Your team is falling behind on deadlines due to stress. How can you support them to improve productivity?

If your team is showing signs of stress and overwhelm through pressure to meet deadlines, allow them time to attend a Laughter Yoga session for 30-minutes to 1-hour. It will give them the tools to manage their stress through specific laughter exercises that help them release tensions, whilst having fun with their co-workers. They will also experience the calming influence of deep breathing in between laughter exercises and will feel energised from breathing out stale air whilst laughing to enable them to refill their lungs with fresh oxygen.

I usually remind my team that everything we feel when we are stressed is just a temporary state. I also remind them that, like in dealing with waves in the sea, all we have to do is to ground ourself and let the waves pass and quiet down. It’s always important to look for increasing the resilience and one way to do it is to ground ourselves by practicing small moments of mindfulness. Examples of that are smelling the fresh cup of coffee, watering your office plant, taking deep breathing and focus on the body receiving it, or anything else that connects as to a presents that is recharging .

I have at the back of my head that stress is inevitable and when I start noticing the signs of stress, before proceeding to have 1:1 meetings, I will evaluate the stress management strategies in the organisation and if there isn’t anyone, I send out a stress management survey to gauge what responses I will get, that will help me assess how I can help them manage their stress life and how these strategies can impact in their work and life balance.

Have a conversation with each Co-worker to listen to each one about what is working and Not working. If necessary, hire a Cognitive Therapist to listen to each employee and come up with a practical strategy to "Handle" the Primary issue without Blame or Shame.

One of my clients is going through an inordinate amount of stress at work, being micromanaged and driven to frustration. It boiled up to the point of her feeling the need to go to HR to express her concern. Leaders need to really pay attention to ensure they have realistic deadlines and the right staffing on a project to not burn out their people. Once they're burned, it's really hard to get them back. The trust is damaged and you're likely to lose them.

Leaders need to be the example, they need to create a psychologically safe work environment. They can do this by sharing their own stress as well. Show their team it’s OK to have good days and bad days. They should also share how they handle their stress what coping mechanisms do they use. Then they need to be willing to listen and ask questions to their employees to find out how they best cope with their stress. Then they should use that information to find ways to advocate for healthy stress coping, and provide resources needed. If leadership doesn’t openly talk about stress, then their employees intern will not talk about stress. In order to open up this communication flow leadership has to set the example first.

Pour ma part, un dialogue ouvert s'inscrit dans un cadre où la confiance préexiste. Cela suppose que soit mentionné de façon explicite le respect de ce qui est dit par chaque interlocuteur, quelque soit sa position dans l'équipe, et également la promesse d'une écoute attentive, sans jugement ou déformation de la parole énoncée. Ce type de communication peut prendre du temps, et laisser le temps justement est primordial pour que les problématiques puissent être exposées. Ensuite, il est pertinent de laisser la possibilité à qui le souhaite d'exprimer des solutions, les personnes soumises à un stress ayant bien souvent idée de ce qui peut faire évoluer positivement la situation.

Encouraging regular “well-being check-ins” during team meetings is also a good way to offer support and creating an open dialogue. Dedicate a few minutes for each member to share how they’re feeling and any challenges they’re facing. This practice normalizes conversations about stress, builds trust, and allows to identify issues early on.

With all the teams that I have led, I have always incorporated Wisdom of Wolves: Leadership Lessons from Nature. This philosophy encourages to maintain open communication, since everyone has different roles and strengths that they bring to the team. Understanding their role and knowing what causes their stress allows me as a leader to understand where my team stands and how we need to move forward in addressing their stress.

Regular check-ins are a great way to build rapport and just talk with your team individually about how they are feeling. A judgement free zone in these conversations should make them feel comfortable about sharing their thoughts.

With the team, clearly identify which projects/tasks are at risk of missing deadlines. When all is laid out, it is easier to identify an approach. With the workload, determine if it is more effective to prioritize at task or project level. Assess categories and set up the scoring for urgency and importance in a Priority Matrix. Besides prioritization, there should also be a focus on how the team can get caught up. A few areas to check: *Are there administrative reports or tasks that can be stopped or re-allocated? *Are there specific tasks that can be clarified and cut to minimum requirements? *Are tasks that aren't on critical path that can have due dates changed? * Can workload be rebalanced? * What additional help is needed?

Focus Time! We gather and discuss what tasks fall under each individual and which fall under the team as a whole. We all have different strengths and at high stress level situations, it is important to work as a team utilizing those strengths. We move tasks around and create run rates that will allow alleviate the stress and take a breather. This gathering does not end until everyone has provided solutions and participated on how to tackle our tasks.

Breaking projects down into manageable tasks is always a better way of getting things done. A good task list with deadline dates is always a big help. It also lessens the stress to see that the task is easy and manageable.

Do we need a whatever check in? When working at our desks in front of our computers can be draining. How do we boost our focus, energy and clarity? We have 10 minute whatever check ins. These are not work related, it is just to express how we are feeling. Who has a joke or something interesting to ask and have a discussion about. "Whatever check ins" are always successful and give the team a break.

Le bienfait des pauses au travail n'est plus à démontrer. Il m'est arrivé bien souvent d'évoquer ce sujet avec des consultants, et force est de constater la force des croyances en ce domaine, la première étant que le responsable hiérarchique assimile pause et paresse. Il est donc essentiel pour un manager d'énoncer clairement la nécessité des pauses, leurs bienfaits et bénéfices. Par ailleurs, le type de pause est individuelle : respirations conscientes voire cohérence cardiaque, étirements, moment de lecture ou d'écoute musicale… à chacun de trouver ce qui régénère son énergie et sa concentration.

Short breaks at work for managing stress is what I call the elementary school level. A more powerful intervention is a short break throughout the day engaging in a mind-body exercise that enhances your stress tolerance, improves resiliency, raise focus, concentration, attention, and improves morale in the entire office. One way to do this is a short break where the entire office engages in a 5 to 10 minute session of Tai Chi or Qigong. Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, is used today by millions of people worldwide as a mind-body exercise for stress management. It has a large evidence base that supports its ability to mitigate stress throughout the day and even strengthen focus, concentration, and relaxation. The High School Level

Ongoing resources for stress-managment are very important to teams. These resources can be the difference between a high functioning team and burnout. Everyone reacts differently to tasks, level of difficulty of the task and time to complete the task. By having good resources for stress managment available to the team, they should feel comfortable with the work environment.

As a coach that focuses on stress management, I am always coaching my team through stress. We practice quick techniques such as centering, visualization and other exercises such as playing UNO. Playing games with freedom of being their authentic self helps the team to release their stress through laughing, talking and knowing that it's just a game.

J'ai eu l'occasion à plusieurs reprises d'animer des ateliers de gestion de stress ou d'apprentissage des pauses en entreprises. Les retours qui m'ont été rapportés me démontrent deux choses : quand l'entreprise est vraiment impliquée dans l'objectif d'avoir une équipe épanouie, elle se donne les moyens de faire des demandes auprès de professionnels. Le personnel apprend à être proactif vis-à-vis du stress et à gérer les situations. Les arrêts sont rares et l'équipe est stable . Le cas inverse se produit quand les ateliers sont rares et ponctuels, non inscrits dans une démarche réelle de gestion du stress. Force est alors de constater une diminution de la motivation, des arrêts maladie fréquents et bien souvent un fort turn-over.

In addition to the "well-being check-ins", following up by providing relevant resources or adjusting workloads as needed, can help in creating a supportive environment that enhances both morale and productivity.

As your team develops and projects change, you may need to review your resource planning and allocation for the team regularly. Also, in your 1on1s, keep an eye on requests that don't come through you. (Strong performers often get asked to help, and this information may not be captured in your tools.) As you look at workload, look at it situationally and specific to the person involved. For example, a simple project that was good for a person new in role can blow up with unplanned issues. Is it better to mentor them through the situation or hand it off? If you hand it off, how can you ensure the person does not feel demoralized? What approach to mentoring will work best and be exciting to the colleague (not feeling like micro-management)?