Blog

February 2018

• High turnover, low engagement plague businesses with low EQ managers

  

  A growing body of research suggests that workplaces are in dire need of managers with high emotional intelligence (EQ). While it’s a common practice for companies to choose managers based on their tenure or their technical abilities, with no focus on skills like emotional intelligence, a 2013 study from University College London (UCL) found that manager EQ is an important indicator of employee engagement and performance. The researchers found that managers with lower EQ scores were more likely to have higher levels of staff absenteeism and turnover. And the same holds true for employee engagement, a critical component to business […Read More]

• Study: Fear and technology keep Americans from taking paid time off

  

  American workers only use half of their annual paid vacation, according to a recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive for the career website Glassdoor. More alarmingly, 61 percent of the individuals polled said that they continue to work during their vacations, despite complaints from their family members. According to the survey, 85 percent of employees reported taking at least one day off in the past 12 months, leaving 15 percent who worked through the entire year. Taking time off doesn’t necessarily equate to relaxation either. “It’s clear the word vacation among employers and employees doesn’t mean what it did in […Read More]

• EQ becoming increasingly important at international firms

  

  In a recent post we discussed a Gallup study that found that majority of companies pick the wrong members of a team to take a managerial or leadership position. Businesses often make the mistake of placing a disproportionate amount of importance on a person’s experience and hard skills rather than their ability to lead. While the Gallup study focused on companies in the United States, the same issue is plaguing firms in India, according to Live Mint, an Indian newspaper affiliated with The Wall Street Journal. Many of the human resources and leadership professionals interviewed by the source said companies […Read More]

• Emotional Intelligence is a key trait for managers

  

  What qualifies someone to take on a management position? Their years of experience with a company? Their personality? A new Gallup analysis has found that many companies choose the wrong candidate when they name a manager. In fact, the study determined that businesses only pick the right person for a position about 20 percent of the time. Good managers are key to a company’s success. They need to inspire their team members to be productive and be able to identify issues regarding stress or wellness before they get out of hand. But as noted by the Gallup study, bad managers […Read More]

• Study: Millennials are more stressed than older generations

  

  The world that Generation Y came of age in is certainly different than that of their parents and grandparents, and this influences many things for them, including their stress levels. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association (APA), Millennials – individuals currently in their 20s and early 30s – are more stressed than any other age group. On a 10-point scale where 1 means very little stress and 10 means “a great deal of stress,” the average of all American adults is 4.9. For Millennnials, however, it’s 5.4. “Younger people do tend to be […Read More]

• Workplace Stress: When the house is on fire, Awareness is Not Nearly Enough

  

  April is Stress Awareness Month. Good, I think. As a stress expert I find myself feeling quite conflicted about this. On the one hand, it’s a great thing and very necessary. It focuses attention on a critical quality of life issue that can so negatively impact us as human beings. (I could also spend a lot of time talking to you about positive stress as an essential life force but, in this blog, I won’t.) On the other hand, when I consider how Stress Awareness Month plays out in most workplaces it is not good enough. On a practical level, […Read More]

• Study: Poor workplace health, stress detrimental to U.K. economy

  

  Most employers know that workers who are in poor health or are under stress can bring down the bottom line of a company. They’re more likely to call in sick, and when they are in the office, they are less productive. According to a new study, business owners and executives are not the only people who should be concerned about the emotional health of workers, as policymakers have a stake in this issue as well. Researchers from the University of Salford, a British institution, and public health consultancy firm Cavill Associates, found that workplace health issues cost the British economy […Read More]

• Survey: Pay and commute are top sources of workplace stress

  

  Eight in 10 American workers are stressed out due to low pay and long commutes, according to a new survey conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Everest College. The career-focused education company’s 2014 Work Stress Survey found little improvement in the well-being of workers since 2013. In addition to long commutes and less-than-desirable salaries, survey respondents said that an unreasonable workload, poor work-life balance and job uncertainty were top contributors to stress in the workplace. According to the survey, income also plays a significant role in the factors that contribute to stress. Among survey respondents with a household income less […Read More]

• Are wearable devices the key to improving employee wellness?

  

  Wearable technology is quickly becoming incorporated into many corporate wellness programs. According to a study conducted by research firm Canalys, 8 million activity tracking devices, like heart rate monitors and step counters, are expected to ship by the end of 2014. The group predicts that the number will reach 23 million by 2015 and 45 million by 2017. Many companies are using the devices in their health programs, because they are inexpensive and many administrators see them as a way to reduce healthcare costs. According to a recent CIO Magazine article, however, many experts in the employee benefits field are […Read More]

• European Union tackles workplace stress with new campaign

  

  Workplace stress is an issue that employers around the world are working to improve. According to the latest poll from the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work (EU-OSHA), over half of workers say that stress is common problem in their place of employment, and four out of 10 employees say that the issue is not handled well within their organizations. To improve the situation of workers in European Union member states, EU-OSHA recently launched a two year campaign called Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress. The inter-governmental agency is calling on public and private employers to recognize that worker health […Read More]

• The Big Lie – Health and Wellness Programs Address Stress

  As a stress and resiliency analytics expert working with global organizations, I feel compelled to talk about one of the greatest myths in the workplace that’s costing U.S. employers $300 billion* annually. Everywhere I go, when I ask company leaders what they are doing to address employee stress, I hear the same thing, “Oh we offer a health and wellness program to all our people and it handles stress.” There’s the lie. Not intentional, but misleading nonetheless. Because if companies were doing a good job with stress, then their people would be healthier, more productive, more attentive and able to […Read More]