As consultants, we typically are given the opportunity to speak with a number of individuals at various levels in our clients’ organizations. As part of our fact finding, we engage in some very candid discussions with a number of our clients’ key employees.

The conversations that have taken place so far this year have opened my eyes to some worrisome trends that I will share with the readers of this blog. During the recession, many companies cut staff. The work was spread over a smaller employee base. While business volumes have declined in many manufacturers, distributors and transportation companies, the basic work elements did not disappear. They may have declined slightly but the key tasks are still there.

The consequences of these staff cuts are quite apparent. The remaining employees are being asked to work harder and to work longer hours. The good news is that they did not get a pink slip; the bad news is that many have “layoff survivor syndrome.” This means they have more responsibility, more work and more stress. They stay later at work and make sure they wave good bye to their bosses to let them know that they are working late. They eat lunch at their desks to pick up some work time. For those employees who supervise others, they have less time to support their team since they often have more people to supervise than they had before and their workloads have increased.

Inevitably, this will result in medical related issues as these employees cut back on essential exercise, eat more junk food and worry as to whether they will be part of the next wave of job cuts. This will have consequences for their subordinates as well. Less interaction with their supervisors will result in more insecurity and more worries.

Increasing numbers of employees are experiencing emotional and physical burnout. The results from the Q-GAP health survey administered to 26,000 Canadians have indicated that the most common symptoms of overwork and stress are joint pain, stiffness and muscle aches, all musculoskeletal problems. Many also feel unhappy or frustrated with their family members and partners, a likely consequence of an unhealthy work-life balance.

There are many books and articles published on the subject of how to launch and maintain a healthy diet and exercise program. These can easily be ordered online or from a leading bookstore. What I observe are possible changes in work processes that can go a long way towards easing workloads and relieving stress. Here are few that I have seen.

Most employees now work with computers that come equipped with Microsoft Office. For many employees, basic training in how to use WORD or EXCEL would go a long way towards making these employees more productive and efficient. This is a very inexpensive way to improve productivity and morale.

I continue to be amazed at how many companies enter and re-enter the same data on a daily basis. Certain reports are printed each day and used as source documents for other reports with certain basic fields such as customer profile data entered over and over again.

My suggestion is to look at what your employees do every day. Make a determination as to the most important tasks and the relative time consumed each day in performing these repetitive tasks. Engage your IT resources to automate the most time consuming high volume tasks. This will enhance the morale of your employees by providing them with more mentally stimulating work and by allowing them to be more productive.

Don’t overload your employees with weekend work, with weekend conference calls and with weekend e mails. Allow your employees to have some down time. Encourage them to engage in healthy workouts and eat healthy foods. Subsidize their participation in fitness clubs that allow them to enjoy a mental health break.

As business volumes increase, hire the resources you need to run your business effectively and provide them with proper training. There are many good people who are currently unemployed or underemployed. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to selectively strengthen your team where you are thin in resources and where your people are overworked.

A company’s employees are its most important asset. As a business owner or leader, your employees should be encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle. A healthier workforce will be a more productive workforce that can provide your company with a competitive edge.