Five New Year's Resolutions for Employers

"You're lucky to have a job" is something that many people, perhaps even your own employees, hear more and more these days.

In tough economic times, that may be true. While many face layoffs and long periods of unemployment in a competitive job market, those who are steadily employed can feel fortunate. However, even those who can still count on a steady paycheck face increased stress in times of economic downturn.

As an employer, it is important to recognize the toll these stresses can take on your staff. While they may still be able to show up to work every day and collect a paycheck every few weeks, ask yourself if your employees could be facing some or all of the following:

- Decreases in pay due to furloughs or reduced hours

- Increased workloads due to layoffs, hiring restrictions or lack of adequate resources within your company as it struggles with its own financial difficulties

- Increased financial burdens because although they have remained employed, other breadwinners in their families have faced layoffs, salary reductions and difficulties finding employment

Chances are that some of your staff are struggling with these types of life changes. If your company is facing its own financial struggles, you may not be able to provide support in terms of pay increases, even if in normal circumstances they would be deserved. However, there may be things you can do to improve the quality of life and reduce the stress of your employees, even in tough times.

As you look ahead to the New Year, review your business practices and ask yourself if some of the following suggestions would work within your company. Of course, what is feasible depends on the nature of your business. But assessing what you are already doing to help your valued employees and what more you might be able to do is an exercise that benefits your company and your staff. Even in a competitive job market, retaining top employees by providing the best possible working conditions is important. In addition, stress can impact an employee's ability to focus and even attendance.

Below are a few New Year's resolutions you can consider for your operation if you are seeking ways to reduce stress and improve the lives of your valued staff members.

1. Providing more flexible work options

If you aren't already doing so and the nature of your business allows for flexibility, now is a great time to consider options ranging from telecommuting to flexible schedules. Could your employees work from home even one day a week and still perform key job tasks? Could you offer flexible working hours to allow some employees to come in earlier and leave later while others begin their workday later and stay longer into the evening? Could you consider a condensed workweek, such as a 4-day, 10-hour schedule?

Flexible work options can help employees maintain a better work-life balance, which can also help improve their financial circumstances. With flexibility in when and how employees work, they may be able to reduce daycare and commuting costs considerably. This is a much-appreciated benefit, especially in times when well-deserved raises may not be an option.

2. Analyze Workloads and Re-Prioritize Where Possible

The economic factors that increase employee stress may also be impacting your business. Are your resources, both human and physical, stretched more thin than usual? Have you been unable to replace staff that have retired, moved on or suffered layoffs? In such hectic times, the impacts these changes have on existing staff can be overlooked. Employees, fearful for their own jobs, may take on the increased workload left by vacant positions and scarce resources, quietly work longer hours just to stay afloat. Over time, the tougher working conditions and their own financial stressors can take their toll.

In the New Year, take a long hard look at what each employee has on his or her plate, and analyze whether the expectations are reasonable. While "doing more with less" may be necessary, there are ways to reduce the pain. Set priorities based on what employees can accomplish in a reasonable workweek. Cross-train staff to allocate resources where the need is greatest, rather than piling an overload of work on a few while others search for ways to keep busy.

3. Improve Feedback

In busy, stressful times, the importance of good feedback is easy to overlook. A manager overwhelmed with his own hectic schedule may unintentionally neglect opportunities to provide positive feedback, communicating only when a problem or need for improvement exists. For employees who may be worried about their own job security, this can increase stress.

Make a point of recognizing strengths as well as needs for improvement. Thank employees for jobs well done and let staff know when you see them going above and beyond the call of duty. When you do need to talk with an employee about a performance problem, ask about challenges that may be impacting performance. For example, maybe a data processor is consistently falling behind in keeping records up-to-date. She claims that a part of the problem is that since your company had to cut back from having a full-time receptionist to only having someone available part-time, she spends half her workdays covering the phones. Before assuming she's a slacker, monitor the situation and if you find this to be true, get other employees to help with phone coverage so that she has time to perform her key tasks.

4. Create a Comfortable Workplace

It can be easy to associate "comfy" with "relaxed," and "relaxed" with "unproductive." But this doesn't have to be the case. Many people are more productive and focused if they are comfortable and content in their surroundings. You don't have to allow employees to wear pajamas and bedroom slippers and put a nap-room, big screen televisions and a hot tub in your office suite to help employees feel more at ease while working. Simple steps can go a long way.

Consider a more relaxed dress code for those who aren't on customer front lines. If you don't have one, provide a "break area" that allows employees to escape their desks and rejuvenate during scheduled breaks and lunches. Encourage a friendly and collegial workplace by interacting and getting to know employees yourself. Also encourage those who want to do so to personalize their workspaces and to make listening to music while working a part of their day.

5. Tap Into Employee Ideas

Everyone wants financial rewards for a job well done. But for many, having an opportunity to make a difference and to be heard is also very motivating. Try to create an open-door environment where employees are comfortable coming to you with ideas about how things might be done differently. Get to know employee strengths and through cross-training and varied job assignments, tap into what they are good at and enjoy doing. Provide opportunities to learn new things. While making it clear that you can't always promise you'll be able to do what is asked, encourage employees to let you know what you or other managers in the company might be able to do to improve working conditions and increase productivity.

These are just some of the resolutions an employer can make to improve the lives of employees in the New Year. Just how much you can do depends on your resources and the nature of your business, but any steps you can take to improve conditions in rough economic times are more than just the right thing to do. After all, happier, less-stressed, comfortable employees find it easier to work more efficiently. More efficiency can only be good for your business.

Author's Note: The above article is the opinion of the writer, based on experience both as a manager and supervisor and as a furloughed employee.