Running out of gas?

In my coaching sessions stress is almost always a present factor – either for the manager him/herself or in regards to an employee. People who are suffering from severe stress are often affected by a variety of stressors in life, not just from the workplace. Small children, sick family members, house renovations, bad relationships. The list goes on. So how should one be able to keep track of who is at risk at work?

Regardless of external circumstances, there are three different personality types I usually point out to keep an extra eye on:

The Perfectionist. Characterized by the fact that they are never satisfied. Things can always be a little bit better. It may be difficult to get something out of their hands, but when it comes, it is PERFECT. Not even a typo. Everything is planned into detail. The positives are given – you get good stuff from this person. On the negative side it takes a lot of energy to always get it perfect. The pile of work is growing as it takes time to excel.

Mr/Mrs Fix-it. Every workplace has one. “You can always count on Lena”. If you give her a task - she solves it. Since she has a hard time saying no and setting her boundaries, she probably thinks she shouldn´t bother you as manager (because you have so much on your plate anyway) so she takes responsibility for the entire department, maybe the entire floor. Note that Lena might as well be a Lars. Lena´s and Lars´s get a lot of appreciation but they can never rest...

The Always-in-a-hurry. You see them rush by. They think they can always be a little more efficient (they hate people just standing still in the escalator, don't ask me how I can know such a thing….). They talk fast, walk fast, doing several things at the same time. There are always new things to do before they can relax. The recovery time is never enough.

Some of us can keep on going for many years. Most of us however will eventually run out of gas. The key is RECOVERY. Stress is not dangerous if you have time for recovery. Sleep, food and physical activity are key pillars of recovery. Add something that gives you energy – like hanging out with friends family or reading a book.

Here are some tips for you as a manager when you have employees with the typical personalities mentioned above:

- Ask for a draft instead of a finished product from the perfectionist. Do not encourage perfection!

- Ask someone other than the Mr/Mrs. Fix-it to arrange activities or run a project outside the official job description.

- Have walk and talk meetings every now and then with the always-in-a-hurry. Go consciously slowly. Walk and talks have the bonus-effect that the brain is stimulated by oxygen and the movement itself.

- Encourage physical activity together in the workplace.

There are tons of more tips on how to keep an eye on stressful behaviours. What are your best tips?