A high-pressure work environment can be a sign that your company is ambitious and productive. A high-pressure work environment can drive your employees to become their best. However, it can also lead to employee burnout and a high turnover rate. Fortunately, you can help your employees cope in a high-pressure workplace by implementing these strategies.
Set Success Metrics
cIt’s a lot easier to deal with stress when you know exactly how long the stress is going to last. When your employees don’t know exactly what you expect out of them, every job seems to be a potentially endless source of stress. To reduce this stress, set clear success metrics for every task you hand out. When your employees are clear on what they need to do, they can easily plan out how they are going to get it done and feel much better while doing it.
Offer Extra Support
Employees working in a high-pressure workplace need extra support to help them cope with it. Make sure your employees never need to go looking for answers by keeping yourself available to offer guidance. Order pizza, donuts, and coffee when things get tough. Be flexible with the schedule when you can. Set up a workplace mentoring system to make sure that every employee has a ready source of advice and help.
Make Sure Your Employees Have Enough Time
Never drop a bunch of work on your employees’ desks and just expect them to figure out how they’ll get everything done in time. Not only are you likely to put them in impossible positions by doing that, you are certain to destroy their respect for and loyalty to you. Instead, work out how long each task requires and only assign it to people who have enough time to complete it. If a task can’t be done in the time available, it’s time to develop a new strategy.
Assign Tasks Intelligently
Handing out tasks to whoever has some free time is a sure way to increase your employees’ stress. After all, not everybody is suited to every task. When you have something that needs doing, carefully consider the strengths and weaknesses of each member of your team and match the task to the employee best capable of doing it. When you assign tasks to the employees who are best matched to them, you lower the pressure they are working under.
Tell Your Team the Reason for the Pressure
Dealing with stress is a lot easier when you understand the reason for the stress. People are much more willing to make sacrifices when they can see a purpose for them. During periods of heavy workload and high pressure, communicate the reasons why to your employees, and try to give them a good idea of what the company will gain, how it will help them, and how long the situation is likely to last.
The Takeaway
A high-pressure work environment does not have to doom your business to low employee morale and high turnover. If you handle employee relations right, though, your team can handle the pressure and form a strong, talented unit that will be a benefit to your company in many ways.
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