PayScale’s 2015 Compensation Best Practices Report shows that the number one reason people leave jobs is due to poor compensation. Many suffer from ongoing stress and overwhelm stemming from job duties to financial challenges. Human Resource professionals are not immune to the effects of stress, but there are ways to regain balance and bounce back from burnout.
We have all heard about the negative effects of stress. Stress affects people in several different ways. According to CNN the APA.org, 51% of American employees say they become less productive when they feel stressed and 33% employees feel the need to check-in at the office while on vacation when feeling overwhelmed.
No matter –the industry you are in, or the role you play in your organization, I have yet to come across any job that is stress-free. Stress has the same taxing effects on us all as humans. Some know how to deal with it better than others but never the less; it still takes its toll. The more stress we have, the worse we feel, and often the unhealthier we are overall.
As HR professionals, there are a lot of contributing factors to stress. Stress for practitioners come in several different ways from dealing with unhappy employees, FSLA workplace deadlines, to the wellness of employees. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by the Society of Human Resources, wellness of employees was the number one cause of stress for practitioners because there are so many other factors rolled into negative wellness practices of employees. There is so much on our plate and we have to balance it all. In a role that seems to always be changing and developing, there are countless tasks and duties that contribute to the stress we feel.
Common Stressors for HR ProfessionalsEvery organization out there needs some sort of HR representation. No matter the size, no matter the industry, they are needed to keep the machine running. To some degree, HR has to be available to everyone at all times, easily accessible, and accommodating. It doesn’t matter what you may have had on your list of things to do, when someone shows up with a pressing matter for you to attend to, you must attend to it. Multitasking and juggling are our lifeblood. It is really easy to get burnt out when we are being pulled in every direction, expected to be available at all times and still get everything done.
We deal with a lot of stressful issues and a lot of stressed out people. In turn, this can have a direct impact on our own stress levels. Whether handling disgruntled employees, employees in transition, organizational changes or crisis management; it becomes very easy to let the stress of others add to our own. Then, on top of it all, we have our own set of standards, regulations and laws we must adhere to. We have to ensure the privacy of various employees and entities and so on. There is so much to keep track of and it can be quite hard to do. Learning to manage stress can be difficult, but these are three easy ways to manage stress in the workplace.
3 Ways to Stay Productive and Avoid Burnout
#1 – Automate processes and let others do the work for you
Use modern human resources software to take the headaches and stress out of compensation. Payscale allows companies to attract talent by pricing jobs based on accurate data, retain employees by compensation them fairly, drive performance by getting their salary right and focusing on other things, as well as being more confident in how to handle the topic of salary with employees.
#2 – Use a suite of productivity tools
The best way to avoid burnout is use tools that basically do your job for you. Tools like Calendly, Todoist, etc. help keep each part of your day organized. Most companies can’t afford large HR departments and a lot of companies rely on just one person to handle the work of five or ten. Using these apps or tools will help streamline calendar appointments and various tasks to take the stress off of your workload.
#3 – Open a bottle of wine and binge watch your favorite show
Sometimes we just need to open a bottle of our favorite wine and drink from the bottle while binge watching House of Cards or VEEP. These types of evenings are well deserved after a long day and sometimes we need them to distress and start the next day fresh.
Demo Payscale software and solutions today and learn how to simplify your life one process at a time.
Nice article! I am a solo practicing dentist in Sarasota and I can agree completely on the stresses HR can play on our life. I have been fortunate (insightful) enough to choose great employees and pay them well for their work in my office. I also utilize a number or technological tools like the ones mentioned above and believe they are key factors in our success. Keep up the good work.
Hank D. Michael, DMD
https://www.SarasotaDentistry.com
Thanks for the kind words Hank! Lots of practitioners struggle with stress, esp. department of ones!