Print edition: 
Workplace stress is way up these days, say local counselors and human resources consultants, as companies continue to operate with reduced work forces.
Wichita-area managers and workers are being asked to do more with less. They often work longer hours, do the work of colleagues who haven't been replaced, get sick more often and even get into fights more often, experts say.
After the steep layoffs of 2009, just hanging on in 2010 is starting to wear workers down, say local experts.
A recent national survey showed that more than two-thirds of American workers feel stressed at work, and a third feel very stressed.
Local counselors and those connected to human resources say that sounds about right.
"I've never seen workplace stress as high as it is today," said Chris Wallace of human resources consultant Wallace Associates. "It's even more toxic and rampant than it was a year ago."
Counselor Irvin Penner, who gets referrals from employee assistance programs, said he is seeing more of what he calls situational depression.
The people he sees may not be facing the same crisis as the unemployed, but their distress is very real, he said.
Their stress is caused by some combination of job anxiety, harder and longer work days, the financial hit from pay cuts and furloughs, lowered career expectations, and the nagging irritation of not being able to spend money like before.
"There's constant wear and tear on their emotions," Penner said. "It's like a dripping faucet, and the morale in the office doesn't help any."
Hunkering down
Some companies try to deal with the problem, but others simply hunker down and ignore it, said Nate Regier, a trainer and consultant with Next Element Consulting in Newton.
He said some executives and business owners take the attitude that they don't really have to worry about employee morale because business is slow and their workers can't really go anywhere else, Regier said.
"That is a myth," he said. "Over a third of employees are actively entertaining other jobs and are ready to jump ship."
Even if turnover isn't a big threat at the moment, disengagement can mean higher absenteeism, inferior customer service and lower productivity, he said.
Penner sees some of the most serious effects: greater alcohol and drug use, and more fights on the job and at home.
"I've had three or four referrals in the last months where they were duking it out" on the job, he said.
Coming to grips
One often recommended basic strategy for combating stress is transparency and good communication by management.
Employees, say experts, need to know how well the company is doing and why decisions affecting them are being made. That reduces uncertainty, which can help reduce stress.
"Don't tell them it will be OK, if it won't," Regier said. "They want to be able to make good decisions, not given false hope."
Other recommendations:
* Invest in training, particularly of middle and senior management. The economy will come back, he said, and the company needs a core group ready to innovate and move forward.
* Consider more flexible work arrangements for some employees, such as telecommuting.
* Involve employees in decisions that affect their jobs and working conditions.
* Encourage better employee health practices, such as establishing an employee health committee.
* Use small rewards, ranging from non-monetary rewards such as a simple "thank you," to something slightly more costly, such a day off with pay.
