HOW MUCH DO STRESSED, UNHEALTHY AND BURNT-OUT EMPLOYEES COST YOUR ORGANIZATION AND IS THERE A SOLUTION?
Are your employees feeling stressed? Does stress increase because of unresolved conflicts with colleagues and team leaders? Are working hours lost because employees call in sick and other stressed-out colleagues have to cover their work? Do you think that overall productivity in your company is lacking or could be significantly improved?
The truth is: These are extremely common problems in most organizations! Many employees leave companies because of burnout or lack of commitment to the company's vision - taking valuable experience with them and costing you additional money to hire and train replacements.
Recent studies suggest that a total of 385 million working days a year are lost on dealing with conflict at the workplace in the US alone. Not only is this costing your business money directly for work-time, but conflict also has a habit of seeping into all areas of your business. Employees waste time and energy on conflicts at the workplace, they suffer from stress and anxiety as a consequence and this leads to lack of productivity, health problems, more sick days taken and in some cases burn-out and high staff turnover rates.
Conflict is not the only problem that is affecting your business. Good overall physical and mental health of employees is an asset that ensures higher productivity rates, less sick days and higher employee retention rates. As you well know, untreated physical and mental health problems have a negative economic effect.
The reason why multinationals focus on improving employee relationships and wellness is because they see a direct benefit on stress reduction and increased productivity.
So what is the solution?
"Previously, companies invested in team bonding through obstacle courses and fun activities out of the office. Now they realize that coaching, communication, corporate wellness and conflict resolution trainings put them on the fast track to improve team productivity and synergy. This also helps companies keep their most valuable employees and ensure better mental and physical health," says Dr. Ameet Aggarwal ND, who has worked with UNICEF, Fairmont, GIZ, Tarpo Industries, CISP-Somalia and other organizations as a coach, naturopathic doctor, open space facilitator and psychotherapist. He is also the author of Feel Good (2014), the popular book on treating stress, burnout, anxiety and depression.
“Ameet’s workshops have a more long lasting impact on team building and relationships than regular team building workshops” says Asim Shah, CEO of Tarpo Industries.
Why invest in team relationships and employee wellness?
Dr. Ameet Aggarwal combines Gestalt coaching (recommended by Jack Canfield, bestselling author, coach and world-class speaker, as a preferred method of personal development), Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), landmark coaching and holistic medicine to:
- Resolve workplace conflicts safely and strengthen relationships between team members
- Increase motivation, focus and productivity among employees
- Improve team synergies and dynamics
- Foster understanding and commitment to the vision of the organization
Improve employee mental and physical health to reduce stress, burn-out, sick leave and staff turnover
The reason why Ameet’s coaching works so well is because he helps people address difficult issues and improve on communication without compromising their confidentiality and career security. “The support created within our team to risk being open and honest with each other will prove to be invaluable”, comments one UNICEF participant.
Sample Breakdown of Activities for an Event
Team building and organizational development events can range from 1-5 days, depending on the needs of your organization. We generally recommend 3 days for most organizations. Activities are developed after careful analysis of information from the CEO, HODs and employees to ensure efficacy and an individualized approach to your organization.
Preparation
- Ameet analyses needs of organization through meeting with CEO / Head of Departments (HODs).
- Preparation of email communication with employees based on analysis
- Deepen understanding of organizational needs and issues within the company based on confidential responses from employees / HODs.
- Develop specific team building activities based on unique needs of the organization
- Each exercise is carefully created and scheduled based on team dynamics and how the team is performing during the event. Each day offers an opportunity to deepen the previous day’s team building accomplishments using coaching activities.
Event
- Introductions, rules of engagement, icebreakers
- Sharing expectations, goals and vision
- Experiential exercises based on communication, resolving conflict, improving skills, organizational development, motivation and team building
- Breaks, including tea, lunch, reflection and rest are interspersed in between activities
- Process exercises as a group and tying it to the expectations of the event.
- Analyzing further needs of organization based on outcomes of exercises
- Developing and executing more exercises over a period of days to deepen outcomes of exercises
- Meditation, wellness talks, stress reduction techniques, burnout prevention, yoga, nature walks, game drives, fun and games activities are intermingled with organizational development activities to ensure lightness and fun during the event and to maintain enthusiasm and cooperation.
- Closure, support for team members, learning reflections and further needs are assessed to ensure continuity of what the team experienced.
For more information on how your organization can benefit, please call Dr. Ameet ND at +254 727 701002 or email [email protected].
Sources
Christensen, Lisa Jones, and Scott C. Hammond. "Lost (But Not Missing) at Work Organizational Lostness as an Employee Response to Change." Journal of Management Inquiry (2015): 1056492615578915.
Graham, Eileen K., Daniel K. Mroczek, and Lorien G. Elleman. "Personality and earnings lost: the economic costs of work cut back days due to physical and mental health." International Journal of Personality Psychology 1.1 (2015).
Kopaneva, Irina, and Patricia M. Sias. "Lost in Translation Employee and Organizational Constructions of Mission and Vision." Management Communication Quarterly (2015): 0893318915581648.
Lu Chen, Peggy A. Hannon, Sharon S. Laing, Marlana J. Kohn, Kathleen Clark, Scott Pritchard, and Jeffrey R. Harris (2015) Perceived Workplace Health Support Is Associated With Employee Productivity. American Journal of Health Promotion: January/February 2015, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 139-146.
Dear Sir/Madame,
You have been invited for a stress reduction, wellness and team-building workshop by your organization. I combine coaching with wellness techniques, giving you a chance to resolve conflict, improve communication, build trust,reduce stress and improve your health. I confidentially assess your needs and apply them to the theme of the workshop, so please feel free to disclose any information that is relevant to your wellbeing and performance at work. I always keep your answers strictly confidential and want to lend you my personal support during our time together.
Team building is a very delicate exercise and addresses both personal and group issues in an organization. We do this in a safe manner to protect the integrity and confidentiality of each team member. I therefore invite you to answer the questions below as fully and honestly, keeping in mind I never share your information with anyone else, not even management. The clearer your answers, the better the workshop we can design to ensure your success and wellbeing, so please risk being very honest and answer below:
Thank you…
What do you enjoy most about your work?
What personal and / or professional areas of your life would you like to improve on at this workshop?
What are some of the major stresses you face at work and in your personal life?
What stresses do other people in your organization face? What can be done?
What are some of the issues/conflicts you face with other team members, including management, which interfere with your work or give you stress? What do you think could be done?
What are some of the conflicts you see affecting either your team or the entire organization? What do you feel can be done to address these conflicts?
In what areas do you feel misunderstood, both professionally and personally?
What needs to improve so that team members can work together and understand each other better?
What are some of the de-motivators that you or others face at work?
Thank you for your answers. Under no circumstance will I identify you with your answers during the workshop. I will use the answers to create a workshop that will support your professional and personal growth, enhance leadership and communication skill, as well as provide some relaxation and stress management techniques to make working in a high stress environment easier and emotionally healthier.
You can email me at [email protected] for any other information or questions you may have. I look forward to working with you soon.
