How can employers reduce stress in the workplace?

High stress levels causing employees to miss workdays, says report offering tips for HR

BY Dexter Tilo 02 Oct 2024

Nearly three in four hirers in Southeast Asia perceive their organisations as stressful amid overlapping factors affecting the wellbeing of employees, according to a recent report from SEEK.

The report, released earlier this year, found that Singapore has the highest average stress level in SEA with 5.5, followed by Malaysia (5.4), and the Philippines (5.3).

These findings come as Melanie Ng, Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos in Singapore, noted last year that the effects of stress "remain high and concerning."

In fact, Ipsos' findings last year revealed that 24% of Singaporeans felt stressed to the point of not being able to work for a period at least once, while another 15% said this happened several times.

Managing stress in the workplace

The Achievers Workforce Institute previously released a whitepaper on how to manage stress in the workplace.

The paper outlined five steps that employers could take to address workplace stress amid unclear answers on what are impacting stress levels. These steps include:

Ask employees and take action. Talk to employees about their stress levels and what they need, then implement changes based on feedback provided.
Monitor workloads. Workload is a major driver of stress, so ensure employees have manageable workloads and enable employees to push back on tasks that will require them to work longer hours.
Encourage downtime. Allow workers to switch off outside of work hours by being clear that there is no expectation to reply to emails or messages that arrive after hours.
Ensure role clarity. Maintain up-to-date job descriptions and specific objectives, as well as make it easy for employees to clarify any questions they have about their roles and responsibilities.
Communicate to reduce uncertainty. Ensure ample, accurate communication to reduce areas of uncertainty.

The report also called on employers to communicate "frequently, transparently, and honestly" about challenges and solutions that the organisation is working through to avoid uncertainty.

Read more on how to empower employee wellbeing in this whitepaper from the Achievers Workforce Institute. Grab your copy here.