From the pages of In Business magazine.
The summer of 2018 will be remembered statewide for more than its share of catastrophic events, from a devastating gas main explosion in downtown Sun Prairie to incessant rains and unprecedented flooding.
Lives, homes, and businesses were casualties of the torrent. Locally, unprecedented flooding closed East Washington Avenue and many streets around the isthmus as officials hoped the Tenney Lock would hold. Roads, railroad tracks, and bridges west of town were washed away, and areas as far away as the Mississippi River were compromised, towns were devastated, and school openings delayed.
Estimated costs rose quickly. As of this writing, the latest price tag for Dane County was $154 million and growing, with 1,544 residences and 107 businesses impacted in varying degrees.
Stressed yet?
If there’s any excuse for experiencing higher than usual anxiety, the summer of 2018 could be it.
Whether or not your business or home or life was impacted, the effects of stress on a human being can be significant. The World Health Organization considers stress “the health epidemic of the 21st century,” costing society an estimated $300 billion per year. Stress affects more than 100 million people a year in the U.S. and on average costs employers $702 per employee per year.
Workplace stress can come from any number of sources, personal or workplace related. The Mental Health Foundation claims two-thirds of adults will suffer from some sort of mental health issue in their lifetime, and since the average worker now spends more than 40 hours per week at their job, employers and supervisors may find themselves having to recognize when an employee might need extra support.
If that wasn’t bad enough, in his blog “When should stress be considered a disability at work?” David Brown, employment law partner at Shakespeare Martineau, a U.K-based law firm, says, “Failing to identify or take action when employees are suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression can leave employers open to discrimination claims.”
The problem is that we can’t see stress. We can’t put it in a box and discard it, but boy can we feel it, which leads one to wonder: Are we destined to just accept our fate on this continuously spinning wheel?
We asked several area experts about workplace stress. Are there signs to watch for? What role can employers play in managing stress, and when might an employee need to recognize they need help?
Stress and the brain
Cathy River, founder of the Madison Brain Center, discusses the physiological changes that stress can produce. Stress affects the body’s vagus nerve, she explains. “All of our nerves to our stomach and heart come off the vagus nerve, and when it’s operating at a high frequency, people can exhibit symptoms similar to PTSD, but it doesn’t mean they have PTSD, which is a very specific diagnosis.”
Symptoms like migraines might mean the vagus nerve is pinched, she explains, whereas reactive anxiety, when a person may not feel safe anywhere on the planet, is an anxiety on a different level, and one that the nervous system might have a hard time shaking off. “Frequently it has to do with things that are out of our control,” River explains.
But humans are remarkably resilient, and eventually, most people are able to work through or manage their stress.
“We’ve all had events where we might have been in a car accident or just missed being in one, but we know we’re okay and get past it,” Rivers suggests. “Others might not be able to drive for weeks or months because they’re so worried about car accidents.”
Such associations can trigger the amygdala, an almond-shaped region of the brain linked to the normal expression of emotions, particularly fear. Imaging has shown that high activity in this portion of the brain happens when people are anxious, under stress, or facing phobias.
It’s the piling on of circumstances that might put someone over the edge, River notes, and from an outside view, employers and managers don’t know what’s happened in a person’s past.
Everyone reacts differently, River explains. “Some people cope with stress or anxiety by being overachievers or perfectionists on the job, even to the point where they might alienate colleagues or clients, while others might become foggy minded or convoluted.”
The Madison Brain Center offers treatments such as biofeedback to help people “reboot” their brains, but she also acknowledges that sometimes just showing a little bit of empathy and compassion can work wonders.
For one thing, companies can’t expect perfection, she says. Her advice to employers, if an employee’s job performance begins falling off, is to designate a “safe” person they can talk to and trust — not necessarily a manager — but perhaps a friend or another employee.
“Employers also need to understand that they just might be creating a very stressful workplace,” she adds, and that offering things like mindful meditation, or even mindful listening, can go a long way toward healing and retention.
“People deal with stress or high anxiety their own way. Some may need to rest, or talk, or sing, or dance. Me? I’m a verbal vomiter. I need to talk. I know that.”
If an employee asks for an extra-long lunch once in a while, let them take it, she encourages. If they’re needing to de-stress by meeting with someone to manage their stress, “Pay them for the time,” she insists.
“Someone making $12 an hour likely won’t take the time to leave work because the idea of losing income creates even more stress.
“The fact of the matter is that in our society, the more money we make, the more freedom the business world allows us to take better care of ourselves, and the more freedom we have to take time off from our jobs with few, if any, ramifications.”
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Caring benefits
Family Service Madison is an external employee services provider with a client list of about 40 businesses. The nonprofit offers a myriad of programs, with employee assistance programs (EAP) being just one.
Greg Chism, EAP director, says stress is a systemic experience. “It can affect multiple different systems within us — physically, in terms of disrupting sleep, appetite, stomach distress, headaches; cognitively in terms of our ability to process and problem solve; and emotionally, in terms of mood disruption, sense of doom, uncertainty, excessive worrying, or intrusive thoughts.”
Any of these can impact work performance. An employer or supervisor might notice that a particular employee might begin having difficulty processing information, or missing deadlines. They might appear physically or emotionally compromised, and some even may become more withdrawn, irritable, and impatient.
In such situations, Chism suggests it’s best to approach an employee empathetically and in a non-threatening way: I’ve noticed that you’re having trouble concentrating, or, I’ve noticed changes in your demeanor and I’m concerned and wanted to check in.
“The good news is that most people do figure out a way to process through things in the long term,” Chism says, “and don’t go on to develop an actual PTSD diagnosis.”
His best advice for employers is to create an environment in which mental health has a priority. “My belief is that without mental health, I’m not sure you can have complete health.”
EAP programs are one recommendation, but Chism also suggests employers offer breaks in the day — lunch and learns on the subject of stress prevention, or financial security, or wellness. These types of programs send a message to staff that the company wants its most important resource — its employees — to have all the resources they need.
Other ideas include group yoga or stretching classes over lunch, or brisk 30-minute group walks. “I think it’s helpful that employees do things together,” he adds, “to provide a collaborative sense that we’re all in this together.”
EAP programs are add-ons to a company’s insurance plan, often through life or disability insurance vendors. Depending on what’s negotiated, they may allow for a handful of counseling sessions at no cost to the employee. All calls and visits are confidential, and employees meet with certified, licensed therapists off-site and in a safe environment. Their employers will never know who used the program.
“I call it a caring benefit,” Chism says. “It is not mandated, but it shows that employers care enough about their employees to ensure they can remain successful both personally and professionally.”
Family Service Madison negotiates the majority of its EAP plans based on the number of employees a company has. Negotiated annually, a company will pay one fee, whether zero or 20 people use the service over the course of a year, he adds.
Chism offers this advice for employees feeling their plates are too full from anxiety and worry: “Think about self-care and call upon your support systems, like family or friends. Get enough sleep, and try to maintain your usual routine. If you typically go to the gym, do everything you can to continue going to the gym.”
Why is that important? Routine provides structure and predictability, while weather or other events are unpredictable, he explains.
“Give yourself permission to detach because if you’re concerned about climate change and find yourself fixated on The Weather Channel 24/7, it will take a psychological toll.”
Mike Beringer, human resources business partner at The Employer Group, has a dozen years of HR experience behind him, including managing a team.
“One of the things I’ve noticed is that in general, managers are really uncomfortable with this topic because they feel it’s their fault as the employer causing the stress. So even though they don’t want unhappy employees, they also don’t want to address it with their employees.”
Employers should work on creating a healthy workplace environment, communicating, and developing better relationships with their employees. If an employee can trust their supervisor, they may also be more forthcoming when it comes to opening up. “Sometimes just knowing they have an outlet, whether it’s you or a company benefit like EAP, is half the battle.”
The other half is getting people to use these resources. “We send flyers out all the time to our clients promoting the benefits of EAP programs,” Beringer insists, but not many take advantage of the benefit.
EAPs are low-cost compared to full-blown benefit plans, and for small businesses that may not be able to afford insurance, they may still be able to contract for a standalone product, as well.
Beringer isn’t sure why some employees don’t take advantage of these services in larger numbers. Perhaps they don’t believe they need it, or they have a problem opening up in general to trained therapists about their personal stressors.
“In my opinion, I still believe there’s a stigma about going to a therapist or psychiatrist, which is too bad,” he says. “We feel that if employees don’t have an outlet for talking about issues in their lives, it only adds to their stress.”
Signs of distress
Amy Carrick and business partner Ginny Jenkins recently launched Mindful HR LLC to assist small businesses that can’t usually afford to keep a human resources professional on staff.
Regarding EAPs, Carrick is a big fan. In fact, it’s her “number one piece of advice to employers,” she says. But whether or not a company buys in to the idea, there are signs managers or business owners can watch for in employees, and behavioral changes are the first clue.
She’s seen EAP programs help with heroin interventions, divorce issues, family problems, or threats. While they aren’t meant for long-term care, Carrick says they do help employees — and other family members — get over a hump.
“People spend so much of their lives at work that often, the employer or manager is the first to notice a change,” she comments. They might notice attendance issues, attitude changes, uncharacteristically missing deadlines, or disengagement from the rest of the staff. Unfortunately, these signs could also indicate something much worse, such as an opioid problem.
“Everyone’s affected by stressors in their lives — addiction, divorce, health issues, children,” Carrick notes. “If not, someone close to them is.”
The difficult part is recognizing it, she adds. “We’re not robots. So from a workplace perspective, offering anything is better than nothing.”
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The sun will come out
Using positivity to bust through
Tina Hallis, Ph.D. is a positivity expert from Baraboo who understands the toll that stress can take on our lives. “With so much going on — weather, politics, news — there’s so much out there to bring us down and overwhelm us.”
Businesses are changing, reorganizing, or implementing new systems, which adds to job uncertainties, worker irritability, and impatience.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, she insists. Her business, The Positive Edge, tries to impart that wisdom every day.
“We really need to shift our thinking and not get caught up in a downward spiral. That’s my mission and purpose.”
Hallis spent over 20 years as a scientist in biotechnology before being laid off and discovering what she calls a new science — positive psychiatry. Now she helps companies keep people focused on removing “pervasive negativity” in the workplace.
“Based on my experience, if there’s one place we could really use help staying positive, it’s at work,” she states on her website, thepositiveedge.net.
Again, it’s about understanding how our brains work.
“The human brain is naturally wired to survive,” Hallis says. If it senses a threat, the brain wants to focus on the bad to help us take action against what it perceives as dangers, such as high anxiety. “Good things don’t affect our survival,” she reminds.
One way to break free from the brain’s natural response is to be consciously aware of our negative thoughts and battle back with positivity.
Some of her favorite workplace tips don’t cost a dime:
- Breathe! Three to five slow, deep breaths signals calmness to the brain, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and dissipates cortisol, the fight-or-flight hormone.
- On a lunch break, call someone you know who will lift your spirits, not bring you down.
- Listen to a favorite song to center yourself.
- Meditate.
- Exercise.
- Take a walk outside, hold a walking meeting, or if possible, do both by recording thoughts on your phone.
- Move around, dance, or if possible, engage with a pet for a few minutes.
- Watch a funny video or look at funny pictures.
- Be grateful for the people in your life and all you have.
Employers should recognize workplace stress, as well, and support employees with positive reinforcements. She suggests posting a list of positive activities in common areas to remind employees to practice them. Employers can also encourage staff to connect with one another in a more social, fun way.
“Things are constantly changing,” Hallis comments. “In general, we resist change, and our brains hate change, but who wouldn’t want their employer to think about their own well-being?
“We just may never have thought to ask before.”
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