People at a company might be stressed out for many different reasons. Maybe it’s a mismatch between how the company is set up and what it’s trying to achieve in its markets. Or maybe the company is just understaffed at the moment. Maybe there is a toxic personality wreaking havoc from a manager’s chair.

Regardless, there are things that leaders and top managers can do to give employees better outlook and morale, and help them to weather a storm.

Support, Not Micromanage

The most obvious and evident answer for how to motivate stressed-out people is the word “support.” You hear it over and over. What does it mean?

There are multiple components to achieving good support. There is having the right resources and staffing in place so that people aren’t overworked. That’s number one. There’s also the emotional and social component — when people feel like their bosses understand them and where they’re coming from, they are more productive and more capable, and they will last longer under stress.

There is also a type of support involving letting people do their jobs in the ways that help them work best. Some companies that are stuck in the past and force top-down leadership on everything, right down to the smallest business process detail. This can be a counterintuitive way to run a business, and in some cases, it can really backfire. People thrive on freedom and creativity, and so a philosophy really should be in play that instead of micromanaging, managers are looking for ways to help people make their jobs easier.

Goals

Collaborating on common goals also helps. Identifying and communicating on goals is a way to move things forward, rather than allowing teams to stay stuck in a rut.

In some cases, a large part of the inspiration and motivation that people get from leaders regards the ability to articulate where the business is going and what it’s trying to do. Something as simple as this can really have a positive impact on teams under pressure.

A Creative Approach

Another top management philosophy for better support is to approach challenges creatively. There is a substantial amount of management philosophy out there around the concept of gamification — the idea that turning problems and challenges into creative puzzles works well in nearly any workplace.

This is a great general idea to internalize and customize for your own company’s needs.

Breaks and Events

Any good management team understands the necessity of working breaks and special events into a work calendar. The idea is to avoid an over-processed or overly mechanical workflow and save employees from burnout and other problems.

What this looks like is really up to the business — try to meld this general idea with your particular corporate culture, and you can see big dividends in motivation and morale.

Keep an eye on the Full Steam Staffing blog as we detail what we have found useful as a top staffing services provider in Modesto, California.