Job Stress and Productivity

MJ Author

07/13/2020 Added

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The coronavirus pandemic has added stress to the lives of employees. But new research suggests consistency can help ease that stress. Troy Smith is an assistant professor of management in the UNL College of Business.

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[00:00:00.168](upbeat music)
[00:00:01.460]Stress can actually
[00:00:02.880]improve employee performance,
[00:00:05.000]but consistency is the key.
[00:00:07.730]That's the message from research conducted
[00:00:10.050]by a professor of management
[00:00:11.560]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business.
[00:00:14.970]Troy Smith and his colleagues studied on-the-job stress
[00:00:18.420]among employees at restaurants and at a university.
[00:00:21.810]There's some level that can be good,
[00:00:23.580]whereas there are other types of stress
[00:00:25.130]that can get in the way, that are more conflicting,
[00:00:27.590]and that basically make it so I can't accomplish my goals.
[00:00:30.900]And that type of stress is hard,
[00:00:32.900]and it becomes very challenging
[00:00:34.290]to be able to perform at a high level.
[00:00:36.580]Challenge stressors are responsibilities
[00:00:38.860]or tasks that help employees grow in their jobs,
[00:00:42.180]meet their goals, and feel good about what they're doing.
[00:00:45.580]If they have consistent levels of challenge stressors,
[00:00:48.360]they're able to anticipate the stress
[00:00:50.462]they're going to have in weeks to come
[00:00:52.830]and as a result, they can actually cope better
[00:00:54.650]with that anticipated stress.
[00:00:56.920]And we actually find that the overall stress
[00:00:58.730]that they do experience drops
[00:01:00.510]and then performance is also able to increase
[00:01:02.870]because they can anticipate to the stress.
[00:01:05.440]When that stress fluctuates,
[00:01:07.200]employees struggle.
[00:01:08.650]Hindrance stressors, such as inconsistent demands,
[00:01:11.500]get in the way of effective performance.
[00:01:14.350]They're gonna be less attentive,
[00:01:16.182]they'll have much more anxiety,
[00:01:17.840]and they're not gonna perform as well across time
[00:01:20.070]if you're always fluctuating.
[00:01:21.430]But if you can gradually ramp it up
[00:01:22.960]so that there's not these fluctuations,
[00:01:24.400]you're gonna see greater performance.
[00:01:26.030]As the workplace is redefined
[00:01:27.920]for the era of COVID-19,
[00:01:30.030]managers can help employees navigate uncertainty.
[00:01:33.420]Smith recommends providing a consistent level of challenge
[00:01:37.100]without overburdening your staff,
[00:01:39.110]be transparent, and include employees in decision-making.
[00:01:43.070]There's a lot of research that shows
[00:01:44.830]that if you can give information
[00:01:46.420]about why you're doing things,
[00:01:48.001]then they are far more likely to accept
[00:01:50.370]what you're providing them and, where possible,
[00:01:52.910]ask them for their guidance.
[00:01:54.550]At a time of stress,
[00:01:55.840]consistency can help employees survive and thrive.

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Job Stress and Productivity

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