The capital was the meeting place as the American Psychological Association honored companies which have risen to the occasion, making the workplace a bit more manageable in a time of tumult. It’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards were handed out to five organizations for their efforts to “promote employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance.”

I look forward to the awards and the fresh statistics from the APA every year on this topic because I think it’s a needed reminder that we are human beings at work, and not just cogs in the wheel of the corporate machine. Since I started blogging on programs, people and companies three years ago that are making “the work life merge a more positive journey of exploration,” the APA has been one of the more consistent streams of information connecting the human experience to the working experience.

With cash-strapped companies looking for a helping hand rather then generally lending one to employees, work life initiatives and wellness programs have a hard time carrying much weight. But as the business imperative is revealed more and more in the spreadsheets, and in employee retention, engagement and productivity, perhaps we have reason to be more optimistic that companies will take notice.

The five organizations honored this year reported a turnover rate of just 9%, in contrast to the national average of 41 % as estimated by the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s cash in the bank for those companies which can concentrate more on growth and productivity rather than just struggling in the arena of recovery.

The proof was often in the bottom-line and/or positive employee productivity for the companies that scored high on the APA benchmark scale for A Psychologically Healthy Workplace. Here’s a sampling of some of the outcomes in companies that implemented a variety of work life initiatives:

• American Cast Iron Pipe Company:  Positive health outcomes. Hundred of employees have quit smoking, more than a thousand began an exercise program and hundreds more lowered their blood pressure to within normal limits.
• Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare: Employees have made significant strides in morale, job satisfaction and work efficiency and the company has seen major improvements in its customer relations, operating margin, turnover and productivity.
• Leaders Bank: Since the roll-out of its wellness program, sick day utilization has decreased with employees now using an average of only 1.4 sick days per year.
• Advanced Solutions: Voluntary turnover dropped from 7.9 percent in 2008 to 4.1 percent in 2009 and measures of employee engagement have steadily increased.
• The Toronto Police Service: Improvements in equipment and training provided to uniformed employees have led to a decline in the average number of days lost to workplace injury, keeping officers on the job and contributing to their families and communities.

Read more about the topic at the Good Company Blog.

In this weeks WorkLife Nation Webisode, you’ll hear about the inner workings of the Psychologically Healthy Workplace.

Employees are putting in longer work hours, have lousy so-called “work life balance” and have amassed a bundle of fear about losing their jobs. It’s created a stressed-out workforce. That’s the work life landscape in a nutshell, according to a number of recent reports, including a joint survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health. The anxious tone in the workplace is courtesy the recession. Stay tuned through the end of this post, for some relief.

Staying@Work Report

The 2009/2010 Staying@Work report found that despite the recession, while many companies have not slashed employee health and productivity programs, they have not dealt specifically with those aforementioned stress factors. Here’s a snapshot of employers who were surveyed.

• 78% of employers said excessive work hours was a leading stress monger, but just 21% say they are addressing it.

• 68% of employers cited lack of work/life balance as stress producer, but only 38% say they are taking action to combat it.

• 67% of employers said employees’ fear of job loss lead to an uptick in stress, but only 41% of employers say they are taking steps to deal with that concern.

“Not only are stressed workers less productive, they are also likely to incur higher health costs for themselves and their employer,” said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health. “Companies most effective at mitigating the impact of stress are moving in the right direction — helping employees become more efficient while working to lower benefit costs and strengthen balance sheets.”

A Closer Psychological Look

The American Psychological Association’s newest 2009 Stress in America Survey found that while 7 in 10 Americans were suffering with stress due to money, 69% of respondents reported stress resulting from work.  Riding into the holidays, that stress takes on a new high.

“According to our survey three quarters of adults in this country already report moderate to high levels of stress,” says psychologist Katherine Nordal, PhD, APA’s executive director for professional practice. “The holiday season can bring with it additional emotional and financial stressors that can negatively impact both physical and mental health.”

The Long Term Global Perspective

The same workplace stress story is echoed throughout the world. Nearly six in 10 workers in key global economies experienced a rise in workplace stress over the last two years, according to a global survey by Australian workplace consultant firm, The Regus Group. It’s Regus Business Tracker survey 11,000 people in 13 countries about their workplace experience during the recession.

The most significant stress hike was reported in China, where 86% reported an uptick. The lowest increase in stress was felt in the Netherlands and Germany, with 47% and 48% respectively reporting a rise.

Some Comic Relief

If you made it this far – you know the workplace stress ride is far from over. As soon as I began reviewing all the surveys and stress producers I was reminded of the following scene in the Mel Brooks’ film, High Anxiety. Enjoy!

“Take a deep breath and count to three,” I told a colleague who stormed into my office with a justifiable complaint about her manager. She answered, “It’s about respect, she’s not even giving me her ear.” Listening to her rundown of what had occurred, I suggested she speak with her manager after she blew off some steam to diffuse her anger.

It was one of those final-straw episodes where someones ego was about to be eviscerated. No telling at this point who’d be going down this time in an ongoing conflict between two strong personalities, which had erupted a number of times. After work however, these two well-mannered conscious beings talked things out. But it took that moment of chaos to address what had been months in the making; an ego battle which refused to die between two stressed-out talented colleagues who were also friends.

Sometimes the pinnacle of a chaotic episode triggers change for the better. In this case a stressful situation had been brewing for some time and these two colleagues chose to handle it in a polite manner.

Most inspirational or leadership philosophies teach us to look at the chaotic challenges around us at work and in business, as for opportunities for growth. But let’s take it a step further and look at them as opportunities to identify what triggers stress in our lives – and raise our “stress awareness” at work to better tackle it.

April is Stress Awareness Month. It’s time for spring cleaning, so it’s a good time to detox our working and business lives. I wrote about this in my post, Work/Life Detox helps to Cultivate Resilience.

Here are  a few ways to first identify the stressful elements so you can detox and face them head-on. It’s an opportunity to form some new healthy habits around managing stress.

1. WorkLife Flexibility Patterns: Keep a daily log of the places where your working situation intersects with your family needs. Examine the conflicts that arise and your solutions to them. Is there a plan B in place when things don’t go as planned? It may be as simple as adapting new protocol to getting the kids off to school, helping them with homework or making arrangements to come to work earlier  - to leave later. If your work/life flexibility practices are causing you stress, is there a solution that you and management can agree upon?
2. Working Relationships: Do an inventory of your relationships at work or in business. Have any of them reached a boiling point? Grab a piece of paper and draw two columns. In the first column write down the names of the colleagues who you find to be most supportive at work. These are the people who you view as generally positive and energizing. In the second column, write down the names of the people who are not positively contributing to your working experience. Everyone has a bad day, but you’ll start to see patterns. Consider the people in column two. Are any of those relationships triggering stress for you? Only you can decide if that particular relationship needs work on your part, or whether you should simply detach as best as you can.
3. Work/Life Burnout: Many of us are burning the midnight oil to keep our jobs, or stand out in a challenging job market. There is an enormous amount of pressure to perform and produce efficiently. If the chaos of burnout is ignored it can lead to health issues. Keep a running log of your working hours and then examine them at the end of the week. Are you working more hours on certain days than others? If so, try to identify the days which appear to be most stressful and for what reasons. Try to schedule some downtime on particular days or at particular times throughout the day that are less chaotic, to help alleviate stress.
4. Information Vigilance: We’re bombarded by many mediums of information. Too much information can trigger stress. Sometimes we get caught in the loop of surfing the Internet or having to answer every email the moment it comes in. The e-mails count can be overwhelming and cause stress because we’re now living in a real time climate of instant gratification. Our clients and colleagues expect immediate responses. If you commit to checking and responding to e-mail that are not time sensitive – just a few times a day – be sure to let your clients and colleagues know of your patterns if you make a radical departure from the way you used to do things.

Huffington Post: Men and Women deal with Stress Differently

Reuters UK: Worker’s Tune out Stress with Music

 USA today: Donna Karan makes Room for Yoga at NYC Hospital

The U-S Government: A mental health guide to get through Recession Stress

The Evening Star, U-K: Workplace Stress in Spotlight

Tampa Bay: Walking to Reduce Stress

CBC News, Canada: Good Health is Good Business

The Guardian, U-K: Workplace Stress Management

The merging of the working and living experience goes well beyond our WorkLife Nation. A quick review of the global economy reveals that the quest for work life balance is a slamming debate no matter the continent. many fear burnout is on the horizon. So I took a quick journey to bring you a glance of what’s happening. Here’s Judy Martin’s Work Life Global Watch this Wednesday, March 25.

Singapore

Of all the places calling to shore up emotional resilience, Singapore would not have topped my list . Yet the country, where the U.S. Department of State warns jaywalking, littering and spitting gum can land you in the can or with a hefty fine, is concerned about its citizens’ stress levels. The country’s health minister is behind a new educational campaign called Optimism for Mental Resilience. The message – “bad times don’t last forever.”

Health Minister, Khaw Boon Wan wrote in a statement yesterday that, ““Promoting an emotionally-resilient society is one of our priorities whether in good times or bad.”  The country is upping its mental health education program “to help working adults manage day-to-day stress, and to recognize signs of depression and anxiety.” Hmmm – I don’t think chewing gum is an encouraged stress reducer here.

Canada

Canada’s Financial Post just named the Top 100 Employers. The key criteria included: “ physical workplace; work atmosphere as a social setting; pay and benefits; vacation and provisions for time off; communication to employees; performance management; training and skills development and community involvement.”

Among the employee benefits at many of these companies is extended maternity leave. One firm offered top-up benefits – up to 93% and 52 weeks for new dads and moms. (Practically unheard of) Other work life initiatives included phased-in retirement, relaxation rooms and flexible working arrangements which allow employees to leave for just a few hours to do personal errands. The one perk that stood out; one company ended every week with a beer cart pushed through the office. Hmmmm – not sure that will catch on the U-S workplace.

United Kingdom

Stress levels are soaring in the U-K, according to an article on the Institute of Leadership and Management website:

“Research by the Work Life Balance Centre and Coventry University revealed that four of the five health-related stress indicators it monitors rose in the last year. This means that there was a rise in the number of people reporting chronic fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability and headaches, while at the same time the fifth, lack of concentration, fell by less than one per cent.”

The commentary in the article from experts warned that higher stress can impact career goals and an employers bottom line –  inevitably leading to more absenteeism, lower productivity and more mistakes made by employees.

New Zealand

An article in The Nelson Mail on Work-Life Balance, brings to light union concerns about the countries Holidays Act which mandates 4 weeks vacation time. There is a brewing debate caused by suggestions that employees might prefer to cash in on that fourth week, instead of taking the time. The fear is that employers which have suffered layoffs with other employees fearing job losses, might be pushing workers to put in more time which would impact work life balance.

Australia

In a site called SmallBusiness, Josh Gordon and Annie Lawson write that the economic woes might trigger more discussion about flexible working arrangements. In their article, Can a downturn give you better work life balance,?  - they suggest that many companies are reducing worker hours and encouraging employees to use up their holiday leave – instead of sacking their skilled workers.

The writers say that the trend is driven by two items – which for some reason is not generating the same response in the U-S.

1. Altruism: Companies trying to look out for employees with families and mortgages.
2. Optimism: When the economy turns around, these employees will be grateful, more engaged and loyal.

Recently I was in a workplace the day of a massive layoff. An entire division was shut down. I’m not getting into details to keep confidentiality, and respect the privacy of those who had to find work elsewhere. There was a marked tone to this mass evisceration in comparison to others I have heard about. 

Here’s a rundown of how it went:

1. A transparent message of what was happening due to the economy was e-mailed to the general population prior to the layoffs.
2. A lunch was held as the employees were given notice that things were not good. 
3. Employees were told together in a meeting soon after about their severance pay, benefits and were humanly treated as best as the company could manage under the circumstances.  
4. It was a community layoff of sorts, and while upset,  few disgruntled workers shared their views publicly. 

I had the opportunity to speak with some of those who were laid off a few months after the episode. No layoff is simple. In retrospect, some of these former employees  say they might have left without a job , but they did not leave deflated of confidence and self esteem. They were also better prepared then most, having been kept abreast of the company’s situation to a degree.

A February survey by global consulting firm, Watson Wyatt, indicated that 52% of the companies polled had already made layoffs, another 13% intended to move in that direction. The firm released some guidance today on the process stating that open communication before, during and after layoffs will make for a more productive workforce. The pointers somewhat mirror the aforementioned anecdote. 

Here are some of the key points verbatim, in the guidance offered by Watson Wyatt. Check the company link for further information.

• Before: Prepare leaders early. While leaders should initially deliver key messages about business conditions and actions, it’s important for frontline managers to personalize and reinforce them.

• During: Clearly communicate the rationale for layoffs, and don’t shy away from tough questions.Transparency is critical to maintaining trust. Employees leaving the organization will want to know what support the company will provide them and hear that their service has been valued, while employees remaining will want to know whether their own jobs are secure. 

• After: Engage remaining employees by communicating a vision for the future. Highly engaged employees are more resilient during times of change and will drive performance in critical times. Employers can help remaining employees stay engaged during a restructuring effort by delivering messages about the organization’s long-term vision, clarifying how the employees can contribute to it and setting up realistic expectations for sharing information and available support going forward.

Ultimately the process, while difficult, can be facilitated in a humane fashion; if company leadership is willing to answer the hard questions, do it in a transparent way, and engage the workers left behind steering the ship.

In an exceptionally healthy workplace  in the 90′s,  an on-site gym, cleaner organic food in the company cafeteria, and the occasional chair massage might have been the norm. These days, since workers are more concerned with keeping their jobs than putting on a few extra pounds, it’s a different story. One could argue it ‘s just as important to feel good – as to look good – mentally and physically.

Progressive companies, fully aware of our 24/7 stressful work environment, understand burnout is not sustainable for workers or their careers. In fact, some have found that Employee Assistance Programs that support policies such as flexible working arrangements, skills training, leadership development and programs that promote healthy lifestyle and behavior choices – will lead to more productive and mentally healthier talent. 

This week the American Psychological Association honored five companies for “their comprehensive efforts to promote employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance.”

According to the American Psychological Association, psychologically healthy workplace practices fall into five categories: employee involvement; health and safety; employee growth and development; work-life balance and employee recognition. Chosen for the APA’s 2009 Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award:

1. W R Systems, Ltd. – Engineering Services Division (Virginia), 
2. Replacements, Ltd. (North Carolina), 
3. Teledyne Brown Engineering – Huntsville Headquarters (Alabama), 
4. WorldatWork (Arizona) 
5. Sandia Preparatory School (New Mexico)

These companies were not targeted for their feel-good approach to mental health, but instead on the return on investment. When big business can look at the numbers or concretely understand the philosophy behind what makes these companies tick, it makes for a better case to keep funneling money toward EPA’s.

Let’s deconstruct:

1. These 5 organizations reported an average turnover rate of just 11% in 2008, compared to the national average of 39% (Dept. of Labor)
2. Employee surveys from these companies showed 25 % experienced chronic work stress, compared to 39% nationally.
3. 85% of employees reported being satisfied with their jobs, compared to only 61% nationally.

Efforts to promote employee well-being cannot simply fall under the auspices of physical health. You can’t measure how happy someone is, or their mental stability, by taking their blood. If you’re going to do that, you may as well test for cholesterol. It’s a better indicator of an impending stress attack from burnout.

The jobless rate hit a new 26 year high and it appears that big business is resigned to the prediction that it will be a long haul. But a new survey by global consulting firm, Watson Wyatt, suggests that the bloodletting will eventually subside as companies simply can’t operate efficiently if they cut anymore to the bone.

“Companies have come to terms with the fact that this recession is going to last and that they can’t slash their way out of it,” said Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt. “Many companies are putting the drastic cuts behind them and are now focusing on smaller, more sustainable cost-cutting actions.” 

Salary and hiring freezes seem to be the norm as companies buckle down in an economy which doesn’t appear to be turning around anytime soon. But here’s the caveat to what appears on the surface to be better news; the companies surveyed were large U.S employers. For smaller businesses the story might be drastically different. Such a case came my way last week when I spoke with a colleague, who worked for a company, that once employed about a hundred people.

Joe was the  lone survivor in the video production unit of a commercial advertising company in southern California. He watched in horror as his unit went from 15 people to only himself running things with a select few freelancers. It happened over four months.

Assured that he was a valued player by his management, being the last skilled production person left at the company, he went out of his way to go the extra mile. The company was behind in paying expenses from trips that he put on his credit card, even payroll was consistently behind, but Joe hung in there. He sacrificed any sense of work life balance and became a stressed out ball of angst.

Then on a thursday afternoon while he was working from home he received THE CALL. They were letting him go after, in effect, lying to him , in order to keep the company’s business afloat.

Even in the face of the dwindling workforce this company kept its poker face going until the eleventh hour.

While this survey from Watson Wyatt is a bright spot in a sea of chaos, it doesn’t reflect the full picture. We’re a WorkLife Nation with a growing base of small business and entrepreneurs. It’s almost impossible to track the direction of those sectors as the recession deepens. Hold onto your hat, might be a longer ride than we think.

Layoffs continue to run rampant across the media landscape. This week I was bombarded with a slew of saddened workers in this sector. They shared  their dismay at the lack of transparency on the part of the company as to the real story behind the scenes. This lack of confidence in management and company values only perpetuates poor morale, thus creating a toxic workplace. The lack of communication then fuels consternation, water cooler gossip and general bad vibes between the rank and file.

Ultimately this is poor for morale and productivity. It amazes me that companies don’t see the worth of coming clean when changes are coming down the pike, if only to put out the fires of gossip that grow like a festering wound, infecting the mindset of employees. 

For workers who are faced with such conditions, it’s easy  to fall prey to the negativity around them. A good personal mental detox is an antidote to be able to survive and eventually thrive. I wrote about this in my blog post: Work Life Detox Helps to Cultivate Resilience. There are some tips to detoxify your work life scenario. Here are some tips to stave off the toxic behavior in the moment of impact while at work or in business:

1. Avoid water cooler gossip: Get your splash of juice and promise yourself not to engage in gossip. Literally walk away from the conversation simply excusing yourself.  
2. Don’t spread the bad vibe: Most of us might have lent an ear to the gossip, but don’t spend any energy spreading it. It’s understandable that you might want to share the information with other colleagues who might be impacted, but you risk spreading erroneous information.
3. Being a fear monger breeds more fear: Once you open the door to the nasty rumors that are spreading, you become a magnet and magnifier of it. It becomes addictive.
4. Revenge is not sweet: You might not be happy with the way the company is handling things, but if you think leaking the information to others outside of the company is going to make you feel good, think again. It will likely just tarnish your image.
5. Leave the toxic words in the office: When you leave work, even in our WorkLife Nation, try to leave the bad stuff behind. It will eventually work itself out – or not – whether you ruminate about it off hours – or not.

The corner office is a hot spot of late. Closed door meetings abound, as some companies tangle with whether they'll be solvent the next morning. Thousands of layoffs in New York alone in the face of recession, have lead to increasing anxiety and stress for workers. But U.S. companies are apparently getting the huge clue to be a bit more transparent about job security, company performance and solvency according to a new Watson Wyatt survey.

The global consulting firm found that 77 % of respondents to the survey have already sent out - or are planning communication on the impact of the current financial crisis within the walls of the organization. More than two-thirds of the employers cited easing employee stress as one of the top two goals of this type of crisis-intervention communication. Earning employee trust also rated as a concern.

One of the greatest fuels of fear and anxiety is lack of information. In laying the cards on the table, companies can better build trust with workers and alleviate the distraction of fear. It's a difficult balancing act as employers don't want to discourage workers thus impacting productivity. Ultimately, knowledge is power. "What you don't know - won't hurt you," does not apply in this case.

Transparency allows for planning and relationship building among the rank and file. In a time of great uncertainty, just knowing you have a job to go to in the morning goes a long way toward securing engaged and loyal employees.

For those of you who are stressing check out my free download breathing exercise to bring you down to earth from my Cd – Practical Chaos: Reflections on Resilience.