How to improve workplace stress
With stress, anxiety, and depression accounting for 15.4 million lost days of work, it’s never been more important for organisations to have an open and communicative culture, where employees are empowered to support each other, and speak out when they need help.
As we kick off Stress Awareness Month, we wanted to share our thoughts on some of the ways you can manage workplace stress to give your teams time back to do more of what they love.
Making it easier to balance work and family commitments
No longer are we chained to a desk from nine to five. Thanks to technology, we’re now able to work from anywhere, at any time. This means we can work around other commitments and it’s much easier to balance work with family life. With tools like Microsoft 365, your organisation will be empowered to get more done and collaborate effectively, whether they’re at home or in the office, whilst keeping valuable data secure.
Devices such as the Microsoft Surface also make it easier to work more effectively and transform your workplace into a less stressful place. And organisations such as the property company Landsec are completely overhauling their physical work environments and empowering employees with more mobile devices.
“Our suite of Microsoft devices gives us greater freedom and mobility, yet at the same time we know our data and information is secure thanks to Microsoft 365 and Windows 10,” – Alex Roth, Chief Information Officer at Landsec.
See how Landsec is delivering a modern workplace transformation
Taking the stress out of collaboration
With more and more employees working remotely, or expecting flexible working, it can be difficult for teams to collaborate in real-time. Quite often when people think about collaboration, they think of sitting in more meetings or answering more emails. Which isn’t fun, and can be quite stressful when we have other work to do.
However, with the right technology in place, collaboration becomes more agile and easy. A remote social desktop space takes the stress out of collaboration. In Microsoft Teams, you’re able to co-author, edit and share documents, host meetings, and chat–all in the same application.
Not only does this means everybody has access to the latest information, but it’s easy to collaborate and share the load during busy and stressful times. It also empowers employees to work together in the way that works best for them, turning collaboration from a forced requirement to something that is instinctual and easy.
Initiating effective change management
This cultural change needs to come from the top. Make sure everyone from your leadership team to your frontline worker uses these tools and embraces the progression to a more open culture. And once people see the positive results on their health, performance, and on the business, they will become your greatest advocates.
“Enjoyment, morale and engagement with the business went up the moment we moved into this space and received our new technology. It’s a phenomenal result,” says Carissa Kilgour, Workplace Director at Landsec.
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