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Stress in the workplace is an increasingly common issue that companies can’t afford to ignore. In fact, 12.5 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, anxiety or depression in 2016/17 according to the HSE.
As well as affecting their everyday lives, employee mental health is incredibly important when it comes to efficiency and productivity in the workplace. It’s therefore more essential than ever that HR managers are confident when it comes to tackling work-related stress and effectively communicating with absent staff.
So how can you help rather than hinder employee stress?
Communication is key to reducing stress in the office, as well as boosting productivity levels and efficiency.
The back-to-work interview is another great way to help both you and the employee – you can understand the cause of their stress, and they benefit because they know you care and are listening.
Once you’ve had a discussion with your worker, it’s important to take what they’ve said on board and make some changes - this might well benefit other members of the team too.
That could involve introducing flexi-time, encouraging proper lunch breaks or conducting regular performance reviews.
Your handy check-list
The above are just a few examples, so we’ve put together a handy checklist to help you cover all bases when it comes to maintaining communication and managing employee stress.
Download the checklist here or click the button below:
