When employee stress levels increased to 142 facto points* in December – up from 103 last March – Milwaukee sampling conglomerate Chanting-Pierce was quick to take action.
“We have mandated that all employees must achieve a level of 85 facto-points by March 1,” says Human Resources VP Veronica Hallinger. “Failure to achieve these results will result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.”
To help employees reach this goal, the company is requiring them to attend three-hour anti-stress workshops five days a week during January and February. The sessions, 42 in all, employ techniques like repetitive breathing, slowed blinking, and focusing on not yelling at or hitting colleagues.
While the classes are taking up a great deal of work time, Hallinger acknowledges, the company has taken steps to ensure the staff isn’t overwhelmed. “We have made a number of accommodations,” she says, “including keeping the office open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so team members cannot use the classes as an excuse to fall behind in their regular assignments.”
Hallinger says the company is confident it will achieve the 85 facto-point level by the target date. In the event it does not, plans are in place to guarantee the goal a month later.
“If three hours a day doesn’t work,” she says, “we have six hour sessions ready to go.”
- Developed by renowned attitude engineer Miles Stoll, facto points have been the standard business stress measuring tool since 2013, when they replaced the previous method of counting the number of employees who burst into tears each day and multiplying by 6.7.
