GrokTalk Blog

How Can Company Leaders Reduce Stress at Work?

Regardless of personal temperament or occupational suitability, no one is immune from the adverse effects of stress at work. The human body maintains its primitive fight or flight response to stressful situations that sometimes overrule intellectual solutions. These can be triggered just as easily sitting at a desk while experiencing psychological duress as in the wild. Once the brain perceives a stressor, a physical and emotional response can prove unhealthy for workers.

Leapgen’s Jess Von Bank welcomed Lorna Borenstein, Grokker’s founder and CEO, to her company’s Now of Work Podcast for a lively discussion about the “business of caring” for employees. Here are highlights of their conversation and key takeaways for employers, plus a link to the podcast so you can enjoy it in its entirety.

With its recent state of stress research, Grokker Innovation Labs, a research organization committed to advancing employee wellbeing and workplace culture, set out to understand the stress levels of U.S. workers as the damaging effects of 2020 continue to linger. Seeking to reveal how stress is impacting workers' lives and what they're doing to manage it, the insights provide focus on the specific areas where greater support is needed from employers. Let's take a look at the research highlights.

Working from home, e-learning, sheltering in place — the whole family together, day in and day out. One activity overlaps into the next until the seemingly never-ending day comes to an end, only to start anew the next morning. This isn't unfamiliar territory for many employees, particularly women. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, their work day never really ended. It changed. During their “second shift,” they were taking care of their children and aging parents, getting a meal on the table, and managing any number of other household obligations. You might say that at least for now, this is the "new normal," blurring the lines for those working the "second shift" and amplifying all the challenges that come along with it.  

Deloitte reports that over three-quarters of full-time US professionals have experienced employee burnout at their current job. And the American Institute of Stress has published that job stress costs US employers over $300 billion annually as a result of absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, and more. But since the COVID-19 outbreak, these numbers are rising. ABC News/Washington Post poll reveals 70% of Americans report personal stress as a result of the coronavirus crisis, exceeding the highest level of stress caused by the Great Recession (61% in March 2009). And according to a SHRM survey, work-related concerns left more than 40% of employees feeling hopeless, burned out or exhausted as they grapple with lives altered by COVID-19. 

Grokker is expanding into financial well-being with our new “7 Steps to Financial Wellness” program. Designed by renowned financial analyst, planner and author, Manisha Thakor, the program empowers employees to better manage their money and reduce their financial stress via a series of informative, fun, easy-to-follow videos. Manisha Thakor, who earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, is a regular contributor to CNN, CNBC, NPR and The Wall Street Journal. 

Employees who participate in their corporate wellness programs are more satisfied with their jobs. Your challenge is how to motivate them to engage with your wellness program.

How to engage employees in wellness programs

Here are three critical factors for engaging your employees with wellness:

Grokker teamed up with SurveyMonkey to examine what most stresses Americans and how the nation is coping with the rising epidemic. Contrary to popular belief, the fears keeping Americans up at night are global or geo-political issues that are out of their immediate control.