The FINANCIAL — Management and finance jobs, emergency ambulance crew, airplane pilots, journalists and firemen is the list of jobs the human resource managers of leading Georgian companies named the most stressful.
“All kinds of jobs which require great responsibility are stressful jobs, more so if you are responsible for several issues such as: reporting to your manager, reporting to your company, performing the job at a high level. It’s very hard to separate the five most stressful jobs in Georgia, as all of them are equally stressful,” said Nino Kurtanidze, HR specialist at Nikora.
“The main causes of a stressful situation are the health and safety of the working environment/poor working conditions, huge responsibility and accountability, too many rapidly changing demands, poor relationship between colleagues/conflicts, and boring uninteresting work content,” said Teona Samsonadze, Bank Republic Senior Recruitment Specialist.
“The most stressful factors that can cause deep emotional disorder throughout the work day, might be the following factors: spending a lot of time in an enclosed space (vacuum), working far away from the outdoor world (surroundings) – for example a miner, or having to do a large amount of work in a limited amount of time. Huge stress might be caused by the factor of disorganized (non-normal) working hours and a full working day on Saturday. Another reason could be the Labour Code of Georgia which barely takes into consideration the interests of employees,” Kurtanidze explained.
David Kipiani, HR Manager at Marriott Hotels Georgia, believes that the main causes of stressful work are a hostile or strained environment and friction between employees.
Defeating a stressful situation should be solved with the synergy of both employee and employer.
“What’s vital is that employees look after their jobs with a sense of responsibility, and having left their job, are able to forget about their work. Leaving the workplace on time and having proper rest is also important,” advised Ekaterine Lomidze, HR Manager at Radisson BLU Iveria.
There are several ways of overcoming stressful situations. “First of all the individual should assess what is the cause of the stress, as the coping strategies will depend on the underlying stress. The strategies range from managing your time (time management and prioritization) to other stress relieving techniques like self-reflection, using effective communication, exercise, breathing and improving your diet,” said Samsonadze.
In order to mobilize one’s abilities and carry out a productive working process during working hours, Kurtanidze believes one has to have knowledge of effective time-management, organize duties in an appropriate way and have the option to ask for somebody’s assistance. “We should take into consideration the suggestion of coming up with activities for relaxation and recreation. As a result of these activities, employees will be able to forget the various stress factors and have some rest. For example: listening to music, exercising, being close to nature, looking at flowers and so on,” Kurtanidze advised.
Kipiani believes that “From an individual’s perspective if it’s impossible to eliminate the stressful situation, at least try to control it and/or minimize it. Meanwhile from the company’s side they should create fair practices and stick to them.”
From the employer’s side Samsonadze advised that to begin with companies should ensure that health and safety standards are respected in the workplace. “As well as that, employees should feel that they are doing meaningful work and they should be able to see a future career path stemming from their current job; and staff should feel valued, respected and taken care of (this is usually achieved through different award and motivation schemes, continual management feedback etc),” Samsonadze added.
Lomidze believes that companies should not sue employees if they make a mistake, but be supportive instead.
One of the best ways for overcoming stressful situations is motivation schemes companies can implement. Staff are motivated by a range of factors – financial rewards, status, acknowledgement and praise, job security, support in career development and further education.
“The main motivators generally used in companies are salary increases and promotions, however sometimes (as international research proves) it is far from enough to have staff sufficiently motivated and engaged. This is the list of some non-material motivators absolutely crucial in staff relations: being valued and respected, a healthy work environment, work environment free of favouritism and harassment, fair decisions, promotions, safe & secure work environment, and team spirit,” Kipiani said.
“First of all to ensure employee motivation and commitment to the company, an entity should ensure that employees understand the aim of the business and strategy of the organization. Managers should define for employees their performance objectives. Staff should be aware of the career path available for them in case their performance is on a high level,” Samsonadze advised.
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