As I coach owners of small businesses, I come across people paying a high cost for the stressed lives they lead and the toxic workplaces in which they struggle.

What do you see?

There are three symptoms apparent to any observant team leader: your staff grow sick; your team members are intermittently absent; your team productivity falls.

If you listen to the conversations amongst your team, you will also pick up the milder symptoms that indicate when prolonged stress is filling your office with the walking wounded: complaints ranging from ulcers and repeated infections to reports of depression and heart disease.

If your staff are disillusioned with unrewarding work, they will become demoralised and demotivated. A rash of days off is a warning that your clients and your business are about to suffer from the stress found in a toxic office.

Are they really coping?

When staff struggle into work, the problems are less obvious: they will make numerous minor mistakes, the team relationships will deteriorate, they will have memory lapses, victims will be irritable and indecisive. This behaviour will cost you productivity and sales.

If workloads are beating your staff, you will notice that they fail to clear up as they go, turning your workspace from tidy and organised to a chaotic mess.

Create a healthy work place

Since the buck stops with you, it is crucial that you stay healthy and take simple, practical steps that set a good example for controlling stress:

1. Drink sufficient water throughout the day: computers turn poorly ventilated offices into dehydrated hotspots, reducing energy levels and creating headaches. Reaching for the coffee and biscuits only gives temporary respite: provide fruit, seeds and nuts to help your staff to stay healthy.

2. Make sure your desk, chair, PC and mouse are adjusted for comfort. Only work at your PC for 20 minute sessions, then go and do your filing and photocopying, stand up to make phone calls and walk round to talk directly with each team member. Variety will help you to stay alert and interested in the work you are doing.

3. Always break for lunch fresh air and mild exercise will refresh your mind.

4. Learn to say 'no' if you do 50% of the work but complete 100% punctually, everyone will benefit. And delegate so that junior staff will grow and learn from you and their more mature colleagues.

Adrian Pepper

Adrian Pepper specialises in working with the owners and directors of small businesses as they improve their performance and grow their income.

Choosing to work with entrepreneurs who are committed to growing their companies, Adrian offers rich experience drawn from a 30-year career in middle and senior management in blue chip companies, an MBA, an engineering degree and an OCN Advanced Certificate in Coaching.

Adrian has lived and worked in Deal, Kent since 1991, building up a broad network in the business community. He writes a column in the KM Kentish Gazette and other newspapers on subjects that interest the sort of people who start and grow small businesses. He also publishes a podcast twice a month to help small businesses to grow. Rrecently this has grown into speaking engagements and team training for business seminars.