How to Create a Low Stress Work Environment for Your Employees

How is the stress level at work? The odds are good, there are some employees experiencing work anxiety to the max. The American Institute of Stress says, “Job stress costs U.S. businesses more than $300 billion annually due to increased absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity and medical expenses.” Unfortunately, this statement is right on target. Today, employees are concerned about job layoffs, cut hours, health insurance and a number of personal problems that add additional stress into the mix. As a manager, it is not possible to fix all personal problems, but they can certainly be reduced. Managers can also lessen work related stress for employees using these simple suggestions.

Manager and Employee Relationships

Work anxietyManagers are often in a tough position. In some companies, they are frequently over loaded with work, shorthanded, and they have incredibly short deadlines to get the job done. Consequently, many managers find themselves unbelievable stressed. This work anxiety and tension is transmitted back to the employees, which places additional stress on them. Managers can work out a plan to organize the work more efficiently and reduce stress levels at work for everyone involved.

Many managers make the mistake of taking no interest in their employees or trying to get to know them. This is a huge mistake. According to Professor Astrid M. Richardsen, BI Norwegian Business School “The best thing a manager can do to prevent work stress is to develop good relationships with the employees at work.” Managers who know their employees well can spot when there is a problem immediately and take action to reduce the stress.

Methods for Reducing Workplace Stress

  • Encourage team building. Most employees have never met each other and they do not know anything about one another. Managers can devise time for their employees to get together as a team to plan a project, play games or support community activities.
  • Provide places for company employees to have a quiet break away from technology or a room to play games in and let off steam.
  • Managers can schedule outdoor activities for exercise and fresh air. Consider holding meetings outside the workplace in a different environment and have everyone walk to the meeting. This helps to rejuvenate employees and gives them a chance to stretch their legs.

Look around the office or workplace and see where you can make changes to reduce work anxiety, increase laughter and allow employees to relax.

Why You Should Consider a Leptin Based Diet

Leptin Diet BenefitsFor years researchers have known that appetite is controlled by hormones. Researchers have been studying metabolism for years, looking for ways that hormones can be manipulated to trick the body into using more energy than it takes in, resulting in weight loss. For individuals looking to lose weight, the numerous Leptin Diet Benefits are too great to ignore. If you find the original Leptin Diet too overwhelming consider Mary Miles’ recommendation to use John Barban’s Venus Factor diet plan.

What is Leptin?

Leptin is a hormone made by fat cells. It is sometimes referred to as the “satiety hormone” because its main job is to regulate the amount of fat stored in the body by controlling hunger signals and adjusting metabolism. When fat storage reaches a critical level, cells create and release leptin which reacts with receptors in the hypothalamus to signal the brain that the body is full.

Leptin Resistance

An overabundance of leptin causes leptin resistance, where the body can no longer tell that it is full. According to Dr. Fowler, an Endocrine Specialist at Tufts Medical Center, “Patients with leptin resistance really don’t know when they are full. The satiety signal never reaches the brain, so they continue eating, resulting in significant weight gain over time.” It is theorized that leptin resistance developed as a survival technique for ancient humans since increased fat reserves was associated with greater survival rates when food was scarce.(1) While this condition is common after pregnancy, there are numerous other triggers that can cause it. Studies have shown that obese individuals have up to 30 percent more leptin in their body than people of normal weight(2), proving that leptin resistance and weight gain go hand-in-hand. Other symptoms of leptin resistance include:

  • Extreme cravings
  • Weight gain, particularly around the middle of the body
  • Failure to lose weight, despite changes to diet and exercise
  • Thyroid problems
  • Infertility

While none of these problems are indicative of leptin resistance on their own, when multiple symptoms are experienced, leptin resistance should be suspected.

Leptin Diet Benefits

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the risk of leptin resistance and normalize weight. Simple changes to the diet can yield significant improvement in weight and overall health. Leptin Diet Benefits include a normalization of weight and a reduction in weight-related ailments.

Like any diet changes, it’s best to consult a doctor before beginning. A leptin based diet is not a quick weight loss solution and should be considered a lifelong change rather than a short-term solution.

Note: The Venus Factor diet was designed for women. If you are a man looking for similar results, check out John’s companion program created for men called the Adonis Golden Ratio.

How Leptin Resistance Stops you from Losing Weight

Leptin resistanceHow Leptin prevents you from losing weight is very much like how insulin works with type II diabetes. The body has a threshold or limit that should be reached of leptin which should cause people to not be hungry anymore. The problem is that when overweight people continue to eat their body becomes Leptin resistant. In leptin resistance, a persons leptin levels are high meaning that they are overweight or sometimes referred to as fat but the brain does not recognize this feeling. Instead it feels as if it is starved. This means that their body doesn’t recognize the signals in the brain that it is no longer hungry so the person continues to eat regardless if they are hungry or not. Most of the time they feel as if they are hungry because their brain has not received the signal to let them know that they are full. In Leptin resistance a persons leptin levels can continue to go higher despite the fact that they are becoming more obese. Following the Leptin diet can help “reset” your natural hormonal balance.

Leptin is a large portion of the hunger system as well as the reward system. I the leptin levels are low food becomes more of a reward. If the Leptin levels are high it is supposed to make food less appealing to the person. If the signals are not firing accurately the persons hunger and reward systems will not work accurately leading to overeating.

In leptin resistance people who suffer from this don’t get the appropriate signals to the brain to let their bodies know that they are full and not hungry. Instead it acts like a broken regulator that just cues the body to continuously eat all of the time with the brain never getting the signal that it is not hungry. This is what causes obesity in a person. In a person without leptin resistance they can eat and the signal will go to the brain to let them know that they have eaten and that they are full now causing the person to stop eating. In the leptin resistant person they don’t get this signal and the brain is continuing to wait for this signal so the person continues to eat never feeling satisfied causing them to gain weight leading to obesity.