Personal Stress Solutions: Case Studies: Company A

Personal Stress Solutions: Case Studies: Company A

Federal agency cuts turnover rate from 40% to 15% in three years by identifying stress patterns and changing hiring philosophy

The Situation: This 47-person government agency had a 40% turnover rate and was experiencing deep problems with employee morale and stress. A manufacturing section within the agency was particularly hard-hit and had fallen far behind schedule. Management was quickly reaching a dead-end in their search for solutions, and job security was on the line. The agency perceived high stress in the manufacturing section to be the likely cause of its problems.

The Organization Stress Profile: All agency employees were administered the Stress Navigator Questionnaire to determine whether the turnover rate was indeed related to job stress. Grouped results did show the manufacturing group to be higher in susceptibility to stress, sources of stress, and symptoms of stress. But they also differed demographically from their peers in many significant respects. For example, their average age was five to ten years younger than workers in the other two sections of the agency, and this job typically represented their first foray into the labor market.

Further analysis revealed that the workers in manufacturing had several likely causes for higher stress and job dissatisfaction. Compared to co-workers in nearby regulation and communication sections, they had less seniority (it was the entry-level section of the organization), earned lower pay, were more vulnerable to seasonal layoffs, were restricted to their work stations, and had no access to phones. In addition, they were isolated from the other sections by a wall with a single door that remained open so they were constantly aware of the contrast in working conditions between their section and the others.

In other words, manufacturing still scored highest in all stress categories, but not for the reasons that had been assumed. In-depth analysis made it evident much of the workplace stress stemmed from the fact that the employees were young and financially insecure. The turnover had as much to do with conditions outside of the agency, such as career level, maturity and financial security, as it did with the conditions of the workplace.

Resolution: Based on the information gleaned from the Stress Navigator Workshops and the advice of stress consultants, the agency corrected many of the internal conditions cited above, implemented appropriate stress management training for supervisors, and changed their hiring patterns to select stable, more mature workers who would not be looking at the job as a career opportunity. Turnover rates were cut from 40% to 15% in just under three years.

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