Dear Dr. Mimi:
My employees seem to be under an inordinate amount of stress recently. As a result, I am seeing more mistakes and lower productivity. I am trying not to say anything, but that is hard for me. Is there something I can do to help relieve their stress?
—Stressed

Dear Stressed:
Your employees’ stress is clearly adding to your own personal stress. Before anything else, you need to know that stress is a tamable beast, but one that you will have to confront. The first thing you can do to get your employees’ stress under control is to sit down and talk with them. These one-on-one meetings can be used to set expectations, plans and time tables for projects and tasks. Let your employees do most of the talking, while you listen and take notes. Get to know each of your employees. What may be stressful for one may be different for another. Knowing your employees’ temperaments and habits will make it easier for you to sense when something has changed in their environment and is causing additional stress. Sometimes, just the conversation alone will improve the stress levels of everyone in your work environment. Consider their suggestions, and if they are doable, invite your employees to help with the implementation process. Last, but not least, consider bringing in someone to do a stress management program. Often employees are more honest and open with an outside person than their employer.
—Dr. Mimi