Poor management and heavy workloads lead to greater employee stress

Poor management doesn't just jeopardize the productivity of your organization — it can negatitvely affect employees both mentally and physically as well. Of course, an unhealthy workforce is a non-productive workforce, so it's important for your executives and senior managers to be mindful of how they handle their employees. 

Nevzat Tarhan, a psychiatrist and the director of İstanbul-based Üsküdar University, researched what causes stress among workers and found that poor management and a heavy workload are the top two contributors. The two often go hand in hand. Poor management can result in inconsistencies in work allocation and some may end up with unfairly heavy workloads, which result in stress and, in many cases, anger or resentment towards their employer.

An article in Today's Zaman discussed the study in greater detail.

"If the manager cannot interact with the workers well and cannot solve problems in the workplace, this also leads to signs of stress in the behavior of workers such as displays of anger — negative, unexpected reactions to their colleagues' comments and frequent quarrels in the group," the article says.

Most workplace issues start at the top. If employee feel overly stressed and cannot adequately perform the responsibilities pertaining to their jobs, it might be due to a lack of proper management. When hiring executives and senior managers, it's crucial that you look for individuals who understand this and conduct themselves accordingly as leaders. Working with an executive search firm can help you find the right people to manage your teams, allocate proper workloads and alleviate stress in your employees.