Feature

Workplace stress and attrition—a direct co-relation?

Growing expectations lead to increasing discontent. This dissatisfaction, if not dealt with appropriately, ends up boiling down to an uncomfortable situation and an unpleasant word called ‘stress.’ Renuka Vembu works her way around trying to dissect the relation, if any, between stress at the workplace and attrition

The buzzing IT sector and the exceeding stress levels and increasing attrition rates in this industry go hand-in-hand. The globalization effect and the booming Indian market, the presence of which is felt across the globe, have their share of challenges and pressures for the workforce. The evolving sector brings along with it long working hours, the graveyard shift in the BPO industry, demanding clients, imposing bosses, adhering to timelines and meeting stringent deadlines, constant pressure to perform, excel and be abreast of the latest know-how, multi-tasking, lack of a perfect work-life balance, all of them in totality are taking their toll on people.

Decoding stress

The term ‘workplace stress’ does not restrict itself to or imply only ‘work-related’ stress. This is an obvious and may be an unavoidable symptom.

But the surrounding environment and workplace, office culture and ethics, team enveloping peers, subordinates and superiors, individual-personality job-fit, job role and function, skill sets and training to match it, defining and refining the same, time management programmes, stress management workshops, recognition for a job well done, job rotation and enrichment, challenging yet reasonable tasks, value added sprinklings like recreation facilities, concierge services, etc., go a long way in helping an employee get along with life in a smoother manner and reflect positive energy. These aspects if not factored in, end up creating an acrimonious situation.

Emphasis on skills such as time management, effective listening, handling a difficult discussion, putting the customer first and situational leadership equips employees with the confidence to maintain a positive work environment and to reduce anxiety in new and unfamiliar situations.

KPM Das, Head Global Operations, Aztecsoft Limited, explained, “Stress is a normal physiological response to ‘danger’ as perceived by the body or brain. The factors that lead to stress can be self-induced as well as induced by the surroundings. In cases where it is self-induced, the employee may have poor planning and time management skills, low self-esteem, workaholic nature, inadequate relaxation methods, etc. If induced by the work environment, the causes could be poor planning and estimation on the part of the organization or management, culture of rewarding ‘time put in work’ than ‘excellence’, not creating a cheerful and motivating work environment making work and play go hand in hand, etc. Managers who are very task-oriented can be very stressful to even excellent performers who require relationship orientation.”

There are people who also believe that some amount of stress is inevitable as well as essential to keep the ball rolling. Employees need to be on their toes at all times, ready to meet the challenges thrown at them, be productive to the best of their capability and keep the creativity quotient running at all times. While at a certain level employees need to learn to handle everyday stress to some extent, there are others points in time when it has to be escalated and a concerned authority has to take charge of the situation and handle the issue. It is important to bear in mind that employee stress is a subjective matter which cannot be overlooked; what might appear as a stressful situation for one might be taken as a normal work routine by another.

Implications of stress

While there is a clear majority on the fact that stress can lead to attrition, there are others who do not wish to pin down stress as the ultimate cause, and say it cannot be proven. But there is unanimity on the view that no particular job function or role or set of people undergo stress more than others as every task comes with its own baggage of benefits that can be leveraged and hindrances that need to be encountered. An organization cannot grow without the growth of its people. Similarly, employee stress shows a direct impact on an organization’s business. While from the business angle it can affect productivity, client service, profits and team work, from the individual’s perspective it can lead to deteriorating morale and self-esteem, low confidence levels, health hassles and a troubled personal life.

Gowri Shankar Subramanian, CEO, Aspire Systems (India), opined, “Organizations cutting across industries are gearing up to provide employees with a stress-free healthy environment, not only in terms of better facilities but enhanced work environment and evolving work culture as well. High stress levels affect the morale and motivation of the employees. Prolonged exposure to stress without effective coping mechanisms could lead to a host of physical and mental problems. Stress leads to fatigue, irritability, poor communication, and quality errors. Workplace stress could also push the employees towards high risks behavior such as smoking, drinking, and substance abuse.”

Combating strategies

Combating stress is a two-way process. While employees have to come out of the cocoon and shed their initial fears or inhibitions about working their way out of the stressful situation, the company has to be accommodative and the environment conducive to foster employee welfare. Benny Augustine, Director, HR, Unisys Global Services India, mentioned, “Strategies that management would want to consider include improved personnel selection and job placement, training, use of realistic goal-setting, redesigning of jobs, increasing employee involvement, improved organizational communication, offering employee sabbaticals, and establishment of corporate wellness programmes. Redesigning jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, additional autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress because these factors give the employee greater control over work activities and lessens dependence on others. Given the importance that perceptions play in moderating the stress response relationship, the management can also use effective communication as a means to shape employee perceptions.”

Unmanaged stress can be infectious in large-sized organizations with workforces that are inhabited together. In addition, a company can easily suffer external image damage from being perceived as one that has a stressful work environment, limiting its talent acquisition strategies, among other things. Infrasoft Technologies has the good stories of the organization told and retold through dash boards and storyboards, during induction. They get the employees to be a part of all events where the most powerful speaker of the organization speaks or replays videos of such events during lunch time in cafeterias.

End of stress

Just like everything else in life, stress should be viewed as a temporary phenomenon in a permanently tough external environment, and working a way around it as a means to a good end. Kalpana Jaishankar, Vice-president, HR Operations and People Development, Patni, summarized, “Dearth of staff, shortage of skills, bleak role clarity or growth visibility, no alignment between organizational objectives and individual goals, complex work and demanding customers, culminate to employees getting stressed-out, but the decision to quit is not taken overnight, and attrition due to stress is not the solitary reason. There are techniques to de-stress, and both the issues and the possible solutions concerning employees differ according to the hierarchical ladder. Open channels of communication, show empathy and understanding as tolerating the phases of imperfection and taking a flexible approach will help iron out the differences and liberate employees of stress.”

One needs to create a corporate ambience that does not perpetrate any other internal strain in the organization. Complete freedom from stress can never be a reality, whether in personal or professional life. In any organization, as a manager pushes a team to better the standards of performance, incorporate new technology and bring up innovative ideas, this process will inevitably cause stress. The goal is to find ways to manage this stress in a positive and constructive manner.

renuka.vembu@expressindia.com