Tensions are high and rumors are running rampant, let’s lower stress levels for you and your employees. Here are 6 practical ways to make that happen.

Lower Stress Levels for You & Your Employees

You already know tensions are high and panic-inducing rumors are running rampant. As leaders during this crazy time, let’s work on creating lower stress levels for both you and your employees. Concentrate on what you can control, not what you can’t.

Here we go: 6 practical ways to lower stress levels for leaders and employees:

Lower Stress for Employees

1. Let your employees vent.

This can be really hard right now. Maybe the last thing you want to hear is another person going on and on about the Coronavirus. However, for some people, talking about it is how they process everything. Once they can get it all out, their nerves may settle down.

2. Schedule regular communication.

This may actually defer people from venting all day. If employees know when they can expect to hear more from you, likely their communication will be limited to around the same time. A great example of this is the Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear. He does a live video twice every day — appx. 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. He goes through new factual information, new decisions, and all action that has been taken up to this point.

3. Control your words, your face, and your door.

Here’s what I mean, as a leader, your people are watching you. They trying to read you and figure out what it means for them. Not that there is ever a time you should do this, but now is really not the time to be shooting from the hip. Choose your words carefully. Remain calm. Talk only about the facts, don’t entertain rumors. Put a smile on your face whether you feel like it or not. Your people need to see happiness, not fear or stress. Finally, when you close your door, people get worried. I can hear it now, “Oh no, this must be bad. What could they be talking about?” Do everything you can to help your employees feel at ease. Lead them to lower stress levels.

Lower Stress for Yourself

If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll end up not being able to take the best care of your people. Let’s talk about 3 practical actions you can take to lower stress in for yourself.

1. Choose the voice you trust and only take that one to heart.

You can find information on the internet to support whatever viewpoint you want. I encourage you to find the source that you trust, then only listen to that one. Shut everything else out. If you don’t, the possibility exists that you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong. Don’t do that to yourself. Lower your stress by limiting your information sources to the one or two that you trust the most.

2. Stop scrolling social media.

I’m not suggesting that you give up social media. As human beings, we need to connect with people. But, I do not want you to scroll social media. When you scroll through your feed, you cannot control what you’re seeing. You may see things that inflame your stress levels. That’s not what we want!

Here’s what I suggest, instead of scrolling, search specifically for the people you want to see posts from. If you want to see posts from “Megan” because you know she will make you laugh, type in Megan’s name and scroll through her timeline. If you engage with social media that way, you can make social media a positive experience for yourself.

3. Find joy in the new way of doing things.

I, like many others, am working from home and have all of my kids here with me. Balancing my own work and their school works seemed daunting until I heard something from a friend. They said that while this may be a really stressful time for parents, it may be one of the greatest memories your children have…”Remember when we were little and we got to stay at home with mom and do our school work for months…that was awesome!” says your kids 20 years from now.

That totally changed my perspective. Instead of thinking, “How am I going to do this?!”, I started saying, “How can I make this fun and memorable for all of us?” Doesn’t that mean we won’t get our work done? Absolutely not. However, it does mean that I am finding joy in the new way of doing things. I’m stopping to embrace their excitement when they read something funny in a book, I’m stopping to let them help me make lunch instead of rushing through to get it done, and I’m staying up later and waking up earlier to get my work done so I don’t miss out on those moments.

Whether you are at home or in the office right now, find joy in the new way of doing things. Maybe you have less contact with customers and that gives you more time to build relationships with your co-workers? The possibilities are endless, you just have to look for them.

Lower Stress = Happier You

The thing I love about leadership is the big impact you can have on the people around you. I’m hoping for you that this a season in your leadership where your employees begin trusting you and respecting you more than ever before. This is unchartered territory…may it lead to the best place imaginable!

Does your leadership need better decision-making skills? Let’s talk!

Email me: alyson@vanhooser.com

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