Employee engagement for the stressed employee

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In this article we study to find out ways to manage an employees tress using employee engagement and how important employee engagement is for every organization today.

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Nội dung Text: Employee engagement for the stressed employee

International Journal of Management (IJM) Volume 9, Issue 2, March–April 2018, pp. 37–42, Article ID: IJM_09_02_004 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=9&IType=2 Journal Impact Factor (2016): 8.1920 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510 © IAEME Publication EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT FOR THE STRESSED EMPLOYEE Monika Bharti PhD Scholar, School of Business, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India Dr. Anamika Pandey Associate Professor, School of Business, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India ABSTRACT Stress is a growing concern for employees in organizations today. We can define stress as a lively circumstance where people have to face constraints or loss of something they desire and for which the consequences are both unpredictable and crucial. A stressed employee is a common sight in todays companies. Kevin Kruse from Forbes.com says the definition of employee engagement is, “Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.” It is actually the level of enthusiasm and dedication an employee feels for his organization. In this article we study to find out ways to manage an employees tress using employee engagement and how important employee engagement is for every organization today. Key words: Employee engagement, Stress management, HRM, Stress, Burnout, Organizational performance. Cite this Article: Monika Bharti and Dr. Anamika Pandey, Employee Engagement for the Stressed Employee. International Journal of Management, 9 (2), 2018, pp. 37–42. http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=9&IType=2 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Employee Engagement Employee engagement is a vast construct that touches almost every part of human resource management that we know and study. Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn (1990), as the harnessing of organizational members‘ selves to their work roles. In engagement people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances. Employee engagement is a vast construct that touches almost all parts of human resource management facets we know hitherto. If every part of human resources is not addressed in appropriate manner, employees fail to fully engage themselves in their job in the response to such kind of mismanagement. The construct employee http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 37 editor@iaeme.com
Monika Bharti and Dr. Anamika Pandey engagement is built on the foundation of earlier concepts like job satisfaction, employee commitment and Organizational citizenship behaviour. Though it is related to and encompasses these concepts, employee engagement is broader in scope. Employee engagement is stronger predictor of positive organizational performance clearly showing the two-way relationship between employer and employee compared to the three earlier constructs: job satisfaction, employee commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour. Engaged employees are emotionally attached to their organization and highly involved in their job with a great enthusiasm for the success of their employer, going extra mile beyond the employment contractual agreement. The last two decades has seen the phase of transition from ‗satisfied‘ employees to ‗committed‘ employees (Avery et al, 2007; Buckingham and Coffman, 1999) who are not predisposed to attrition, rather immersed in the goal and success of their organization and often serve as the force behind the success of the organization. As we see that most of the employees today are suffering from stress related issues like health issues, low productivity, lack of morale, etc., it is indeed a need for organizations to manage these stressed employees and keep them happy and satisfied in order to keep up the productivity level high. Thus, employee engagement comes in handy for managing a stressed employee. The more engagement an employee has with his organization, the more effort he puts forth and the more loyal he feel towards his company and work. Employee engagement also involves the nature of the job itself - if the employee feels mentally stimulated; the trust and communication between employees and management; ability of an employee to see how their own work contributes to the overall company performance; the opportunity of growth within the organization; and the level of pride an employee has about working or being associated with the company. 1.2. Employee Stress While some workplace stress is normal, it can still interfere with the productivity and performance of the employee, not to mention affecting the employee’s relationships and personal life. Stress isn‘t always bad. A little bit of stress can help you stay focused, energetic, and able to meet new challenges in the workplace. It‘s what keeps you on your toes during a presentation or alert to prevent accidents or costly mistakes. But in today‘s hectic world, the workplace too often seems like an emotional roller coaster. Long hours, tight deadlines, and ever-increasing demands can leave you feeling worried, drained, and overwhelmed. And when stress exceeds your ability to cope, it stops being helpful and starts causing damage to your mind and body—as well as to your job satisfaction. The signs of stress for an employee at workplace can be physical, psychological or behavioral. Physical symptoms include:  Fatigue  Muscular tension  Headaches  Heart palpitations  Sleep difficulties such as insomnia  Dermatological disorders  Raised BP http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 38 editor@iaeme.com
Employee Engagement for the Stressed Employee Psychological symptoms include:  Depression  Anxiety  Discouragement  Irritability  Pessimism  Reduced concentration Behavioural symptoms include:  An increase in sick days or absenteeism  Aggression  Diminished creativity and initiative  A drop in work performance  Problems with interpersonal relationships  Mood swings and irritability  Lower tolerance of frustration and impatience  Disinterest  Isolation. It seems clear that if we try, we can utilize employee engagement to reduce the stress of employees and benefit both the employees well being as well as the organizations. 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE M. Kaliannan, S. N. Adjovu (2015) studied effective employee engagement ways and organizational success. The researchers found out the core engagement strategies as: work environment, HRM practices, employee-supervisor relationships, job satisfaction and organizational culture which related to effective organizational success. Their data analysis revealed that work environment was the least effective engagement strategy. S. Markos, M. S. Sridevi (2010) studied the evolution of employee engagement through the ages and how it is a key to improving performance of the employee and in turn the organization. They discussed effective employee engagement strategies for managers and indicated that employee engagement is closely linked with organizational performance outcomes. Ten points or strategies called ‗the ten tablets‖ were suggested to keep employees engaged. For managers, work of employee engagement starts at day one through effective recruitment and orientation program, the work of employee engagement begins from the top as it is unthinkable to have engaged people in the organizations where there are no engaged leadership. S. Devi (2017) researched the private sector banks for the impact of employee engagement on organizational performance. She took 150 respondants for her study and the result were in positive direction and fulfilled the research aims. It revealed a positive relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance. It was observed that organizations‘ with higher levels of employee engagement outperform their competitors in terms of profitability. A. Siddhanta, D. Roy (2010) belonging from the corporate world themselves studied employee engagement for the 21st century workforce. After extensive surveys, reviews and study, it was indicated that high levels of employee engagement will lead to improved employee commitment and involvement towards job and thus creating a motivated workforce. http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 39 editor@iaeme.com
Monika Bharti and Dr. Anamika Pandey Engaged employees demonstrate three general characteristics: (i) Say – They consistently speak positively about the organization to colleagues, customers, family & friends. (ii) Stay – They have strong desire to be with the organization even if they get job offers outside. (iii) Strive – They put in extra time, effort and initiative to contribute to business performance. S. Agarwal (2016) used the survey method and conceptual model to test with a sample of 254 employees from diverse cultures as well as age to find factors influencing employee engagement. It was found that employee from various age groups and cultures had different likings and expectations from the organizations. The finding suggests that there is considerable scope for improvement of some of the policies and practices in the sphere of human resource management. 3. OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY To study how employee engagement can help manage the stress of employees and how beneficial employee engagement is in todays organizations. 4. METHODOLOGY This study is mainly based on collection of secondary data. The data has been collected form various sources of publications like journals, magazines, research articles and published books. 4.1. Employee Engagement strategies Business now a days is striving to increase performance. It has been observed that a satisfied and engaged employee is directly proportional to increased performance. Thanks to technology, nowadays business companies are making use of advanced techniques of operation. As sophistication of technologies continues to evolve, they pose more challenges for managers because organizations will have to need more number of employees with increased technical and professional skills. These knowledge workers can not be managed with old styles of totalitarian management. They expect operational autonomy, job satisfaction and status. It is because of these facts that attention of managers is shifting towards employees‘ side of organizations. From last quarter of twentieth century onwards, concepts like employee commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) started to appear on the ground that efficiency and productivity lie within the employees‘ ability and commitment. Managers‘ eye is on how to keep employees engaged in their job. Employers now realize that by focusing on employee engagement, they can create more efficient and productive workforce. In order for the employees to feel engaged, they had to;  Feel their work was meaningful and made a difference  Feel valued and trusted  Feel secure and confident Some of the employee engagement strategies for stressed employees that can be implemented are;  Think ―Bottom Up‖ not ―Top Down‖ Always ask your team fro suggestions first. Make them feel involved. The more your employees are asked for opinions, the more they will feel empowered and respected.  Offer employee support group Feeling alone is fuel for the burnout fire racing through organizations. When employees don‘t feel supported, they begin questioning if they belong in their current position. Create small http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 40 editor@iaeme.com
Employee Engagement for the Stressed Employee discussion groups throughout the organization. The more you build a strong community, the more connected your team members feel to one another. Be sure these groups are truly a safe space by having each group create their own code of ethics. Sharing specific rules will make each person feel free to open up and unload their struggles.  Create a personalized work environment Attempting to create unified work experience will quickly decrease employee engagement. Creating personalised work experiences, employees feel heard and are able to openly communicate with their team. When Eric Bowen, digital marketing manager for BroadbandSearch, noticed one of his employees was burning out, he realized it was because he needed a personalized work environment. ―Six months after I hired one of our most experienced digital marketers, I noticed his stress levels rising. This was due to role overload. In order to reduce his stress, I removed some of the people from his team and created subgroups,‖ Bowen said.  Offer Remote Work Many businesses think that employees need to be in office to complete their work. While the truth is that allowing employees to work from home when necessary, is a great way to keep them productive while giving them a chance to deal and recover from their issues. This promotes productivity and healing of the employee mentally. Working remotely attacks a variety of key stressors. One major source is commuting. According to Andrea Loubier of Forbes, ―55% of people felt more stressed as a result of their commute.‖ She also reveals that ―…80% of remote workers reported higher morale, 82% said it helped lower their stress levels…‖  Employee Effective group learning strategies Workplace training sessions are a great way to help employees learn as well as engage with new ideas and techniques. Let the whole team be involved. Challenge the employees along with their managers to step out of their comfort zones, for example, by making a quiet , shy employee act as a subteam leader. 5. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS It is observed that engagement is seen as something given by the employees which can benefit the organization through commitment and dedication and being supportive to the organizations goals and values. Have team leaders sit down with each employee individually. Ask them to explore what makes everyone most productive and motivated and what‘s holding them back. As employees open up, your leaders will be inspired to create unique experiences for people throughout the organization. While trying to help a few employees, they may end up improved overall employee engagement. When possible, enforce rules for employees to be out of the office or not sending emails during specific times. While emergencies do arise, they need to know leaders are behind them and support their need for mental rest. When employee engagement is at an all-time high, the team feels motivated, productive, and passionate about their work, thus lessening the chances for stress. Provide them with unwavering support in various forms throughout the workplace. This will get them to a place of mental clarity where they can perform at their best. Employee engagement is gaining a high importance in organizations today for keeping the employees stress free and satisfied. Stressed employee cannot give a 100 percent to the company and it affects the productivity as well as his own health and well-being. Thus, company‘s need to understand how various employees are affected by various factors of engagement and focus on those, in order to achieve the outcomes required and also keep the employees happy and loyal. http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 41 editor@iaeme.com
Monika Bharti and Dr. Anamika Pandey REFERENCES [1] Agrawal, S. Factors influencing employee engagement: A study of diverse workforce. International Management Institute [2] Carbonara, S. Managers guide to employee engagement. Briefcase Books, October 2012 [3] Devi, S. Impact of employee engagement on organizational performance: A study of select private sector banks. International Journal of Commerce and Management research, 2017, ISBN- 978-93-85895-57-9 [4] Kaliannan, M. and Adjovu, S. N. Effective Employee Engagement and organizational success: a case study. Procedia- Social and Behavioural Science 172(2015), 161-168 [5] Markos, S. Sridevi, M. S. Employee Engagement- The key to improving Perfromace. International Journal of Business Management, December 2010, Vol 5, No. 12 [6] Pestonjee, D. Stress and Coping: The Indian Experience. SAGE Publications [7] Smith, G. B, Markwick, C. Employee Engagement A review of current thinking. Institute of Employment Studies, 2009 [8] Siddhanta, A. Roy, D. Employee Engagement- Engaging the 21st century workforce. Asian Journal of Management Research, 2010 [9] Schaufeli, W.B., & Bakker, A.B. (2004), ―Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study‖,Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 25, pp. 293-315. [10] Employee Stress- Strategies for managing stress at workplace. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/employee-stress.htm [11] Definition of Employee Engagement. https://inside.6q.io/the-definition-of-employee- engagement/ http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 42 editor@iaeme.com