There is so much going on at work and in our personal lives that employees are often on the verge of burnout and exhaustion.  Stress is commonplace.  When the heat gets turned up at work, in those highly stressful moments, it is the responsibility of the manager to prevent the stress from turning into crisis.

Here are the top five stressful situations that cause  communication problems,  and how managers should act to avoid the imminent disaster:

1. Deadlines – The most stressful moment, in any kind of business, is the last few hours before the deadline. The whole team is practically running around on steroids, trying to get everything done. It is during these times that employees are generally on the verge of bursting, and communication problems  are most likely to occur.  Tempers are high and everybody’s getting impatient.

During these stressful times, managers should be reminded of the famous British slogan during the war, “Keep calm, and carry on.”   You should not be the first one to shout, panic, or show stress. Even the slightest sign of pressure you show will be magnified to your employees.  They will react to your emotions.

2. Presentation day – All the reports are in, the slide presentations are ready, and everyone in the team is preparing to discuss the results, after many sleepless nights. Presentation day is the peak of the stress scale, as everyone is dead tired, anxious and ready to get it over with. One more glitch will cause havoc and communication problems are inevitable.

During this time, you should be the ones to ensure that all things run smoothly.  A little pep talk before the presentation could also go a long way.  Do whatever you need to to break the tension  when you sense it brewing with the team. 

3. Overtime – Whether they  tell you or not, employees hate staying extra hours in the office, or working into the ee hours of the night,  to finish a task. Oftentimes, the stress brought about by working late results in disastrous communication problems. 

Employees appreciate if their manages stay late with them, or minimally are available to them by phone or email should they have a problem.  This way, they don’t  feel exploited and underappreciated. 

4. Mondays – It is no secret that if the first day of the workweek starts bad, it can reverberate throughout the rest of the week. Usually, communication problems that occur on Mondays  are due to unfinished tasks  from the previous week, missed phone calls, late appointments, and an emergency that comes up, especially ones that could have been avoided with better planning.  

Start Mondays light whenever possible. While managers think that holding meetings on Monday mornings to check on the status of work, discuss problems and move to the next step are important, and they are, it’s also important to check in with your employees on their personal lives as well.  Take some time to connect with them on the personal level before moving too quickly to work.

5. Peak season – Every company has periods in the year when tasks come pouring in nonstop. During this period, deadlines overlap and overtime becomes a common occurrence. 

Communication can become a problem as people are too busy to stop and think about what they say before they say it.  And as demands  increase,  so does stress.

Click the link below and download our guide on 7 Communication Skills to Stop Stress in It’s Tracks.