Small Business: Are employee fears undercutting productivity

As a small-business owner, you may be worried about paying the rent on time or closing that next big deal, but your workers have plenty of fears of their own.

Their top worries? Being overloaded with work, or making a serious mistake, according to a recent survey by global staffing agency Robert Half.

In the long run, knowing how to identify workers' anxiety and help them deal with their fears could help boost morale and productivity.

Whether managers recognize it or not, "workplace fears do exist," says Chris Campisi, branch manager for Accountemps in Hauppauge, a division of Robert Half.

That fear can show itself in different ways.

Key indicatorsmay be higher turnover, higher absenteeism, and greater amounts of conflict, notes John Coverdale, president of The Center for Workplace Solutions, a Blue Point human resources management firm specializing in small businesses and organizations.

"Some level of conflict is good in the workplace, but how you deal with it is critically important," says Coverdale.

More subtle signsof fear and stress include your people saying yes to everything and taking on too much, and too much consensus and too little debate among your team, signaling people may be afraid to appear disagreeable, says David Peck, principal at Goodstone Group LLC, a global executive coaching company based in Manhattan and San Francisco.

Paying attention to these signs and your own management style can play a part in reducing workers' stress.

Some bossesare fear-inducing (distant, dictatorial or punitive), while others are fear-reducing (supportive and empathetic), explains Peck.

"Realize that inducing fear may 'work' temporarily, but ultimately the price is losing your best people and negatively impacting what you and your team are hoping to achieve," he says.

Managers and employeesshould take their workplace "vital signs" monthly, suggests Peck.

Rate these three key elements on a scale of one to 10: your stress level, the extent to which you're doing your best work, and how happy you are at work most days, he says. If your score is below 24, you need to take a fresh look at things.

To dealwith some of the top employee stresses, such as feeling overloaded, management must do a better job prioritizing work, says Michael Crom, a consultant with Dale Carnegie Training in Hauppauge.

Select three to five key areas employees should focus on, and create performance standards around those, says Crom. "Establish what their role is so it's very clear," he says.

When people are focused on goals and objectives, that limits the "mind wandering," adds Coverdale. Create an environment where "people understand what's necessary and important," he says.

Managers should conduct job assessments more frequently, and make sure they have the right people doing the right work, says Coverdale.

If employees are worried about making mistakes, create an environment of learning rather than retribution, suggests Crom.

We all make mistakes, but is there an environment where the employee can come forward and discuss the mistake with a supervisor openly, so there's full disclosure? he asks.

If you see conflicts or personality clashes, try to get to the bottom of them, says Crom. Having conflicts with co-workers was the third-greatest fear cited in the Robert Half survey.

"Ask them for their own input," says Campisi. "It all comes down to communication."