| It is certainly no secret that stress is a fact of daily life | | | | 2. Commit to maintaining a well-organized office and |
| ad is especially true in the small business workplace. | | | | having the equipment and materials needed to do the |
| And what makes it worse is most small business | | | | required work. |
| owners must face the challenges alone or with little or | | | | 3. Set clearly defined goals & objectives and |
| no support systems. A strategic thinking small business | | | | ensure that all parties have clear understanding of |
| owner knows that he or she must be very aware of | | | | what is expected. |
| their own level of stress, as well as the stress levels | | | | 4. Commit to setting aside some time to get away |
| of their employees because of the potential negative | | | | from your desk each day and to schedule some |
| impacts. | | | | personal time for yourself each day outside of work. |
| How extensive is this stress in the small business | | | | 5. Develop and use a strategic TO DO List, with 4 |
| workplace? found in a 2006 study of 2,500 American | | | | categories of tasks - "URGENT & IMPORTANT;" |
| workers that 77% of the workers felt burned out at | | | | "URGENT, BUT NOT IMPORTANT;" "NOT URGENT:" |
| their jobs. The National Safety Council estimates that | | | | and "NEITHER URGENT OR IMPORTANT." |
| US companies lose between $200-$300 billion a year | | | | 6. Deal with employee conflicts in a proactive and |
| due to absenteeism, tardiness, burnout, decreased | | | | timely manner. Do not allow the conflicts to get worse. |
| productivity, worker's compensation claims, increased | | | | Take some immediate action to resolve the conflicts. |
| employee turnover, and medical insurance costs | | | | 7. Learn to say "NO" when you are truly already |
| resulting from employee work-related stress. And a | | | | overburdened. |
| survey of more than 1,300 workers conducted by | | | | 8. Designate specific times each day to return phone |
| Caravan Opinion Research in 2000 found 13% claimed | | | | calls and email. This will address some of the constant |
| to have personally witnessed "desk rage" or some | | | | interruptions that result in lost focus and increased |
| angry or destructive outburst at the office. | | | | stress. |
| The reduction of stress in the small business | | | | 9. Keep yourself in good health. |
| workplace is a very important goal. Here are some | | | | 10. Seek advice from an outside professional on how |
| tips on how to deal with stress in a proactive way, | | | | to address the stress and educate people on stress |
| according to your strategic thinking business coach. | | | | management techniques. |
| 1. Commit to improved time management. | | | | |