train- Bobbi Kloss is the director of ing. Well-designed EAPs also offer financial wellness educa- human capital management services tion, grief support and substance abuse counseling. The EAP bio for the Benefit Advisors Network, a should become a familiar face to all. national network of independent In Conclusion employee benefit brokerage and consulting companies. She may be contacted at If workplace violence occurs in other communities, em- [email protected]. ployers should be vocally sympathetic and empathetic, rec- ognizing that it could happen in their place of business or in their community at any time. Employers should inform employees regularly that they take such situations very seri- • Conduct preemployment assessments. ously and use opportunities to review the workplace violence • Have a performance management system that is com- prevention policy with employees periodically. Employers municated clearly. can also provide a reminder of the EAP and mental health • Communicate with employees about mental health provisions of their health plan. If workplace violence has benefits, including EAPs. occurred in their community, the EAP should be brought • Maintain a holistic culture of well-being that focuses on site to help employees through the emotional upheaval on the physical, financial, emotional and social well- through both overview meetings and confidential one-on- ness of employees. one meetings. While there is no guarantee that they can prevent work- Endnotes place violence, employers can adopt the following best prac- 1. See www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/section5-duties. tices to decrease the risk. 2. See www.coloniallife.com/about/newsroom/2019/march/stressed • Develop, train and maintain a workplace violence pre- -workers-costing-employers-billions. 3. See www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics. vention policy and weapons policy. 4. See www.kornferry.com/institute/workplace-stress-motivation. 5. See www.apa.org/monitor/nov04/hormones and www.apa.org/news • Coordinate a response plan with building owners, lo- /press/releases/2004/10/feedback-cycle. cal police department and hospitals. 6. See https://workplacebullying.org/multi/pdf/2017/2017-Survey -Flyer.pdf. • Follow state/local procedures for conducting back- 7. See www.ustravel.org/research/state-american-vacation-2018. ground checks on all applicants. 8. See www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm. 9. See www.mqmentalhealth.org/posts/stress-and-mental-health.

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