How to Stop Chronic Stress Impacting Your Mind, According to Chad Price of MAKO Medical — Today Business Time
Your job should not negatively affect your well-being. However, workplace stress impacts 83% of American professionals. When you are feeling overwhelmed in your day job, it can affect all aspects of your everyday life. New research from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University suggests that chronic stress can lead to depression and low moods. That means that things that previously brought you pleasure won’t have the same effect.
Chad Price, MAKO Medical Laboratories CEO, is a pro when it comes to looking out for his staff’s wellness. The leading testing and research center more than doubled in size over the course of the pandemic. Now heading up over a thousand employees, the business leader is charged with ensuring that each of the staff members is mentally healthy. For that reason, he is a strong advocate of alleviating stress and the pressures that would otherwise impact employees’ morale.
Needless to say, it’s vital that you take action when it comes to mental health. Whether you’re an employer or employee, it’s important to understand how you can lower the consequences of chronic stress. In the following article, Chad Price, MAKO Medical Laboratories CEO, delves into the ways that he has protected his team from this burden.
Give employees a level of workplace flexibility
Flexibility in the workplace is everything. When you’re dealing with a large team of people, you need to make sure that everyone has the versatility that they need. One of the main lessons that the pandemic taught us was that workers have varying approaches to their professional lifestyle. Of course, the level of flexibility that you can offer will depend largely on the type of work you are dealing with. If you are running a laboratory, it is not possible to offer most of the technical workers the opportunity to carry out their work from home.
However, there will be instances in which you can do that. For example, when it comes to both administrative and office-based roles, there may be the chance for workers to stay home when they need to. If these professionals have social or family commitments, they may find that this is beneficial to them. Many workplaces now allow their employees to use a hybrid model. In simple terms, that allows employees to split their time between their home (for some days during the week) and their work premises. Of course, it’s always worth considering what will work best for your particular company and team members.
Allow staff members to develop their skills
Being stuck in a professional rut does nothing for workers’ mental health. As humans, we all want the chance to grow and develop. One of the most effective ways that you can support your team members is to give them the opportunity to learn new skills and apply them in the workplace. Rather than merely completing monotonous tasks on a daily basis, this option means that they can gain additional competencies and use them to move forward. You may decide to offer training courses to your staff or even fund qualifications.
At MAKO Medical Laboratories, we recently launched the MAKO U program, a training initiative for team members. While the program will expand in the years to come, one of the first training opportunities has been within the phlebotomy sector. Employees had the chance to sign up to the free phlebotomy course that was run in-house. The accredited qualification gives workers the skills that they need to work as phlebotomists. Towards the end of last year, five staff members graduated and we are certain to see more follow suit.
“I think the future and possibilities are endless. We have so many accounts all over the state, we do so many things, that’s the MAKO Way. You can pretty much do anything,” said one of the recent MAKO U phlebotomy course graduates, Erica Mayor. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I can’t see what happens next.”
Not only does the course give staff members the chance to develop their worn skills, but they have further opportunities upon graduating. We have implemented a scheme that allows accredited phlebotomy course graduates to become instructors too. That means that they will have the option of taking additional employees through the syllabus.
Offer wellbeing support for your team members
When you’re overseeing a large team of people, it’s important to determine how their work is impacting their mental health. There’s no room for guesswork here. One of the biggest problems when we speak about mental wellness is that people are afraid to share their stories. Should a staff member be struggling with stress, they may be unlikely to speak to their line manager about the problem. That is why managers have an obligation to step in.
Ensuring that there is adequate mental health support is a must. That may mean employing a professional directly in that capacity — whether it is a counselor, therapist, or an overall advisor. Having this person on the team means that there is someone on which employees can rely. If there is anything that is worrying them, whether it is work-related or otherwise, there is a professional available to speak directly to them. While this will not be appropriate or feasible in all commercial settings, it is something that managers may want to consider. It is all about thinking of the most innovative ways to support your team.
Conclusion
At MAKO Medical Laboratories, we put our staff members’ well being first. Unlike other businesses, we are concerned with more than merely the bottom line. With that in mind, we are continually looking for ways to give our staff members the support that they deserve. That may be through new learning opportunities or simply creating a culture of transparency in which they can speak candidly to the management team. If you are looking for a way to help your employees, consider the three strategies highlighted here.
Originally published at https://www.todaybusinesstime.com on May 11, 2023.
