The Behaviour Effect

Relaxation is not something that many of us find easy.  When was the last time you were truly at ease with relaxed muscles and general feeling of calm, both physically and mentally?

You’ll all be well aware of the flight or fight mechanism that kicks in when we are under threat or stress.  We automatically (in an evolutionary effort of self-preservation) become more alert and more ready and efficient at responding to whatever we are faced with.  Many of those who perform on stage say that without those pre-show butterflies they would not be able to put on an engaging performance.  I’ve even heard some say that if those feelings stopped they’d stop performing.

But what happens when that feeling lasts for a prolonged period of time?

Part of the flight or fight mechanism involves muscle tightening and if the tension is prolonged our muscles never deactivate from that state.  Eventually it becomes incredibly difficult to notice when the tension is there as you become used to that feeling.  After a while you don’t even associate it with stress.  You may be jumpy, irritable, nervous.  You may be more likely to worry excessively and even develop physical symptoms, such as backache or headaches.  Constant tension can make you over-sensitive to even small happenings in our lives.  Ever been on the go continuously and then when you stop…feel the pain of tiredness… or even worse, find you develop a cold or become ill?  It happens more often than we think.  You take that much needed holiday only to find 3 days in your body decides its had enough?

So how do we relax?

First of all we need to realise that we are indeed tense. Then we need to actively complete steps in order to relax.  You may have a variety of methods of relaxation, below is a description of Isometric Relaxation for you to try.   Remember in order to feel the true benefit of this exercise you may have to do it several times a day in order to counteract the tension and maintain a relaxed state.  Eventually it may become a habit they you automatically apply when feeling tense.

When sitting or lying down in private

• Take a small breath and hold it for up to seven seconds
• At the same time, straighten arms and legs out in front of you and stiffen all muscles in the body
• After seven seconds, breath out and slowly say the word ‘relax’ to yourself
• Let all the tension go from your muscles
• Close your eyes
• For the next minute, each time you breathe out say the word ‘relax’ to yourself and let all the tension flow out of your muscles
• Repeat if necessary until you feel relaxed

What is employee well-being?  What does it actually means for organisations?

We are all aware of how current economic conditions have affected our workplaces.  We also realise that as a result of our changing surroundings…employees and management are behaving differently.  Feeling good about the work we complete has a massive impact on quality and performance.  We know this due to the research that has been completed but more significantly we know this from personal experience.  Ever been unhappy in a role?  Ever felt not appreciated by your peers or manager?  What effect did your emotions have on your work?  Did you give it your best all the time?  I think you get the idea!

So, how in practical times can we use this experience to ensure our own employees do not feel like this and enjoy a healthy environment?  Peter Warr, in his book ‘Psychology at Work’ outlines 9 main groups to examine.

1.  Opportunity for personal control

Do employees have autonomy?  This does not have to be total but could be a small amount for a particular work activity.  How much discretion have employees?  What role do they have in decision making?

2.  Opportunity for skills use

Are employees skills actually being used?  Are they valued for the skills they have?

3.  Externally generated goals

Do employees understand the demands of the job, the task?  Are there measures in place for workloads? What responsibility do they have?  Have targets been set?

4.  Variety

Is there a possible means of varying role?  How repetitive are the tasks completed?  Is there variety of location?

5.  Environmental clarity

Have the consequences of certain behaviours been provided?  Is there job security?  Is there information about the required behaviours and their role within the organisation or team?

6.  Availability of money

Have you benchmarked pay?  What competition is there?  What level of income does pay place employees on?

7.  Physical Security

Have you Health and Safety procedures in place?  Is there good working conditions?  What temperature is the office?  How much noise is present?  Do employees have adequate equipment?

8.  Opportunity for interpersonal contact

How much interaction do employees have each day?  Is there adequate provision for privacy if required?  Do employees have good relationships?  Is there social support?  Good communications?

9.  Valued social position

What status do employees have?  How much emphasis is placed on job importance?  Are the jobs that employees do meaningful?  Do employee have self-respect?

When talking about employee well-being it is important to distinguish between job-related feelings and non-job but there is so much that managers can take into consideration in order to ensure employee satisfaction and well-being.  The associations between employee well-being and performance are incredibly significant.  Enthusiasm, alertness, attention, interest, determination and inspiration are all impacted.  We simply cannot ignore them, we must take note and apply this knowledge to the environment we create for our employees.