The Integrity News
Vol. XII No. 24
ISSN 1081-2717
August 8, 2003
"objective risk management services"
August 11, 2003
This business environment is "getting to"
a lot of people.
Why should you care ?
Even the nicest employees will do strange
things when they're under relentless stress.
Stress is enough of a problem that several
key periodicals are featuring it. You may
have also seen recent TV specials about
the effects of stress in the business world.
From .............
CIO Magazine
"the resource for information executives"
August 1, 2003 ( pgs. 40-48 )
12 Warning Signs That Your Employee is Stressed Out
( "He", means "he/him" or "she/her". )
His stomach hurts; his head aches; he gets sick.
He feels emotionally numb.
He snaps at people.
People tell him they are worried about him.
He feels that with one more task, he'll blow up.
He feels like quitting his job. Often.
He feels helpless, out of control.
He knows that whatever he does, things will go wrong.
He thinks that, when they do, only he will care.
He feels guilty about taking a vacation.
He knows the problem: It's everybody else.
He can't stop thinking about his work. Ever.
Then the article goes on to give specific suggestions
for dealing with stress on the job, "not including taking
up yoga. ( Not that there is anything wrong with that. )".
( See the second article below ! )
STRESS NOT -- Specific Suggestions:
Accept the unfairness of "responsibility without authority".
Level with people, don't be politely evasive.
Think about how you come across.
Turn off fight-or-flight by taking short enjoyable breaks.
Control what you can, and delegate the rest.
Build a support network outside of work.
From .............
Business Week
"Working Life -- The Workplace"
July 28, 2003 ( pg. 56 )
ZEN AND THE ART OF
CORPORATE PRODUCTIVITY
"Meditation is no longer just a practice of the prayer-bead
& Birkenstock crew -- now a number of corporations are
offering it to their white-collar workers. Its benefits:
Alleviates lower back pain, and some of the most common
employee health problems.
Decreases absenteeism, tardiness, and loss of talented workers.
Increases brain-wave activity -- enhancing creativity.
Juices up intuitive decision-making.
Optimizes concentration enabling workers to multi-task
more efficiently."
"Increasingly, the overstretched and overburdened have a
new answer to work lives of gunning harder for what seems
to be less and less: Don't just do something -- sit there."
Corporations are offering on-site meditation "in part because
of the findings of The National Institutes of Health, the
University of Massachusetts, and Harvard University that
meditation enhances the qualities companies need most
from their knowledge workers: increased brain-wave activity,
enhanced intuition, better concentration, and the alleviation
of the kinds of aches and pains that plague employees most."
"It's no surprise that more employers are seeking a new
corporate balm. The National Institute for Occupational
Safety & Health finds that stress-related ailments cost
companies about $200 billion a year in increased tardiness,
absenteeism, and the loss of talented workers. Between 70 %
to 90% of employee hospital visits are linked to stress --
the number one health problem in the workplace."
"The icing for companies is that meditation programs come
cheap. This is one perk that isn't likely to get axed."
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