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Working productively: Managing work pressures

Many factors contribute to pressure in the workplace, including change and reorganization, tight deadlines, understaffing, overwork and the rapid pace of business. Employees and managers may feel under pressure from time to time given these conditions. While some work pressure is a good thing -- it can motivate us to push ourselves and reach toward higher goals -- too much pressure can have adverse effects on our health, well-being and productivity. Managers who recognize and make efforts to ease these pressures in the workplace have more productive and committed teams.

To manage work-related pressures on your team:

Be aware of people's workloads
Avoid giving people more work than they can handle. It's easy to fall into the trap of offloading extra work, especially to your top performers. Eventually, the pressure and overload will take its toll on people, productivity and morale.

Know how long your staff works
A manager should know who's pushing themselves too hard. It's not micromanagement to make sure that your valued producers don't burn themselves out. If people work late consistently, take the time to discuss this with them.

Make sure that work is appropriately and fairly distributed
Some people are adept at getting less than their fair share of assigned work. Others can't say no, even when they are already overloaded.

Help people prioritize tasks
Perhaps assignments with a lower priority could be eliminated to focus on the most value-added work during pressured times. Maybe a tight deadline could be extended. Partner with and coach employees to come up with solutions to manage job demands and reduce stress. Sometimes it's okay to say, "Put that on a back burner for now."

Manage upward for relief
At times, it can be hard to balance the needs of your group with your need to support your own manager. But it's well worth the effort. When your group is asked to do too much, negotiate for resources. Perhaps part of a new project could go to another group; maybe a support department, like finance, could help with the numbers. Can you get a temp or have someone from another area assigned to you temporarily? Be prepared to quantify the problems you see for your area and to provide specific examples.

Give people plenty of recognition for work done well
Show that you appreciate everyone's hard work. People need to feel appreciated, especially during challenging times. Give recognition at meetings and by sending emails to employees and the team calling attention to people's hard work and good efforts. Positive feedback always counters the pressure.

Help employees maintain a sense of control
Encourage people to set concrete goals each week. Especially during pressured times, we all need something positive to focus on -- goals we can achieve and feel good about. Help break projects down into small steps which can lead to small successes by the end of the week.

Communicate often
Sometimes in a high-pressured environment, it's easy to stop meeting with people to keep them informed and to listen to their ideas. However, by making this a priority, the payback in morale and productivity will outweigh the cost of the time you spend.

This article is adapted from Ceridian's LifeWorks Online service. Contact your Ceridian representative for more information about Ceridian's health and productivity solutions.