Lighter Side: A stressful start to the day

HR professionals who are keen to reduce workplace stress could benefit from telling employees to take the stairs, says one new survey.

That’s because, according to CareerBuilder, 16 per cent of workers are worried they’ll get stuck or the lift will malfunction – that’s an awful lot of employees starting their day with an unwelcome bout of anxiety.

And it seems that’s not the only stressful thing about taking the elevator – the survey also identified other elevator-behaviour that could be irritating your employees before they’ve even clocked on.

Here are just some of the things employees said were cause for concern:

• Talking on a cell phone – 35 per cent
• Not holding the door open when others are running to get on – 33 per cent
• Standing too close when there is plenty of room – 32 per cent
• Squeezing into an already crowded elevator – 32 per cent
• Not stepping off to let other people out – 27 per cent
• Holding the doors open for an extended period of time – 26 per cent
• Cutting in line to get on – 23 per cent
• Taking the elevator up just one or two floors – 20 per cent
• Pushing the wrong button – 17 per cent
• Facing away from the elevator door, instead of towards it – 7 per cent

So it seems there’s an easy solution to reducing workplace stress (even if it is just by a little bit) – take the stairs!

On a slightly less infuriating note, the survey also asked respondents to share the most unusual things they’d ever seen in an elevator. Some of the more memorable submissions include:

• “Pantsing” a co-worker
• Changing a baby’s diaper
• Flossing teeth
• Clipping fingernails
• Fist fighting
• Dancing throughout the ride
• Showing someone a rash and asking for a diagnosis
• Moving the entire contents of a co-workers office into the elevator, including the desk.

And our personal favourite…

• A woman with her arms full of papers using her head to keep the doors from closing.