October 8, 2011 (Powerhomebiz.com) Employee productivity is being damaged by economic uncertainty so managers should clearly communicate work issues to improve performance.
Joint research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Simply Health revealed that stress was the biggest contributing factor to long-term employee absence so firms must realise how to reduce pressure in the workplace.
The survey found that there was a strong link between employees suffering mental health issues in organisations that revealed they were preparing to make redundancies over the following six months.
It is a challenging time for both managers and employees who are facing pay freezes coupled with an increasing cost of living and job uncertainty but an open organisational culture can combat work concerns.
Managers must be able to appear approachable at all times so that employees feel comfortable about asking them openly about job and health concerns that may be affecting their performance.
Creating an open culture in the workplace can help managers deal effectively with employees who are suffering from mental health issues which can then result in long-term absence.
Employers that enjoy a renowned reputation for treating their workforce fairly often see this investment their staff reflected more than favourably in their productivity and profit levels.
It is essential that employee mental health concerns are dealt with as quickly as possible and managers can spot the early warning signs by introducing an open and communicative culture.
An open culture can improve workplace morale and this will more than likely result in increased productivity, which may also make the organisation appear more attractive to potential clients, customers and job seekers.
In order to implement a new open culture, it is vital that managers have the necessary support from their HR department and this may involve the redesigning of some business processes.
Performance improvement consulting professionals can help organisations redesign their processes so that efficiency is increased and waste is either reduced or eliminated entirely.
Stress-related problems are also caused by heavy workloads so organisations may want to look at how their processes distribute work across their different departments and employees.
Redesigning process to implement a reduction in individual workloads or introducing procedures such as flexible working can help improve employee performance by decreasing the amount of stress that they feel they are under.
Organisations that are unsure about how their processes are affecting their employees should contact performance improvement consulting experts in order to get a better understanding of their business.
Himsworth Consultancy is a leading Management Consultancy firm of senior business and consultancy professionals that specialise in delivering world-class customer service improvements, Visit http://www.himsworthconsultancy.com/ for more details.