Companies have an interest in trying to reduce or minimize stress. At What If! a London-based inventing consultancy, stress in the workplace is minimized by creating a fun and supportive working environment that emphasizes the idea of staff bringing their ‘whole self’ to work. Each employee has a mentor— usually his or her manager—with whom they can discuss work, as well as domestic, sources of stress.

Company partner Helen Clements explains: ‘We encourage staff to chat about their long-term vision for their life and we offer flexible working contracts that reflect the balance that people want  to make between their career and personal responsibilities.’ That means that staff with children can choose to complete a nine-month contract over the year to free up enough time to cover school holidays. People who only want to work three days a week can do so too.

The company has found that stress, for many people, is generated by an outside source: money. To help staff to deal with financial problems, it has set up a loan scheme—to help people to cope with short-term difficulties such as maternity leave—and a crisis fund, which helps with emergencies and does not need to be paid back. The fund has, so far, helped one staff member to jump on a plane to see a sick relative and another to buy essential furniture after a burglary.

The company also has a regular Friday afternoon—usually four times a year—on which everyone downs tools to enjoy an alternative slice of life. Past events have included playing bingo, meditation sessions, and belly-dancing lessons. ‘These sessions are about having fun and seeing something, doing something that you might otherwise not experience. They are good for morale, they enhance creativity, induce loyalty and take the pressure off for a while,’ says Helen Clements.

Other stress-relieving features at the company include a quiet room in which staff can ‘take five’ on a futon, a massage chair in the lobby, and a ‘well-being fund’, which part-pays for groups of staff to undertake relaxation activities such as yoga, kung fu, and pilates.

Questions

1. Is this a company for which you would want to work?

2. Is it really attempting to reduce stress, or just get more out of its employees?

3. If an employee is stressed, does the source of the problem lie with the individual or the organization?