In order to Identify the stress In KEF, we first have a look Into the result of employee satisfaction survey (Founders’ Survey) (shown In Appendix B Exalt 3) Interviewed 153 frontline managers in 2012, the areas that the frontline manager wanted the company to improve is about the working environment and the depreciation of the machinery, which can be identified as physical stress in “NOSH model of Stress” (shown in Appendix C Exhibit 2). In order to reduce the stress in the workplace, so that to retain the employee, there are different level of strategies to use.
They are primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies. (Franks. And Jeffrey M. 2010) The primary prevention strategies are concerned with changing or eliminating the stress in the work place. (Cartridge and Cooper, 2005) . Len the current situation, as most of the frontline manager complaint about the working environment and the old machinery, we would suggest Birdman (Hong Kong) Limited to have shop renovation so as to re-design the working environment to create enough irking space so as to minimize the danger of getting hurt and rest room for employee.
Besides, replacement of old machinery and better maintenance support while malfunctioning of machinery happened in non-office hours are another ways we advice Birdman (Hong Kong) Limited to do, so that the frontline manager can get better support from the company and reduce their stress level. Moreover, apart from removing the above physical stress, redesigning the work and Jobs can also reduce stress like the number of hours worked (Sparks, Cooper, Fried and Shirrs, 997) which is another area that the frontline managers want the company to Improve.
Based on the above Idea, KEF should held leadership conference periodically and encourage shop manager to come prepared for the meetings with questions they have came across while their dally operation as well as share their experiences In troubleshooting their work and Information which can Increase the employee participation In decision making and Increase their autonomy on their Job. Besides using the primary prevention strategies, we would recommend KEF to use secondary prevention strategies, this type of strategies Involve amending responses o stress, not like the primary strategies are to eliminate the stress.
It is an indirect way to reduce stress as it addresses the experience of stress rather than the stress. As mention before, we suggest KEF to held leadership conference periodically, during the conference, the senior management can provide constant managers and senior management, the frontline manager can gain recognition from the senior management as well as the support from them. Also, providing team building activities can improve the sense of belonging and work engagement of employees, so that the frontline managers can gain more social support from each other and achieve the goal of reducing the work stress.
To sum-up, workplace stress is very common, however, in Cuff’s situation, the stress level is quite high, so that the frontline managers choose to leave the company. That’s why KEF should not only focus on how to maintain the competitiveness of the compensation package or the career development of the employees, they should also need to focus on the stress management of the frontline staff as this will affect the overall performance of the employees (shown in Appendix C Figure 1).
