A whopping 94% of U.S. and U.K. workers said they suffer from stress, according to a study conducted by Wrike. Perhaps more alarming is that the same study found that about a third of the respondents said they’ve experienced “high” or “unsustainably high” stress.
That study occurred in late 2018, when the economy was humming along and unemployment was low—and yet almost all employees were still feeling stress. Many felt overwhelmed by it. Now, add in a pandemic, the complexities of remote work, rising unemployment, and a slowing economy. People are more stressed and anxious than ever.
So, as a leader, what can you do to ease that anxiety, even as your own worries may be climbing?
Here at Jackson-Schmidt Consulting, where we specialize in offering leadership assessment and coaching, emotional intelligence (EQ) is often one of those areas we focus on first. EQ is that ability to not only control your own emotions, but to be able to read the room, understand how others are feeling, empathize and act accordingly. We feel that emotional intelligence is always important, but now it is even more so.
Your employees are going through so much, and they need to know that you understand what they’re going through. As important, they need to know that you care about what they’re going through. Part of that is helping them manage their stress. Follow this advice to do so:
Communicate often
Whether you run the company or a small team, share as much as you can, as often as you can. Keeping employees in the loop about financials, where projects stand and plans to survive the downturn will help them feel connected and less uncertain about their own futures.
Additionally, be sure to continue to provide plenty of feedback on their work, check in with them individually to see how they are holding up, and hold team meetings to brainstorm and problem solve. If you are used to managing a virtual team, this may come easy, but if you aren’t, it takes diligence to make sure you are connecting with your employees enough.
If you have employees who seem to be struggling with the new work-from-home arrangement, check in more often. Some people don’t work well alone; others aren’t incredibly tech savvy. A few may take advantage of the situation and not work. If you sense an employee’s attitude has changed or the person’s work is slipping, increase communication.
Most important: Don’t forget to tell employees how much you appreciate everything they do. People really need to hear that right now.
Read our blog post “Communication is Critical During a Crisis” for more strategies.
Accept their “new” work environment
Many of your employees are juggling work and having their kids full time. They’re trying to meet your expectations, while home schooling and entertaining their kids. Single parents are facing even more challenges because they’re doing it alone.
Couples and roommates are navigating being around one another 24/7 and sharing a workspace. Singles are feeling especially isolated. Pets make noises. Each person is dealing with all these things competing for their attention. It is going to impact how they do their jobs.
Accept that meetings might be interrupted by a barking dog or toddler wandering into the room. Understand that employees may need to alter their hours from the standard 9-5 to manage it all. Be flexible, and accept some of the chaos. It won’t last forever.
Most important: Don’t make employees feel guilty about any of it—and encourage them to take care of themselves, spend time with their family and block out time to recuperate. When all this is over, your employees will remember how you treated them. If the recovery is quick and the talent shortage re-emerges, you don’t want to lose talent because of how you responded to their needs during the pandemic.
Don’t give up on professional development
While you may not be able to sink money into training right now, you can find creative ways to bolster employees’ learning and development. Many companies are offering low- or no-cost training right now, and there are countless free industry-specific and general skills webinars, videos, eBooks, whitepapers and more online that can boost their knowledge.
Go out and find those materials and hold team meetings or one-on-ones to help them develop those skills. It is a little bit of extra work for you, but it shows employees that you are invested in them and it makes them stronger employees, so it’s a win-win.
Most important: Take a look at their skills and strengths, and offer them an opportunity to help the team and organization in new ways to meet the current demands and circumstances, rather than stick to arbitrary job descriptions. Pick their brains about how to work more efficiently now and in the long-term. Encourage them to troubleshoot problems and find solutions. Or let them work on something completely unfamiliar to them that is suited to their strengths. You’ll energize them. Plus, it’s times like these that new leaders emerge.
Finally, make sure you are cutting yourself some slack and taking care of yourself, too. Your employees need you to be healthy and mentally strong. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and would like help working through some challenges, contact us today.