In the workplace, there’s a fine line between pressure and stress. Here are 4 ways to stop productive pressure turning into unproductive stress.
By Craig Falck for Africa Report
Photograph: © Lasse Kristensen | Dreamstime.com
When it comes to deadlines, nothing motivates staff more than productive pressure. People need a sense of urgency to get the job done properly and on time. The problem that businesses face is that workplace pressure sometimes can turn into stress. Here are a few ways to stop this from happening…
Holding regular feedback meetings, even if they’re just five minutes long and once a day, will give you a clear indication of what’s happening in the production process. You will immediately be able to spot where an issue is creeping up and then be able to step in and halt it. This could mean simply adjusting the goal, bringing in another member of staff to the team, or perhaps even an employee swap where you have someone stronger taking over. Feedback sessions are vital because they give you information that you probably would be oblivious to normally and now you have the knowledge to make a decision with.
Using pressure as a challenge is another way to avoid it turning into unproductive stress. Provide incentives that will see your teams push themselves to new heights instead of retrogressing and not living up to their talents. The easiest way to do this is to use fun challenges (creative people tend to be highly competitive and love being rewarded in creative ways – this was previously discussed on Africa Report as “creative rewards in the workplace”), where the winners receive some form of reward and the losers must live out a penalty chosen by winners.
It’s important to keep a light-hearted atmosphere in the office. Sure, it’s a high-pressure job and people need to concentrate and be focused, but when there is a fun element and everyone gets on, staff tend to perform a lot better. No one likes to be snapped at and shouted at, so the friendlier the atmosphere the better. Likewise, you need to give people breaks. Even if it’s sending them home early or telling them to come in late because you’ve noticed that they’re working themselves to the bone, it’s the small things that can end up influencing far greater processes down the line.
Office pressure is a great tool for motivating teams to meet their goals and objectives. However, you’ve got a problem when this pressure turns into unproductive stress because instead of your teams moving forward, they end up coming to a complete stop. This throws a spanner in the works with the rest of the process and can prove costly in terms of budget as well as team unity. The easiest way to avoid this happening is by putting in measures that will keep the pressure as it is, without bubbling over into stress.
