Stress Management: A key to Employee Retention

Abstract

Modern lifestyle is full of stress. You have not only to cope with challenges at work but also
with stress that you take along with you to work. The problem is that in these difficult times
when economy is bad, stress at home and workplace are on the rise.
Due to changing technology, new demands, demographic changes, increased competition and
increase in workload psychological problems related to occupational stress have increased
rapidly. Jobs provide an abundance of opportunities to experience personal satisfaction, growth
and social acceptance. However, jobs also represent a common source of stress and can put a
great deal of strain on our daily life. Stress produces strain, disrupts equilibrium, and it is the
source of any number of emotional, physical, economic and social problems.
Stress management is a continuous process of monitoring, diagnosing, and prevention of
excessive stressors that adversely affects employees, managers, and productivity. These stressors
are as much a function of the environment as one’s perception of the environment. Therefore,
stress management is as much the responsibility of employees as it is managers.
It is a fact that, retention of key employees is critical to the long-term health and success of any
organization. Employee retention matters, as, organizational issues such as training time and
investment, costly candidate search etc., are involved. Hence, failing to retain a key employee is
a costly proposition for any organization.
The aim of this paper is to discuss the various causes of stress, reasons on why attrition arises,
how to manage attrition, various employee retention policies and to conclude the ways to
improve employee retention.