Will Stressed Out Workforce Start Acting Out?

Duh!!  Of course!  They already have and justifiably so. 

The title to this month's newsletter appeared last week in a national publication, USA Today.  It was front page news and very topical for all of us I am sure.  It specifically dealt with the male flight attendant that had had enough and literally jumped ship.

How many of your people feel that way?  To quote the article, "He did what all working stiffs have only dreamt of", "Millions of Americans WISH they could have quit in that fashion."  WHY is this man suddenly a folk hero in America?  In a nutshell, change!

The world has changed.  The economy and ways of the business world have changed.  Stress levels have changed...to an all time high.  The reason?  Workers that have been able to keep their jobs are now wearing more hats than ever, working longer hours than ever and in the process actually becoming less productive.  Recent government statistics released last week show productivity fell 0.9% after five quarters in a row of growth.  Hours worked rose 3.6 %, while output rose 2.6%, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A chief economist at HIS Global Insight says the drop in productivity "is a sign that companies have reached the limit of how much they can cut back their workforce and how hard they can work their existing workforce."  The bureau says the rise in hours was the largest since the first quarter of 2006, when hours rose 4.1%.

We all have limits and we are either at ours or darned close. So.....what do we do about it?

#1, do NOT take any of your people for granted because the economy will turn around and as the employment market loosens up, valuable talent will leave.  Recognize them for their efforts.  Don't dwell on their mistakes, just use them as learning opportunities provided they are giving their best effort.  Build better, deeper, more meaningful relationships with the people you work with.  Now more than ever, people want to feel "like people".  Human.  Appreciated.  Heard. 

A great exercise I use in workshops that proves to be a real eye-opener is what I call the "Three Things Drill".  Find out three things about the person next to you at work you did not know before today, when you try this.  I don't care how you accomplish that, but open-ended questions always work best.  Then, pay attention.  Listen.  What commonly happens is that you discover something you never knew that gives you a whole new insight into someone you may have known for years and years.  Happens every time in the workshops.  And the common feedback around this drill is "Gee, what else don't I know about them?  There is a whole other person, perhaps, that I don't even know."  EXACTLY.

As I said last month, the principles of managing and leading people through tough times requires a better connection with them.  As before, I firmly believe in the messages contained in the book "The Secret - What Great Leaders Know and Do", by Tom Blanchard & Mark Miller.  My key take away from that was no matter how busy you get, you have to make time for your people, now more than ever.  One on one, in groups, planned and unplanned.  It's all important.  Really get to know them, as you hire and as you manage them.  Combined with the simple but effective paths to follow for recognition and correction, along with better time management, from "The One Minute Manager" by Tom Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, you now have a wealth of valuable, practical, easy and effective ways to reduce the ticking time bomb of stress and low productivity in the workforce.  No matter how big or little your organization, it works!!

Times have changed, a lot.  And we need to change how we go about doing business with our own people.  The most important investment you can make is the time you invest in your people.  Advice given to me many years ago and so true today.  Try it.  I think you'll like your results.