At Corporate Health Results we believe that healthier people lead to a happier workplace. We believe this because, well, the health and wellbeing of your employees is the most important thing. Not only does good health lead to organisational and individual productivity, but also engagement and job satisfaction.

Now, we all know what absenteeism is and what it means for a company. The loss of an employee for a day, or even weeks, due to poor health is damaging to productivity on so many levels. This is clear as day. However, a recent term to describe another detriment that poor health can have on your company is just the opposite of absenteeism, “presenteeism”.

In broad terms, presenteeism refers to the loss of productivity that occurs when an employee is ill or injured but comes into work anyway and is, as a result, less productive. It makes sense, have you ever tried to work at full capacity, wholeheartedly engaged and productive with a seething headache, or a constant cough, or stress levels through the roof? Not easy.

Although presenteeism is a relatively new concept, it has actually been shown to have a far greater effect on productivity than absenteeism does. In fact, estimates are that employee presenteeism cost the Australian economy a whopping 45.1 billion dollars last year (2.7% of GDP).

Presenteeism can describe a lowered productivity level due to a number of factors; coming to work when ill or injured, allergies or asthma, unhealthy lifestyle and mental health. It is super important for businesses to recognise these factors in the path to creating a workplace that is healthier overall, and at peak productivity.

An incredibly common case of presenteeism is when employees disregard or ‘push through’ an illness that is going to affect their ability to work, and show up at work anyway. For example, in a small company, an employee would be more likely to deem themselves well enough for work, as there doesn’t exist someone else to cover their workload.

Obviously, the detriment of that one person’s lowered productivity is a factor, but also contributing is the potential spreading of a sickness to other employees, risking a sort of domino effect. In addition to that, when an employee is sick but comes into work anyway, they are also potentially prolonging their state of unwell, which can lead to further sickness or more time off.

Of course, it is left up to the individual to determine whether they are healthy or unwell, and fit for work. This makes it a difficult factor to monitor. But employers can no longer ignore the massive strain that presenteeism is having on their companies and on the economy.

This is particularly poignant in the case of mental health presenteeism. The mental health and wellbeing of your employees is paramount in maintaining or improving the productivity and capacity of the company. This is indicated by the level of engagement of people within a company. When someone feels supported and appreciated in company culture, they are more likely to be an involved, happy and productive employee. If stress levels are high, work-life balance isn’t realised and anxiety is commonplace, there will be a significant shift in the capabilities and positive attitudes. You want the people who are there, to be happy and healthy in order to be performing at their best.

The relationship between health and employee engagement is clear, and so looking after the health of employees is in everyone’s best interests. It’s important to consider what the workplace can do, as organisational practice, to reduce the amount of illness and injury, and in turn enhance productivity and engagement.

Creating healthier, happier spaces for people to work in is something that were are very proud of. The real difference can be seen in the individual lives of the people working within companies that are looking out for their health and wellbeing. It is through practices such as maintaining a clean and hygienic workspace, that employees, supervisors, managers and bosses can thrive.

Company parties are fun, but you should never forget where you are. Go right ahead and enjoy the celebration with your coworkers while you maintain your professionalism while you remember that you’ll have to face these people on Monday. Your professional reputation is at stake, so guard it with a clear mind. If your office is having a holiday celebration, you should attend unless you are sick.

It all appears to be commonsense, especially for those who have attended many before. However, we have all heard stories of, or even know of individuals who have done something “not in the spirit” of the occasion, even if it was completely through ignorance.

So here are some helpful tips which can help you get through unscathed. Apply appropriately, depending on how the occasion is celebrated.

1. What to Wear
Dressing for success isn’t limited to the workday. Of course, you probably won’t wear something you’d wear to the office, but you do need to put considerable thought into your attire. When you attend the company party, avoid wearing anything that is too revealing or shows too much skin. You don’t want your managers to think you lack discretion.

Consider where the party is being held before choosing your outfit. If you are celebrating at a restaurant, follow the establishment’s dress code. If the party is at a private home, and you are still unsure, ask someone you trust for advice.

2. Alcohol
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Otherwise, you might say or do something you will later regret. This can get you into trouble or alter someone’s favourable opinion of you.

3. Food
Enjoy the food at the party, but avoid looking like a glutton. The size of the hors d’oeuvre plates will give you an indication of what you are expected to eat. Don’t overfill it, and never double-dip anything after taking a bite. Know which utensils to use and when to use your fingers. Regardless of how delicious the food is, don’t ask for a doggy bag. A more appropriate thing to do is request the recipe later.

4. What to Say
Speak to everyone at the party in a positive, friendly tone, but don’t forget that this is not the place to say something negative that may get you into trouble later. If you find this difficult, make the rounds, greet everyone, and find an excuse to leave early. You should never say anything you wouldn’t say at the office.

This is a good time to speak to executives you may not otherwise have a chance to talk to. Approach them with a smile, introduce yourself if they don’t already know your name, and keep the conversation short. You want to be friendly, but you don’t want to keep them from talking to others. Don’t use this as an opportunity to complain about your job, your coworkers, or the company.

Mingle with people outside your department. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know someone you only communicate with via email. Always be a good listener. No one likes partying with someone who hogs the conversation.

5. Guests
Before bringing a guest to the office party, find out if it’s okay with the planners. Sometimes spouses and dates are included, but many companies have budgetary restrictions. Bringing a guest to a party that is for employees only will make everyone uncomfortable. Follow RSVP requests for guests.

6. Host or Hostess Gifts
You may or may not choose to bring a host or hostess gift, but if in doubt, it is always good form to bring something. If you know the host or hostess well, you can be creative and bring something you know he or she will enjoy. However, if you aren’t sure what to bring, you can’t go wrong with a bouquet of flowers, a bottle of wine, or a homemade treat that can be enjoyed later.

7. Gifts for Other Attendees
Some parties involve a gift exchange. Stay in the price range recommended. Avoid purchasing anything risqué or personal. Remember that this is an office party and not a bunch of your college buddies getting together.

8. Photographs
Before you start snapping candid shots of your coworkers having fun, make sure you have their permission. Avoid poses that can embarrass them later. It’s fine to take selfies with your office pals as long as the other people agree. Never post anything on social media without asking everyone in the picture first. You should always respect people’s privacy.

9. When to Arrive
Don’t be the first one to arrive, but don’t wait until the party is almost over either. Most of the time, showing up about fifteen minutes after the party starts is ideal, unless it’s a sit-down dinner with a designated time to be served.

You also don’t want to be the last to leave the party. As soon as you see the event starting to wind down, it is time to make an exit. Look for signs that it’s time to go, such as the host picking up glasses or retrieving the guests’ coats.

10. When it Time to Leave
On the way out the door, don’t forget to thank the host or hostess. Parties require quite a bit of planning and effort, and the organiser will appreciate your kind gesture. If the host is a supervisor, you’ll stand out as someone who is gracious and has good manners.

As the year closes, we often look at how many hours have we worked? Were they all completely productive? Was I always on task.

I am not here to judge you at all. All I have today is some information from the latest Census, giving a brief summary of certain occupations and their weekly working hours. This is not specific to any one individual, but gives you an idea that certain industries work longer hours than others. Whether that is a choice, or that is the way the industry needs to operate, who know? Just an interesting bit of reading I thought.

Australians doing manual labour are working the longest hours in the country, with nearly 50 per cent those employed in mining clocking up 49 hours or more per week of work.

Farmers and construction workers, including carpenters, builders and plumbers, spend the next-longest time at work, according to new census figures released on Monday.

Up to 35 per cent of those working in Australia’s fisheries, farms and forests do hours of overtime a week, while among the trades, one-in-four regularly put in up to 50-hour weeks.

Professionals, including lawyers famous for their long hours as well as accountants, have been pipped for overtime by real estate agents and others in the hiring business.

Twenty per cent of people in the rental and real estate game put in more than 49 hours of work a week, while 19 per cent of professional services did the same.

Financial services, including banks, recorded less than half the amount of overtime compared to farmers, so too did teachers and other workers in the education and training industries.

At the other end of the scale, less than 11 per cent of public servants and Australians working in hotels are working more than 49 hours per week.

By comparison, only 8 per cent of workers in Australia’s largest employer, healthcare, including doctors and nurses, recorded overtime.

Nearly 50 per cent those employed in mining clock up 49 hours or more per week of work. For those who are doing overtime they are most likely to do it between the ages of 45-54, when one in five Australians puts it in every week. Overall, men are twice as likely to do overtime as women, while the majority of women work between 25-40 hours a week.

The figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, also show Australians have either begun taking their work-life balance more seriously, or, as has been well documented, we are transitioning to more part-time work, particularly in those service industries with fewer longer hours.

There are now 34.6 per cent of people in part-time work, up from 32.5 per cent five years ago. The growth in part-time work has enabled more women to enter the workforce.

The contrast with 1966 is striking. Female employment is up from 34 per cent of all women to 56 per cent today.

But the extra time in the workforce for women is not being made up by extra hours at home for men. Women in full-time employment are twice as likely as similar men to do at least 15 hours unpaid work a week. That’s almost 20 per cent of women compared to 8 per cent of men.

We often look at major sporting events as a distraction from our work and sometimes a reason to stop working and socialise.

Others in your workplace might frown upon this and a possible awkward situation could arise: The sports fanatics vs the anti-sport establishment.

Can a happy medium be found?
Sporting events during the work week can be a distraction for employees. Nonetheless, employers are finding that they can be a great employee engagement and retention.

In the USA some companies use sporting events as a reason to create engagement between employees.

The Major League Baseball season is well underway with some games taking place during normal work hours.

The Chicago Cubs had their midday National League tiebreaker on a Monday, while Game 3 of Houston Astros-Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series also was a mid-afternoon start. Games happening early in the day has both hurt and helped workplaces nationwide.

When sporting events occur during work hours, employers could face productivity issues, which can include employees calling in sick, leaving early or arriving late. But there’s an opportunity to flip that thinking and use such events as an employee engagement and retention tool.

Companies are finding that sporting events work well as an employee engagement and retention tool.

Joyce Maroney, executive director of the Workforce Institute at workforce management software company Kronos Inc., studies workplace issues and ways to manage and engage workers. Maroney said one of the ways employers can avoid these issues is by making the sporting event available in the office, whether on TV in a break room or conference room, or an office-watch party with food provided.

“It can definitely be a tool to stimulate camaraderie, just as would be departments having gatherings during the holiday season, or doing a charity event together,” Maroney said. “All these things engage people at work and can make people feel like they’re part of something that’s a little bigger than just getting the job done.”

Maroney may be onto something.

A survey conducted in March 2018 by employee and recruitment agency Randstad U.S. said 79 percent of employees believe sporting events in the office “greatly improves their levels of engagement at work.” In the same study, 73 percent of workers say they look forward to going to work more when they participate in office sports bracket contests like college basketball’s March Madness tournament. Also, a 2017 study conducted by employee time-management app TSheets found that 68 percent of employees said watching games increases or has no effect on their productivity.

Chicago-based staffing and recruiting firm LaSalle Network embraces sports in its office. The big sporting events they consider as employee engagement and retention tools in the workplace are March Madness, the Olympics and the World Cup soccer.

Founder and CEO Tom Gimbel said doing this has resulted in better relationships with fellow employees and clients as they have a viewing party for the annual March Madness tournament.

“It empowers employees because they don’t have to sneak around to participate in something they enjoy,” Gimbel said. “It also makes our clients feel valued. We want them to know we appreciate our relationships with them. It helps builds trust.”

The Super Bowl, arguably the biggest U.S.-based sporting event every year, normally attracts over 100 million viewers annually. Even those who don’t consider themselves sports fans watch the Big Game.

Research conducted before this year’s Super Bowl by the Workforce Institute at Kronos and Mucinex found that nearly 14 million employed Americans planned to call out of work after watching the game. Another 25 percent of working Americans, 38.5 million people, said the Monday after the Super Bowl should be considered a national holiday.(sounds familiar doesn’t it?)

Gimbel said companies that attempt to “squash the fun and energy” coming from a big sporting event are missing out on a great opportunity to engage their staff.

Looking at the current state of Chicago’s core sports teams right now, Gimbel might be planning a little something for his firm in February.

“We’re not ruling out anything for the Super Bowl,” Gimbel said. “If the [Chicago] Bears make it, who knows what we’ll do?”

Do you think this could work in your company? Would your bosses arrange a gathering of staff for certain sporting events and create an atmosphere for engagement within your workplace?

Would it work for you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

How do you enable your employees to be not only deeply productive, but loyal? Engaged, but low stress? Collaborative and communicative, but also focused?

For decades, companies have been searching for ways to help their employees lead better lives, whether through anti-smoking initiatives, nutrition programs, or fitness plans. But stress continues to grow. In the new always-on culture of work, it’s not just the body that needs a break. There is a new way companies are learning to support both their employees and their business goals – an approach that helps reduce stress, improve engagement, and make for happier employees.

Companies are choosing mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation helps to reduce stress, increase focus, and improve relationships, while also promoting a positive workplace. When we think of learning to meditate, it’s common to picture something inaccessible, but mindfulness can be found in conference rooms across the country. Mindfulness, when practiced not just by an individual but by a company, can lead the whole organisation to becoming more resilient and more productive. And the science behind it continues to mount.

Impacting the bottom line Reducing stress for a healthier business

Stress comes with significant costs for businesses. Reports suggest that stress results annually in as much as $300 billion in lost productivity, almost $200 billion in stress-related-illness expense, and one million workers being absent every day. Research shows that mindfulness meditation can reduce stress and can have a significant impact in the workplace by helping people regulate emotions, changing the brain to be more resilient to stress, and improving stress biomarkers. A study has shown that with just 10 days of mindfulness meditation, participants experienced a 14% decrease in stress. A Harvard study even showed that meditation can have a longer-lasting effect on stress than a vacation. Participants of the study were measured for stress levels 10-months later, and the vacationers’ stress levels had returned to baseline, whereas the meditators maintained their reduced stress levels. Impacting the bottom line Reducing stress for a healthier business Workers in many high-stress occupations, such as healthcare professionals, call-centre employees, and bankers, have experienced health benefits such as decreased stress after mindfulness training.

One study found that after 8 weeks of mindfulness training, nurses had significantly decreased stress levels and improvement in general health. The same improvements were sustained 4 months after the training.

A European study involving a diverse sample of workers (including industrial clerks, bankers, hospitality service employees, retail salespersons, nurses, teachers, social workers, and psychologists) showed that after 10 days of self-guided mindfulness exercises, participants reported decreased levels of emotional exhaustion.

Employees of a call centre working for a financial institution experienced decreased stress after listening to two short meditation sessions daily for 5 weeks. Bonus: The clients of these employees actually had increased satisfaction levels over time.

In fact, in Aetna’s first year of implementing a mindfulness program, healthcare costs fell 7%, saving the company over $6 million. Aetna’s study also found that mindfulness increased job effectiveness, with employees gaining an average of 62 minutes of productivity per week. Aetna estimated that additional hour of productivity was worth $3,000 per employee per year. Stress might seem like a motivator, but happy employees are actually more productive than unhappy ones — 12% more productive according to one study. What’s more, another study showed that happier sales people sold 37% more than their unhappy counterparts.

Improving engagement and job satisfaction

When mindfulness becomes a regular habit throughout an office, it permeates through all the processes and routines, and it’s been shown that organisations practicing mindfulness perform more reliably than other similar workplaces. In fact, a Gallup study found that companies with engaged employees outperformed those without by more than 200%.

In a 2012 study that measured the effect a mindful leader had on employee performance, it was shown that supervisor mindfulness reduced employee emotional exhaustion and actually improved employee performance and engagement. A mindful supervisor was positively related to employee satisfaction. More research still needs to be done on how mindfulness affects teams but for a number of companies, research has pointed to reduced turnover, higher customer satisfaction and increased loyalty, and improved financial performance.

Mindfulness training for “workaholics” even resulted in less working time, but no change in job performance. They were just able to be more productive during the hours they were at work.

And that’s hardly a surprise: engaged employees are more productive than less engaged employees. A Gallup survey of a diverse group of employees showed that teams with high employee engagement were 21% more productive. And it turns out, mindfulness helps foster the characteristics that enhance engagement, like positivity, emotional balance, decreased stress, and better relationships with coworkers — some of the core tenets of simply being satisfied with your job. In fact, in one study using Headspace, nurses who meditated for 30 days had significant improvements in job satisfaction.

Promotes collaboration

A brilliant team only succeeds when they can work together. A study involving both small and medium sized businesses found that the companies with the most engaged employees (a byproduct of collaboration) have 26% less turnover and 20% less absenteeism, not to mention a 65% increase in stock value.

SO HOW DOES MINDFULNESS MEDITATION AMPLIFY COLLABORATION?

It’s also been shown that even if only one side of a relationship is practicing meditation, the relationship will benefit. All of these benefits add up to better working relationships across organisations. In one case study done by A Head for Work, 34 mental health trust clinicians and staff underwent mindfulness training, and 93% reported improved relationships with their coworkers.

In fact, 45 studies on mindfulness in the workplace have shown that mindfulness meditation leads to better relationships between colleagues, which then improves collaboration and resilience within the company during times of increased stress, and this was shown across several industries. And it’s not just at work: mindfulness meditation has been shown to make meditators more compassionate and enjoy more satisfying personal relationships.

Improves cognition

Studies show that after practicing four sessions of either meditation or simply listening to an audio book, those who meditated showed reduced fatigue and anxiety. Not only that, but the people who meditated also showed improved working memory, executive functioning, and sustained attention when assessed on mood, verbal fluency, and memory. Better recall and a better attitude can go a long way on challenging projects.

Enhances creativity

A stressed mind is closed off to opportunity, and when hundreds of stressed minds are shut off, your company could lose out on significant gains. A survey done by Forrester Consulting for Adobe found that businesses that embraced creativity enjoyed greater market share, outnumbering their competitors 1.5 to 1, and that applies outside of traditionally creative industries. How we approach a set of data, how we tackle a challenging client, even how we approach scheduling all take creativity. Research into problem solving has shown mindfulness causes a break in the habitual verbal-conceptual processing, indicating there is a direct relationship between creativity and mindfulness. In a separate study, scientists also found that mindfulness promoted divergent thinking, leaving the door open for new ideas.

Bringing mindfulness to your company

Reducing company stress, improving relationships across departments, and lowering overall costs all benefit the business, but mindfulness also has great impact on individual benefits. Mindfulness isn’t something that requires talent. It’s a skill you can learn like any other. Mindfulness meditation allows people to be more aware of their thoughts, and thus more aware of and able to control their reactions to those thoughts.

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It’s no secret that we’re all stressed out.

We’ve all had those days where we feel flustered, irritated, and anxious. We’ve all had those nights where it’s too difficult to fall asleep – that all you can do is worry about what you have on your plate. In fact, sometimes it feels like it’s far more normal to be stressed out; that in today’s hectic modern world, being relaxed means you’re doing something wrong.

For some people, sources of stress can be difficult to target; that life itself is just providing different sources of stress. But what if you can pinpoint that source of stress…and it happens to be your workplace?

As it turns out, workplace stress is quickly growing into a major health epidemic, with serious consequences for both employers and employees. Sky-high absenteeism rates and burnout make it difficult for employees to be productive; employers often see a dip in productivity reflected in revenue. At the end of the day, both employer and employee have a vested interest in helping to manage workplace stress.

Stress in the workplace is more than just rushing to meet a deadline or feeling a twinge of frustration at your job role. The most insidious workplace stress is consistent and unrelenting; in fact, this type of stress is known as chronic stress, and it can be deadly. Whereas episodic (or acute) stress can be defined as the stress that’s directly related to a particular incident, chronic stress is unrelenting and can follow you around day in and day out. This is the type of stress that’s the worst for your health – and unfortunately, the kind that’s most common in the workplace.

That’s why this article is dedicated to helping readers not only understand what workplace stress is, but why it’s on the rise in the first place. You’ll learn about the primary factors that are making you so stressed in the office, and why you’re particularly vulnerable to those triggers. Additionally, you’ll learn the most common signs of workplace stress – many of which might come as a surprise to you. Finally, readers will be provided the tools and techniques they need to minimise the impact of workplace-related stress on their health.

Ready to loosen the grip of workplace stress on your health? Let’s go!

What’s Making You So Stressed?

At first glance, it might seem pretty obvious why the workplace is making you so stressed out – it’s work! However, there are very specific triggers for the kind of stress you’re experiencing at the office. In a StressPulse survey by EAP provider ComPsych, workers listed the following reasons as their main causes for stress:

People-Related Issues (28%): Do you sit next to someone who constantly chews with their mouths open? Are you on a team with someone who refuses to pull their own weight? Regardless of what annoying behaviours you’ve experienced in the workplace, it should come as no surprise that “people-related issues” ranked as one of the top stressors in the workplace.

Think about it this way – You’re spending upwards of eight hours each day with people who are otherwise virtual strangers to you. You’re not allowed to deal with conflict in ways that feel comfortable to you; for example, you can’t exactly demand that someone stop chewing with their mouth open for fear of creating an even more toxic workplace. Ineffective managers and complacent HR departments can make it even more difficult for you to deal with coworkers, especially if they refuse to help with a toxic situation.

Workplace bullying (including sexual harassment) is on the rise.
According to non-profit Workplace Bullying Institute, workplace bullying can be defined as “repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is abusive conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating; or work interference – sabotage – which prevents work from being done; or verbal abuse. For people who are on the receiving end of workplace bullying, the effects aren’t just stressful; they’re downright deadly for one’s health and well-being.

Workload (46%): It’s no surprise to see this stressor at the top of the survey. Employers are consistently asking their employees to do more with a lot less. Cut budgets, lack of resources, or inefficient staffing solutions can make it hard for a worker to get his or her job done in an effective manner. When you’re feeling overburdened by your workload, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly drowning under all the tasks you’re being asked to do. This statement is especially true if you feel as though your manager isn’t invested in helping you manage an especially large workload.

Work-Life Balance (20%): Many workers report feeling as though their work-life balance is skewed in favour of employers. It’s no wonder – with more of us feeling pressured to put in long workdays and be constantly connected to employers, work-life balance can feel like a fragile balancing. This balance is especially at risk if you’re raising a family, a single parent or dealing with a stressful situation in your personal life.

The same could be said for workers who feel as though they need to endure a hellish commute just to make it to the office. If you find yourself stuck in traffic on a consistent basis or spending more than 30 minutes in your car during your commute, you’re especially at risk for developing debilitating workplace-related stress.

Lack of Job Security (6%): Finally, respondents placed lack of job security as one of the biggest stressors they encounter in the workplace. It makes sense – the old employer-employee relationship that defined earlier generations has given way to a transactional, at-will employment agreement. Your employer doesn’t owe you any loyalty; additionally, employees are almost expected to hop from job to job to build up their resume. With all of these factors combined, it’s no wonder respondents feel stressed out by the lack of job security.
While this survey was performed back in 2006, many of these reasons still exist in the workplace today. What’s more, additional triggers have been added to the stockpile. These may include:

Feeling constantly connected to the office: Thanks to the advent of smartphones, mobile email, and the diminishing boundaries between work and home, many employees feel as though they’re constantly connected to the workplace. Think about the last time you were home during the evenings or away on vacation – were you bothered by a supervisor? Did you find yourself feeling guilty if you didn’t constantly check your work email? When left unchecked, all of these interruptions can add up to serious stress.

Employers aren’t exactly in a rush to respect the boundaries between work life and personal life. In fact, France recently made it illegal for employers with more than 50 employees to contact those workers after 6pm and on weekends. This “right to disconnect” bill is a landmark in that it acknowledges the growing (and stressful!) intrusions that modern technology is creating in our lives. When you feel like you can’t disconnect from your boss without running the risk of losing your job, it’s hard to feel like you can relax and enjoy your time away from work!

Not getting enough hours/working too late: On one side, you have employers who are determined to cut hours in order to avoid paying benefits. On the other side, you have employers who are requiring employees to work late without paying overtime. No matter which side of the schism you find yourself on, the truth is that neither is good for your health. Part-time hours make it difficult for you to plan out your budget, while working too late without compensation can quickly lead to some serious burnout.

Ageism in the workplace: It’s no secret that Baby Boomers are becoming a larger part of the population. Yet instead of retiring, Baby Boomers are doing something interesting; they’re choosing to remain in their jobs or continue to search for work well past the typical age of retirement. Economic experts have attributed this growing trend to rising living costs and prolonged lifespans. In other words, we’re no longer retiring at 63 and living until 75; we’re living well past our 80s (and even into our 90s!).

That means older workers are still searching for work – work that they might not always find. Although ageism (defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as discrimination against workers over the age of 40) is illegal, older workers are still finding themselves being squeezed out by employers favouring younger workers. Add this stress to the growing lack of job security, and it’s no wonder older workers are far more stressed in the workplace than in previous years.

If you’re lucky, you might not recognise yourself in any of these scenarios – at least, not in any way that immediately leaps off the page at you. So how do you know how much stress you’ve been dealing with at work?

Signs You’re Dealing With Some Serious Stress

For some, the signs of workplace stress can be immediate and obvious. But not all of us have heart palpitations as soon as we walk into the office, or constantly feel as though our adrenaline is at an all-time high. What are some other, less-obvious signs that you’re dealing with serious workplace stress?

You constantly feel anxious or depressed
You’re easily irritated, whether at work or at home
You suffer from fatigue, but you have a hard time sleeping
You find it difficult to concentrate or stay focused
You feel apathetic about things that once interested you
You’re getting sick much more often
You’ve experienced a sudden dip in your sex drive
You’ve been turning to alcohol, drugs, or both to deal with the stress
If you recognise yourself in any of these symptoms, it’s likely you’re on the track to developing a serious case of workplace stress. Once you’ve recognised the problem, what can you do to stop it? Is there any way to reverse the toll that workplace stress can place on your health?

Here’s What You Can Do About It

Reading about workplace stress can be, well, pretty stressful. Given that stress in the office can be hazardous to your health, are there any steps you can take to prevent your stress from growing out of control?

Fortunately, the answer to that question is yes – and here are the best techniques to make your workplace stress a little more manageable:

Invest in positive relationships: Studies have shown that people who enjoy positive workplace relationships are less likely to suffer from stress and burnout. In fact, a recent study by Tel Aviv University showed that “workplace friendships can increase job satisfaction, productivity and job commitment while decreasing stress and turnover.”
If there are people in the workplace who you enjoy spending time with, invest in these positive relationships. While you don’t need to be best friends with every coworker you meet, having a buddy in the office can make it easier to deal with those tougher days at the cubicle.

Be more active: If you’re spending too much time at your desk, you’re far more likely to feel stressed out, fatigued, and any other assortment of negative emotions. Try to get up and stretch your legs every hour. Take a brief walk around the office, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you get a lunch break, take off your allotted time – and don’t just eat lunch at your desk!

Eat a better diet: It sounds basic, but improving your diet can make a world of difference in terms of battling stress in the workplace. Make sure you load up your plate with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. That includes fish, spinach, nuts, and other healthy fats. On that note, be sure you’re getting plenty of sleep – when you’re tired, you’re more likely to give in to the temptations of junk food.

Organise and prioritise: If you’re stressed out at work because you feel like you’re doing a million things at once, it’s time to prioritise the most important tasks. At the beginning of each day, make a list of everything that needs to get done. Of all these tasks, mark down the ones that absolutely need to be done by the end of the day. Anything else can wait until these tasks have been finished. When you’re going through your list, you may find that there are fewer tasks that need your immediate attention.

Prioritising and organising your day is an excellent way to feel more in control of your workspace. When you’re feeling flustered and cluttered, it’s much easier to feel stressed out. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be an organised person, try this technique out – you’ll be surprised at the difference it can make in your day!

Find the humour: When things get rough, sometimes you just have to laugh. Find humour in the things that are stressing you out at work. This technique is where having a good support system at home or at work helps out. For example, if you’re having conflict with a manager, spend time with a coworker who never fails to make you laugh. Sometimes laughing at a stressful situation can be enough to help make it seem a little less severe.
Invest in your personal life: If you define yourself by your job, it’s much easier to let job insecurities and workplace issues take over your life. That’s why it’s vital to find joy and purpose outside of your workspace. Don’t just treat your home as a place where you rest before clocking in another shift at the office. Spend real time with family members and loved ones. Unplug your computer and turn off your phone so you can truly get lost in the moment. Take up a hobby or activity you’ve always wanted to do.

Whatever it is that makes you happy, find the time to incorporate it into your personal life as much as possible. That way, you won’t feel like your entire existence relies on your job – and that will take the punch out of any episode of workplace stress!

Move on: If you’re trying all of these tips but you’re still not seeing relief, it might be time to find a new job opportunity. No matter how many stress-busting techniques you might have up your sleeve, they won’t come in handy if you’re dealing with a workplace bully or a toxic manager. Recognise when it’s time to let go of a job, especially if it’s become damaging to your health. Find a job with an employer who will appreciate you for who you are – and won’t make your blood pressure rise every time you walk into the office!

Learning how to deal with stress at work won’t always feel natural, nor should you expect to master it right away. But with the right techniques and attitude, you can definitely take a bite out of any stress that might be plaguing you.

Being part of a company that believes workplace wellness can mean the difference between a job you love and one you, well, don’t love. Being a corporate wellness expert I have observed for many years and been asked by many people, “How can I cope with negativity at work? Are there good companies to work for? How can I spot one and get hired?”

Healthy workplaces tend to exhibit a common set of traits that foster excellence, productivity and camaraderie. Here are 10 characteristics of workplace wellness.

1. Positive values

A positive mission statement outlines the goals and demonstrative behaviour that exemplify the highest commitment to quality and service to each other, the company, customers and shareholders. The company sets out to achieve its goals in ethical, honest ways with an elevated sense of purpose to improving the planet and humanity.

2. Relaxed and productive atmosphere

People enjoy coming to work and feel appreciated, acknowledged and rewarded. Signs of fear, domination, bullying, sexual harassment and intimidation are absent. Creativity, productivity, and thinking outside the box flourish.

3. Commitment to excellence

Employees give 200%. They strive to be the best and to deliver top quality products and services. They take responsibility for their actions and decisions.

4. Open and honest communication

Everyone communicates in a cards-on-the-table manner, solving difficulties in a positive way. They don’t play nasty revenge games when given difficult feedback. Instead, they view feedback as an opportunity for growth.

5. Cooperation, support, and empowerment

Can-do, go-the-extra-mile and win-win attitudes are evident signs of workplace wellness. Employees have a sense of camaraderie, cooperation, and empowerment. Healthy competition exists without vengeful, spiteful backstabbing

6. Sense of humour

Employees keep things in perspective, have fun, and laugh. Laughter generates endorphins, our natural antidepressants.

7. Compassion, respect, and understanding

Kindness and understanding prevail when employees face challenges such as accidents, illnesses, personal tragedies, and natural disasters. People will usually go the extra mile for others when they’re treated well and with understanding, compassion, and respect.

8. Flexibility

The company and its employees embrace change, accommodate new trends and technology, and incorporate new skills. They know if they don’t, the business will end up a dinosaur. As the saying goes, “Change is the only constant.”

9. Positive reinforcement

People need acknowledgement, appreciation, and gratitude to be motivated. Genuine compliments, rewards, bonuses, raises, promotions, and certificates of achievement are oil in the machinery. The company thanks employees regularly in these ways.

10. Emphasis on health, family, and environment

The company offers health and wellness programs which can cover one or more but not exclusive to:

Weight-loss & smoking-cessation, and substance-abuse programs.
Fitness classes(Yoga, pilates, group circuits/bootcamp, meditation, running groups)
Nutrition and health seminars
Health Checks: glucose and cholesterol checks, skin checks, fitness assessments
Seated massages
Mindfulness programs
A corporate cafeteria which features a healthy menu catering for all walks of life and dietary considerations.
The company offers reimbursement for childcare and/or on-site childcare. The office itself features natural and recessed lighting with incandescent bulbs rather than halogen or fluorescent. The organisation is environmentally aware by encouraging solar power and recycling.

You may not have all of these but, would it be too much to implement one or two of these and then you will see how your staff will respond in a wonderfully positive manner.

Plus, if you can keep your staff healthy, happy and on task, it will allow you more time to focus on the goals you are looking to achieve.

How do you enable your employees to be not only deeply productive, but loyal? Engaged, but low stress? Collaborative and communicative, but also focused? For decades, companies have been searching for ways to help their employees lead better lives, whether through anti-smoking initiatives, nutrition programs, or fitness plans. But stress continues to grow. In the new always-on culture of work, it’s not just the body that needs a break. There is a new way companies are learning to support both their employees and their business goals – an approach that helps reduce stress, improve engagement, and make for happier employees.

Companies are choosing mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation helps to reduce stress, increase focus, and improve relationships, while also promoting a positive workplace. When we think of learning to meditate, it’s common to picture something inaccessible, but mindfulness can be found in conference rooms across the country. Mindfulness, when practiced not just by an individual but by a company, can lead the whole organisation to becoming more resilient and more productive. And the science behind it continues to mount.

Impacting the bottom line Reducing stress for a healthier business

Stress comes with significant costs for businesses. Reports suggest that stress results annually in as much as $300 billion in lost productivity, almost $200 billion in stress-related-illness expense, and one million workers being absent every day.

Research shows that mindfulness meditation can reduce stress and can have a significant impact in the workplace by helping people regulate emotions, changing the brain to be more resilient to stress, and improving stress biomarkers. A Headspace study has shown that with just 10 days of Headspace, participants experienced a 14% decrease in stress. A Harvard study even showed that meditation can have a longer-lasting effect on stress than a vacation. Participants of the study were measured for stress levels 10-months later, and the vacationers’ stress levels had returned to baseline, whereas the meditators maintained their reduced stress levels. Impacting the bottom line Reducing stress for a healthier business Workers in many high-stress occupations, such as healthcare professionals, call-centre employees, and bankers, have experienced health benefits such as decreased stress after mindfulness training.

One study found that after 8 weeks of mindfulness training, nurses had significantly decreased stress levels and improvement in general health. The same improvements were sustained 4 months after the training.

Employees of a call centre working for a financial institution experienced decreased stress after listening to two short meditation sessions daily for 5 weeks. Bonus: The clients of these employees actually had increased satisfaction levels over time.

A European study involving a diverse sample of workers (including industrial clerks, bankers, hospitality service employees, retail salespersons, nurses, teachers, social workers, and psychologists) showed that after 10 days of self-guided mindfulness exercises, participants reported decreased levels of emotional exhaustion.

In fact, in Aetna’s first year of implementing a mindfulness program, healthcare costs fell 7%, saving the company over $6 million. Aetna’s study also found that mindfulness increased job effectiveness, with employees gaining an average of 62 minutes of productivity per week. Aetna estimated that additional hour of productivity was worth $3,000 per employee per year.

Stress might seem like a motivator, but happy employees are actually more productive than unhappy ones — 12% more productive according to one study. What’s more, another study showed that happier sales people sold 37% more than their unhappy counterparts.

Improving engagement and job satisfaction

When mindfulness becomes a regular habit throughout an office, it permeates through all the processes and routines, and it’s been shown that organisations practicing mindfulness perform more reliably than other similar workplaces. In fact, a Gallup study found that companies with engaged employees outperformed those without by more than 200%.

In a 2012 study that measured the effect a mindful leader had on employee performance, it was shown that supervisor mindfulness reduced employee emotional exhaustion and actually improved employee performance and engagement. A mindful supervisor was positively related to employee satisfaction. More research still needs to be done on how mindfulness affects teams, but for a number of companies, research has pointed to reduced turnover, higher customer satisfaction and increased loyalty, and improved financial performance.

Mindfulness training for “workaholics” even resulted in less working time, but no change in job performance. They were just able to be more productive during the hours they were at work.

And that’s hardly a surprise: engaged employees are more productive than less engaged employees. A Gallup survey of a diverse group of employees showed that teams with high employee engagement were 21% more productive. And it turns out, mindfulness helps foster the characteristics that enhance engagement, like positivity, emotional balance, decreased stress, and better relationships with coworkers — some of the core tenets of simply being satisfied with your job. In fact, in one study using Headspace, nurses who meditated for 30 days had significant improvements in job satisfaction.

Promotes collaboration

A brilliant team only succeeds when they can work together. A study involving both small and medium sized businesses found that the companies with the most engaged employees (a byproduct of collaboration) have 26% less turnover and 20% less absenteeism, not to mention a 65% increase in stock value.

It’s also been shown that even if only one side of a relationship is practicing meditation, the relationship will benefit. All of these benefits add up to better working relationships across organisations. In one case study done by A Head for Work, 34 mental health trust clinicians and staff underwent mindfulness training, and 93% reported improved relationships with their coworkers.

In fact, 45 studies on mindfulness in the workplace have shown that mindfulness meditation leads to better relationships between colleagues, which then improves collaboration and resilience within the company during times of increased stress, and this was shown across several industries. And it’s not just at work: mindfulness meditation has been shown to make meditators more compassionate and enjoy more satisfying personal relationships.

Improves cognition

Studies show that after practicing four sessions of either meditation or simply listening to an audio book, those who meditated showed reduced fatigue and anxiety. Not only that, but the people who meditated also showed improved working memory, executive functioning, and sustained attention when assessed on mood, verbal fluency, and memory. Better recall and a better attitude can go a long way on challenging projects.

Enhances creativity

A stressed mind is closed off to opportunity, and when hundreds of stressed minds are shut off, your company could lose out on significant gains. A survey done by Forrester Consulting for Adobe found that businesses that embraced creativity enjoyed greater market share, outnumbering their competitors 1.5 to 1, and that applies outside of traditionally creative industries. How we approach a set of data, how we tackle a challenging client, even how we approach scheduling all take creativity. Research into problem solving has shown mindfulness causes a break in the habitual verbal-conceptual processing, indicating there is a direct relationship between creativity and mindfulness. In a separate study, scientists also found that mindfulness promoted divergent thinking, leaving the door open for new ideas.

Reducing company stress, improving relationships across departments, and lowering overall costs all benefit the business, but mindfulness also has great impact on individual benefits. Mindfulness isn’t something that requires talent. It’s a skill you can learn like any other. Mindfulness meditation allows people to be more aware of their thoughts, and thus more aware of and able to control their reactions to those thoughts.

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Twenty years ago, new office technologies like email and teleconferencing contributed to a dramatic boost in productivity. Information flows accelerated. Collaboration with coworkers became easier and easier. Productivity grew significantly faster during the 1990s and early 2000s than in previous years.

Today, productivity growth has declined appreciably. Since 2007 it hasn’t even kept up with inflation.

What happened? The financial crisis, sure, but that’s not all. Companies have continued to invest in new technologies for white-collar workplaces, but the benefits are no longer visible. In fact, we may have reached a tipping point where each new investment in office technology must be carefully assessed against a simple test: will it actually help people get more done, or not?

The roots of this conundrum lie in a seemingly innocent piece of technological wisdom known as Metcalfe’s Law. Robert Metcalfe is a giant in the technological field, co-inventor of the Ethernet and cofounder of 3Com, a company later acquired by Hewlett-Packard. He has postulated that the value of a network increases with the square of the number of users. One fax machine, for example, is worthless. Two fax machines are worth only a little. But a network that includes thousands of fax machines is worth millions, because now all those people can send documents to one another.

Metcalfe’s Law, however, has a dark side: as the cost of communications decreases, the number of interactions increases exponentially, as does the time required to process them. The impact can be seen in the workplace. Thirty years ago, when executives or managers got a phone call while they were away, they received pink slips from their secretaries saying that someone had called. A busy exec might get as many as 20 on an average day, or about 5,000 a year. Then came single-user voicemail, followed by multi-party voicemail (the pre-email version of “Reply All”); the cost of leaving a message thus declined, and the number of messages left rose accordingly, perhaps to 10,000 a year. Then, finally, came today’s layers of networks — phone, email, IM, and so on — in which the cost of communicating with one person or many hundreds of people is virtually nil. Not surprisingly, the number of messages has burgeoned to an unbelievable amount, as we all know.

The same principle applies to meetings. It used to be that setting up a meeting with five managers was tricky. The meeting organiser’s assistant had to contact the assistants for the other participants. The assistants checked their bosses’ calendars — most were not kept electronically — and then agreed upon a time and location. All that took a good deal of time and effort. With the introduction of Microsoft Outlook and other calendar programs, the cost of setting up a meeting plummeted. As a consequence, the number of meetings has increased and the number of attendees per meeting has exploded. 15% of organisations time is spent in meetings — a percentage that has increased every year since 2008.

Don’t we all hear that “we need a meeting to arrange a meeting”. This is among the most common time consuming areas, plus all other responsibilities with all the added accessibility due to technology.

From research it has been found that a typical front-line supervisor or midlevel manager works 47 hours per week. Of this time, he or she devotes 21 hours to meetings involving more than four people and another 11 hours to processing e-communications. (This doesn’t count the emails sent during meetings, a common practice in many companies.) So the manager has less than 15 hours a week to do other work.

And that’s not all. If you deduct time periods of less than 20 minutes between meetings or processing emails as “unproductive time” — it’s hard to start and complete most tasks in less than 20 minutes — then you are left with a sad truth: The average manager has less than 6½ hours per week of uninterrupted time to get work done.

Meanwhile, the number of interactions required to accomplish anything has increased. A recent CEB study found that 60% of employees must now consult with at least 10 colleagues each day just to get their jobs done, while 30% must engage 20 or more. The result? Companies take more time to do things. For example, it takes 30% longer to complete complex IT projects, 50% longer to hire new people, and nearly 25% longer to sign new customer contracts. And that’s just in the last five years.

A Luddite’s Proposal
The original Luddites, nineteenth-century English textile workers protesting labor-saving machinery, feared that the new technology would take their jobs away. Some of today’s office technologies have the opposite effect: they encourage workers to behave in ways that are wasteful and unproductive, such as scheduling unnecessary meetings.

In your work with clients, would you consider these two factors in assessing your technology investments:

1. What impact will the new technology have on organisational time? Will the technology actually enable people to do more in less time, or does it merely make work and collaboration easier? Investments that reduce the cost of interactions but do not themselves save time should be viewed skeptically. Unless an organisation is highly disciplined in its management of time, the dark side of Metcalfe’s Law will trample whatever benefits the new technology might promise.

2. Could better rules eliminate the need for further investment? Today, many investments in new technology are essentially workarounds for bad behaviours or poor procedures for sharing information. Were customer, financial and operational information readily available to all, for instance, the need for crowd-sourcing or reconciling data sets would be reduced significantly. Leaders should carefully assess whether to accept a bad behaviour as given and invest in new technology to cope with it, or instead change the dysfunctional behaviour.

Technology can have enormous benefits in the workplace. But it’s fair to ask whether we have reached the point of diminishing returns in some areas.

If leaders consider the unintended consequences of new technology on collaboration and workforce productivity, they may well reject many new investments.

When traveling to countries where medical care isn’t terrific or you are out of the city somewhere where there isn’t a lot of care, medical and travel security providers are a necessity for business travellers. If something goes wrong, you know there will be plane or a helicopter get me to where I need to go, as well as the best care you can have.

Lengthy international trips may cause a person to lack focus after arrival. It is recommended travellers delay meetings for at least 24 hours to recover from the flight and adapt to time changes.

Whether someone is traveling domestically or abroad, work-life balance may take a hit. Especially for people with young families, the partner who remains at home with the children may feel overwhelmed.

Here are some tips to stay healthy while on those business trips:

Find quick, healthy grab-and-go options near the hotel to resist the urge to eat fast food.
Join a gym with multiple locations to use the membership while traveling.
Employers can maintain a company culture that stresses positive health behaviours like getting enough sleep and allowing people time to eat.
Reimburse reasonable wellness expenses for fitness classes in travel destinations.
Rosenbluth suggests that travellers exercise, which may be difficult if there’s no fitness centre or if the destination poses a safety hazard for walks offsite. There are ways around this small hurdle if you speak to a fitness professional.

Business travellers also should be careful about what they eat and should carefully consider food safety.