With increased levels of stress one of the main symptoms of lockdown, Action COACHES have made it their job to help business owners lead a more successful, calm and fulfilling life.
A recent survey of 2,000 UK adults discovered that around two-thirds of them had suffered increased levels of stress following the outbreak of Covid-19. This worrying statistic is largely because of the Government’s lockdown restrictions, with respondents claiming they had suffered a significant reduction of control over their own lives.
Those who took part in the survey explained that, since the first lockdown was imposed in March 2020, they have experienced a disconnection with society, which created higher levels of uncertainty and less control over things that mattered to them. These feelings are also very familiar to many business owners, but they don’t have to be.
We, at ActionCOACH, don’t feel like this but we can empathise with those who do. Our Action Coaches possess incredible life satisfaction and relatively low stress. This is due to our ‘Essential 14 points of Culture’, which our Coaches discuss when helping business owners’ deal with everyday life. Three of these points refer to ‘Connectivity’, ‘Certainty’ and ‘Control’, so let’s take a look at these one by one:
Connectivity
By using positive communication strategies, individuals can remain powerfully connected to one another. Nowadays there are many technological ways to stay in touch during lockdown, and across borders. Yet communicating is more than just talking online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. It’s also important to speak with good purpose, using empowering and positive conversation. Take responsibility for how your contributions are received, because then you’ll get a lot more out of any interaction. Clear, honest, communication causes less stress, because it ensures that everyone knows where they stand and what’s required of them. Equally powerful is ‘active listening.’ This ensures that team members feel their contributions are being valued. Don’t forget, connection is a two-way street that needs to remain positive at all times.
Certainty
Lockdown has caused many uncertainties. We’ve been fighting an invisible, deadly enemy for more than a year and these tough, restrictive new rules have led to stress for many people. Suddenly we have had to learn how to cope with risk – which wasn’t there before – and this has resulted in a subsequent reorganisation of our lives. With health and livelihoods at stake, it’s little wonder people are finding it tough. So it’s vital to be consistent in your actions, because this means that your teammates and clients will feel comfortable when dealing with you – at all times. Therefore, add discipline into your working life to create certainty. It will help you to grow and be successful and, although the outside world might be hard to fathom, your stress levels will be manageable.
Control
Since the pandemic took over our lives, our levels of control have been greatly reduced, and particularly in business. Therefore, to take back control, we need to find a solution. Once we have a system in place to deal with the pandemic, everyone becomes more certain about the future and what the next step will be. Knowing there’s a successful system to reach for, when problems arise, will increase the feeling of control. Peace will be restored, while everyone will experience an air of calm, thus reducing stress. Test and measure this system to ensure it performs as required. It is much easier to control a business using a well-honed system, rather than adopting a series of piecemeal solutions on the hop.
And the stats
During the financial year of 2019/20, 17.9m working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This accounted for 51% of all work-related health issues. Therefore, it makes total sense for all businesses to take the mental wellbeing of their employees seriously. At ActionCOACH we place huge value on everyone having a comfortable work/life balance. Surveys have shown that 90% of people say work-related stress and anxiety affects home life too.
If you become a franchise partner with ActionCOACH, you will have the opportunity to help others regain ‘connectivity’, ‘certainty’ and ‘control,’ over their lives. Just as important, is that you can lower your own stress levels by becoming your own boss. All the hard work of building a well-respected brand has already been done. With ActionCOACH you’ll join a well-connected network of positive, supportive peers, and learn how to use reliable systems to build your franchise business.
Remember, stress is serious, impacting on the physical health of you and those around you. There are plenty of resources at www.stress.org.uk to help you manage your mental wellbeing, not just in April, or even during the pandemic, but throughout the year and the rest of your life.
This article comes courtesy of ActionCOACH, the only franchise to be rated five-star for franchisee satisfaction. They have also been selected as a top-10 business by website Elite Franchise every year since the prestigious ratings began.
