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Julia Stringer
Apr 26, 2022

Supporting employees is so important to run a happy, healthy business. Don’t get me wrong, a little bit of stress can actually help with productivity. The rush of adrenaline can help to boost performance, but too much of it can affect mental and physical health.


As part of Stress Awareness Month, I will be sharing with you some tips and methods on how to support your team during stressful times.


Why is it important to support your team?

Supporting your team not only helps build interpersonal relationships but also reduces stress. You’d be surprised how much people can really flourish when given the correct support.

1. Provide your employees with Regular support

Supporting your staff regularly can only lead to a happier and less stressful workplace. Schedule regular 1-to-1’s with your employees to help support them and make their work-life better. As someone who is lucky enough to have regular 1-to-1’s with my manager, it has not only helped me with any stress I have been going through but also helped me establish a healthy relationship with my manager. Feeling like you can say how you feel in a work environment is rare – but it shouldn’t be! 

2. Be flexible around your employee' needs

Flexible hours are something a lot of people appreciate, for example, one person may find themselves productive in the morning and not so much at night, or visa versa. Knowing your employees and giving them the freedom to choose when they work (as long as they get their contracted hours) not only helps employees reach their full potential, but also creates a sense of trust within the workplace. You’ll find yourself with much happier employees when giving them this sense of freedom. Check out these Key Tips on Creating Your Own Happiness. 

3. Communicate regularly with your team
Talk to your team! Make an environment where your team feels comfortable enough to reach out to you when stressed or feeling overwhelmed with their work/personal life. Having weekly catchups is something we like to do at Apprentify. We have our weekly meeting on a Monday morning to discuss tasks that we’re working on during the week, which gives the team an opportunity to ask for help where needed. I’d definitely recommend implementing weekly catch-up meetings into your team if you haven’t already.

4. Recognise and reward hard work

Start a star of the week! Let your staff know that you see them working hard and you appreciate what they are doing for the company. Adults still need a pat on the back when they’ve done something amazing! By showing your recognition of their hard work and sharing it with the rest of the company, it will make employees happier, improve staff retention, encourage staff development, and boost the overall morale of the business.

How help employees struggling with stress

Encourage healthy eating!

Keeping a healthy diet not only improves physical health but can also improve mental wellbeing. Keeping a balanced diet doesn’t just mean to cut out sugary foods, but to eat them in moderation with all the other food groups. It’s a common misconception to believe that cutting out “unhealthy” food such as chocolate will improve your health, but that is not always the case. Did you know dark chocolate can regulate the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and stabilise metabolism?!

Positive self-talk.

Encourage your employees to Sell themselves, to themselves! Reading into some positive affirmations to say to every day. They are shown to strengthen self-worth by boosting both your positive opinion of yourself and your confidence in your ability to achieve your goals.

Encourage exercise.

Exercise can reduce the intensity of how you’re feeling. By reducing this, it allows employees to deal with their emotions in a calmer manner. Exercise also releases endorphins which helps to maintain a positive attitude, look at one of our latest blogs on how sports can affect your mental health.

Let your employees have time off where needed! 

Time with your loved ones is SO important. Maintaining close relationships helps with your overall feeling of loneliness. Everyone needs companionship.

To gain more useful insights regarding stress management for personal and work life, follow us over on LinkedIn.