Workplace stress is a costly business

Have you ever just had the week from you know what? You know those weeks where nothing goes right at work, where everything goes wrong from the coffee spill on your white shirt on the way to work to the angry phone call to computers dying, workplace demands, and ... on the list goes. Those are the weeks we would rather take a trip to a sandy beach to watch the tide roll in -- and honestly, we would probably be doing ourselves and our employers a favor.

Stress in the workplace is hard to avoid. – but what exactly causes it? According to the American Institute of Stress the most common reasons for workplace stress include workload, people issues, juggling work and personal lives, and job security. Between deadlines, demands, managing/dealing with different personalities, ever-changing workplaces, and constant workplace interruptions, there is no escape from some form of workplace stress.

According to Forbes magazine, the average business professional has 30 to 100 projects on their plate at one time. Additionally, Forbes reported that 40 percent of adults in a recent survey say they lie awake at night plagued by the stressful events of the day.

Workplace stress is a problem that plagues businesses both big and small and has a costly impact on employees and employers. One of the most crucial areas of impact intertwined within every aspect of an employee’s performance is decision making.

“Decision making is critical in the work environment,” says Zakery Warren, assistant executive director and counselor with southeast Idaho’s largest mental health practice Pearl Health Clinic. “The right amount of stress keeps a person alert, challenged, and striving for growth and improvement for their company, product or team. When stress becomes a detriment, when it is too high, anxiety and uncertainty clouds a person's judgment, which clouds decision making and thus prevents the growth and improvement a person seeks.”

The mental impact that workplace stress can impact employees well beyond the workplace leading to depression, substance abuse, problems within the homes, suicide, and violence (both in and out of the workplace) to name a few.

Workplace stress takes a toll on your body too. It can lead to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, fatigue, and decreased immunity to common illnesses (e.g. cold, flu, etc).
On the business side workplace stress is costly. In fact, employers spend upwards o $200 billion for absenteeism, workers’ claims, turnover, and increased insurance rates – all related to stress related issues in the workplace. That doesn’t even touch the hidden costs of lower morale, productivity, efficiency, decrease in customer service.

Stress in the workplace is serious and isn’t solved by a desktop stress ball. Businesses and employees alike need to create and find solutions to eliminating workplace stress. Check out next week’s feature for tips on managing workplace stress from an HR and mental health perspective to help eliminate those workday worries and stressors.
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Monica Bitrick is CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, a human resources company in Idaho Falls.

Idaho Falls Indian restaurant now open

Tandoori Oven owner Jatin Arora

Tandoori Oven, Idaho Falls' first Indian restaurant, is finally open for business. It is located at 3204 S. 25 East, where Play N Trade used to be.

Owner Jatin Arora only got the signs hung today, but had a few people in for lunch. The restaurant, which seats about 75 people, is looking for help.

This is the second Tandoori Oven. Arora has been doing business in Logan, Utah, for about 10 years. He said he was originally looking at Pocatello, but a longtime friend from Idaho Falls alerted him to the absence of Indian cuisine here.

"I've been to Idaho Falls quite a few times, and it seems like an ideal market for us," he said. "There is no real Indian restaurant, and there seems to be a demand for Indian cuisine."

Asked to guess how many locals have never had Indian food, he said, "I would think it's a high percentage." If you have never eaten Indian, he advised going with a chicken masala or coconut kurma the fist time.

Tandoori Oven's hours are 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, Monday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday for dinner and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Partnership for Science and Technology names new executive director

Leslie Jones-Huddleston

The Partnership for Science and Technology has named Leslie Jones-Huddleston its new executive director and chief executive officer. She replaces Lane Allgood, who retired in June.

A longtime resident of eastern Idaho, Jones-Huddleston most recently served as the regional director for U.S. Senator Mike Crapo.

“PST is extremely fortunate to have Leslie lead our organization,” said Mike Hart, president of the PST board. “She has a deep understanding of energy and environmental issues, knows the importance of science and technology, and brings a new vibrancy to the organization.”

Budweiser Clydesdales to visit Snake River Landing on Saturday

The Budweiser Clydesdales are famous across the nation.

Watkins Distributing is bringing the famous Budweiser Clydesdale team to Snake River Landing this Saturday. The Clydesdales will begin at 1 p.m., will parade through the landing and will be available for photos until 3 p.m.

The team dates back to April 7, 1933, when August A. Busch, Jr. and Adolphus Busch III surprised their father, August A. Busch Sr, with the gift of a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition. The six-horse hitch shortly became an eight-horse hitch, which it remains today. 

The horses continue to be an enduring symbol of the Anheuser-Busch brand. The company currently owns approximately 250 Clydesdales, which are used for marketing and promotion at community and national events throughout the year.  

Idaho National Lab wins two R&D 100 Awards

Idaho National Laboratory has won two R&D 100 Awards in the 2014 international competition hosted by R&D Magazine, bringing its total to an even 50 over the past 18 years. The annual competition recognizes the top 100 inventions of the past year. Both winning technologies relate to innovative modeling systems.

The Advanced Electrolyte Model analyzes and identifies potential electrolytes for battery systems. It offers significant resource savings by optimizing material combinations for new batteries. AEM predicts and reports key properties underlying electrolyte behavior in the electrochemical cell environment.

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) makes it easier for scientists to predict phenomena ranging from nuclear fuel and reactor performance to groundwater and chemical movement. Such simulations can help speed the pace of scientific discovery but traditionally required more computing resources than most scientists and engineers could readily access. Here is a YouTube video explaining it:

"These awards recognize the tremendous value of our national labs," said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, in a news release. "Research and development at the national labs continues to help our nation address its energy challenges and pursue the scientific and technological innovations necessary to remain globally competitive."

INL nominated three technologies for the 2014 R&D 100 Award competition and now has earned a total of 50 R&D 100 Awards since 1986.

The banquet and awards presentation, honoring the 2014 winners will take place Nov. 7 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Five ways to get fired from your job

Raise your hand if you love your job! Now raise your hand if you hate your job! Are any of you in between?

All of us can say we start our jobs with a sense of excitement and always with the best intentions, and most employees are never really gunning to get fired from a job. Whether you love it or hate it, getting fired from a job is no fun. Psychologically, it’s almost just as bad as being dumped when you thought you were in a long-term relationship with the love of your life (or at least someone you wanted to date for more than a couple months.)

I am fully aware there are really poor managers who don’t know how to manage employees, firing at will and fairly often at that. I have met them, I have worked with them, and there really and truly is no hope for them.

Still, the majority of managers loathe the days they have to terminate employees, and many will go through disciplinary processes or just take the “see no evil/hear no evil” approach and ignore bad situations for long stretches of time.

Most of the time, people who get fired are fired for common sense reasons. My HR colleagues and I even considered at one time compiling all of our “Here’s Your Sign...” employment termination moments for a book to provide comic relief in the workplace. Luckily for some of the people I have had to let go I have not done that yet.

I have, however, compiled my top five reasons for how to ensure that your career path is about to change. If you are looking to strike out, take note of the following. They are more than likely to lead to immediate termination very soon.

1. Insubordination. Not doing your job or failing to follow through on what management asks you to do. Failing to comply with policies and procedures is a sure way to make sure management will send you on your way to a new workplace and manager. If management is asking you to do something unethical or illegal, go ahead and be insubordinate (think Enron scandal). Otherwise, do what you're told.

2. Sleeping on the Job. Sleep is awesome and necessary, just not at work. Unless you are being paid as a sleep study subject, keep awake and alert. There are a few people who have sleep disorders. If you are one I hope you have at least given management a heads up so when you are caught drooling over your sales report you won’t be woken up and escorted out of the building with a paper stuck to your face.

3. Theft. From timecard fraud to stealing company supplies or petty cash, theft is costly and stealing is wrong. If you are teaching your kids not to grab a pack of gum at the store without paying for it, don’t grab a garbage bag filled with office supplies and walk out (something that actually happened with one of my clients, who tried to justify her theft by saying she needed it for camping and didn’t have time to go to the store.)

4. Dishonesty. Not telling the truth leads to distrust. Distrust leads to damaged workplace relationships. Damaged workplace relationships lead to termination. No matter what the little white lie may be, keep in mind that if you can’t be trusted to tell the truth on any level how can management trust you are doing your job right?

5. Being Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs. Maybe it has been a bad Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean it's OK to head to the bar to grab a few beers on your lunch break. Being under the influence can and will impair your ability to work. It can also create legal liabilities for your employer. Drug-free workplaces are common now, as are zero tolerance policies, so hold the drinks until after work.

You could easily add to any of the above with:

• Inappropriate comments
• Careless social media behavior, e.g., posting about your job and/or company
• Sharing confidential information
• Violence or horseplay in the workplace
• Failing drug tests
• Tardiness, leaving early and unexcused absences

If your goal is to be fired, I would recommend trying any of the above.

Monica Bitrick is CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, a human resources company in Idaho Falls.

Consumer Reports releases new fast food survey

I'm aware that a lot of BizMojo Idaho readers cannot resist any story that is about fast food, so today I am posting this link to Consumer Reports and its story rating the nation's fast food chains.

This is the first survey Consumer Reports has published since August 2011, and is based on the responses of 53,745 readers, who rated food, value, staff, and speed at 65 chains. As was the case three years ago, Burger King, KFC, McDonald's and Taco Bell all took a drubbing, posting the lowest scores.

The good news for folks who like to dine out here -- and who doesn't? -- is that some of the top-scoring chains have an eastern Idaho presence, Chick-fil-A, Five Guys and Papa Muphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza in particular. Others are on their way: Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Firehouse Subs (which announced last year it was planning 12 locations in southern Idaho, including one in Idaho Falls, but seems to be moving slower than expected), not to mention Noodles & Company.

Take a look at the chart above and once you stop salivating ask yourselves which of these chains you'd like to see here. In-N-Out? Don't hold your breath, but take a look at The Habit Burger Grill, which beat it out. There are three in Utah, so maybe you want to check them out next time you're headed south to visit The Temple.

Happy eating, everybody! Watch your waistlines.