Consulting & Leadership Training in Denver

Joel Garfinkle recently conducted a consulting and leadership training in Denver. At this large event, he covered how employers can reduce stress in the lives of their employees.

Today companies must adapt to a changing world and economy. They end up placing more stress on employees to increase production, work longer and harder, and cope with risks of downsizing.

This workplace stress costs $200B in the USA alone through absence, sick leave, and loss of profitability. The influx of millennials hired in Denver adds their stress about high student loans.

Effective leadership training helps businesses and leaders reduce the stress on their workers as companies evolve to meet new market conditions.

Here are three take-aways from Joel’s presentation to help reduce employee stress.

1. Recognize the sources of stress in your company.

   Take time to evaluate what is causing your workers stress. Is there a risk of downsizing? Has restructuring placed additional job responsibilities on each worker? Is your corporate communication system clear and easy to use, or does it open the door to confusion and misunderstandings?If you see company flaws, work to smooth them out and reduce employee stress and the accompanying turnover that brings. Readjust procedures. Simplify communication. Reduce layers between problems and people who can offer solutions.

2. Watch for individual stress.

   Are there workers who seem to be more irritable and harder to work with? Do you have some with more sick days off, or with a bad attitude, or exhausted? The need for work/life balance creates stress in workplaces across the country.Recognize that stress manifests itself differently in each worker. Create specific ways that are encouraged and acceptable to reduce this individual stress. A business model may encourage breaks, offer exercise rooms, or put rewards in place to increase the sense of worker value.

3. Leadership Support.

   Each leader can become aware of the needs and worries of those under them. As Joel trained these leaders, he offered several ways leaders can help reduce stress.

   • Interact and get feedback from workers.

     Let them know it’s okay to discuss their workload and concerns they have with it. Give clear and specific feedback. Make sure these conversations reduce stress instead of increasing it.

   • Develop a realistic set of expectations.

     Upper management may demand far more than can be delivered. You can be the stress reducer for your workers as you set clear expectations both up and down the chain of command.

   • Create a smooth workflow that avoids time crunching deadlines.

     Look for ways to streamline work.

   • Reduce employee conflict.

     Personality differences are a part of life. Reduce the stress from potential conflicts by encouraging an atmosphere of respect and support rather than competition or favoritism.

   • Lead by example.

     Set an achievable standard and then live by it. Arrive and leave at ideal times. Work efficiently. Be available and respectful. Don’t set the standard of being a workaholic, unpredictable, demeaning or demanding.

   • Use Outside Help.

     Don’t be afraid to bring in experts who provide consulting or leadership training to help raise employee morale and reduce stress. Often these experts see stress creators that time and tradition have blinded the company to. They may have fresh and unexpected—but amazingly effective—solutions to the problems you face.

Denver businesses left the presentation better equipped to support their workers and reduce employee stress. They had tools and a roadmap to examine their companies, train their management, and decrease stress down-time and its related costs.

If your company is dealing with employee stress, invite Joel to consult with and train your leadership and workers. His stress reduction strategies can save your company time and money. Click here to contact Joel.