Tip! Get leadership to role model stress management- positive re-enforcement for individuals or groups that demonstrate improvement.

The mental dimension of performance has been receiving a lot of attention recently - for all the wrong reasons. Statistics Canada recently reported that stress-related absences cost employers $3.5-billion annually, and that health costs for employees reporting high levels of stress are 50% above average . In another study, the Business And Economic Roundtable on Mental Health called depression at work “the unheralded business crisis in Canada”, and noted that “workplace stress is a factor in the onset of mental illness” . Given that mental health issues comprise 75% of short-term and 79% of long-term disability claims , the cost of neglecting
employees’ mental well-being is staggeringly high.

Tip! Beautiful pictures: Landscapes and other beautifully soothing pictures in the stress management video help one to do the visualization exercises that can enable one to relieve stress.

Clearly, the mental well-being of employees directly impacts the bottom line. And
herein lies the opportunity.

Focusing on the development of employees’ mental fitness skills is an untapped
lever for growing the bottom line that is completely within the control of the
organization. And, it represents a tremendous opportunity that extends beyond
reducing the negative impact of stress - an opportunity to improve performance
under pressure, increase employee engagement, and create an environment of trust
that fosters productivity.

Improved Performance Under Pressure

The skills of mental fitness originate in the field of Sport Psychology - a discipline
dedicated to studying excellence under intense pressure. As the physical aspects of
sport, such as training regimens and nutrition, have become more standardized at
the elite level, who wins and loses is increasingly determined by the mental fitness
of the athlete. The situation in business is extremely similar. As the talent pool
becomes increasingly skilled and better educated, the true competitive advantage
comes from having people who can access their skills and knowledge when it
matters most - when the pressure is on.

Tip! Of all the stress management and relief techniques I know, this is the absolute worst because it only increases our stress! It reduces the effectiveness of our powerful natural medicine to zilch.

While it was once thought that mental fitness was something innate within an
individual, our work with elite level sport has shown us that it can be taught,
learned, practiced and mastered. It is a set of skills just like any other and is an
essential complement to the technical skills any job requires.

Increased Employee Engagement

A recent Towers Perrin study of over 35,000 employees found that more than 60%
of employees are only

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