Any manager or worker contributing value to a business operation becomes involved in many stressful tasks. Some of these tasks involve challenging the "little gray cells" for an extended period of time. Other tasks are simply tedious. Both, often add tiny and cumulative units of stress.
It is often said, "A change is as good as a rest." One method for "formalizing" a change of activity to reduce stress is the installation of a "Dumb-Dumb Box" in your workplace.
It's a box filled with meaningful and non-urgent tasks which should be performed by someone - someday. These could be such things as filing, cleaning, posting data, re-arranging displays, shopping for supplies and, photocopying more forms. It is much like a job-jar except it's large enough to hold file folders and packages of documents.
Anyone has voluntary access which is countenanced by management and colleagues. Some people may use it as convenient segue or buffer between more demanding tasks. A "dipper" selects tasks matching the dose of therapy required and the time available for the cure.
Managers benefit from dumb-dumb dipping as well.
You could be surprised how seldom this opportunity is abused.
We had a Dumb-Dumb box in a workshop where we had only one full-time employee. She often thanked us for having such a device available. The tasks rotated frequently and the number of tasks remained quite constant.
One day, I noticed the box was empty. She described the stress being suffered as a result of a series of tasks she had been assigned by my partner. She pleaded for me to replenish the box, adding, "and the dumber the better!"
Thereafter, each day when I returned to the shop I observed the number of tasks in the box. A significant decrease signaled an opportune time for praise or a friendly chat about how things were going.
Over the years, this has become an accurate device for measuring the stress level of our people and in our workplace. This allows us to deal with concerns before they become problems.
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