Placing The Stress On Emotional Well-being

How to evaluate consultants who offer relief from psychological strain in the workplace.

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Stress is scary. It can make people sick, drive employees to drink, and shorten the lives of top managers by 10 years. So when stress consultants offer to sell you a day or two of their time and promise to end employee jitters in return, it is easy to get conned.

A lot of sharp businesspeople suddenly lose their common sense when a self-styled expert glares at them and warns, "You can't afford not to teach your employees about combating stress." That may indeed be true. But the small businessperson who is thinking about buying the services of a stress consultant must take a hard, objective look at what is being offered. Otherwise, what started as a good-faith investment can turn into a high-priced rip-off.

How can you tell the difference between a stress huckster and a legitimate consultant? First, it helps to know the statistics on stress, especially in companies in which on-the-job pressure is suspected of lowering employee efficiency and increasing absenteeism. Recent studies show that only one person in six in the U.S. labor force feels free of tension on the job. Stress-induced illness or accidents cost U.S. employers more than $60 billion each year in lost work, apathy, and even lawsuits.

In 1978, the California Worker's Compensation Institute estimated that cumulative-injury suits, which include stress-related suits, would cost insured California employers about $200 million. Attorneys predict more stress-related suits all over the country -- and big judgments in favor of employees. That is one reason, they say, why employers might be wise to offer stress-management courses. The courses could be a form of insurance against suits and would be a point in the company's favor should an employee decide to take his gripes to court.

But fear should not be your primary motivation in hiring a stress consultant. The time to call in an expert is when you notice employee sick days piling up; hear complaints of dizziness or nausea on the job (Michael Colligan, a psychologist with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, says these symptoms in assembly-line workers may indicate stress); hear talk about ulcers, back pain, or stomach disorders; or actually feel any of these symptoms yourself for longer than a week or 10 days. Such symptoms may be organic and not psychological. Have them checked out first by a physician. But if no physical reason for the complaints can be found, it is worth the effort and expense to call in some stress consultants, explain the problem, and ask what they can do to help.

Some consultants will invade your office with prepackaged programs and a sales pitch that would put a used-car salesman to shame. Soft-sell types will listen quietly to your problems and then mutter jargon about "acute physiological responses" and "nonquantifiable data." What you probably want is someone who gives you plenty of time to explain what is wrong, answers your questions in layman's terms, and then sets up a common-sense program for easing stress-related ailments. In any case, remember that a promise of instant results is always suspect. Pattie Bowen, a public health educator in Atlanta who specializes in corpoate stress problems, says, "There's no fast way you or your employees can learn about stress, because it's such a complicated human response. A stress consultant is essentially a teacher, who will give you and your employees tips and techniques for getting a handle on your own bodies. It takes a long time to pass on and absorb that kind of information."

Any good stress consultant will be frank about what can be accomplished in a day or a weekend of stress education. You may want to list the expected results so that you have something in writing. Even if that list seems fuzzy at first, you can refer to it later as a way of judging which consultant to hire. Kenneth Matheny of the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University in Atlanta says there are basic yardsticks by which you can judge a stress consultant. The important thing, he warns, is not to "lose your cool" and forget to apply the measurements. "The consultant should have a wide range of easy-to-use techniques he can teach your employees," says Matheny. "Stress-management courses are poorly done much of the time because many consultants teach only one technique. Deep breathing, for example, is not for everyone. At least four or five techniques for combating stress should be taught.

"I believe that a consultant should have a lot of psychological training, preferably with a PhD," Matheny adds. "But be sure that he isn't so heavily into the academics that he talks above people's heads. It's not enough to talk to employees about physiological responses to stress. He should be forceful enough to make his audience feel the stresses; he has to make them think 'By damn, that's how I feel!"

Even consultants who are physicians should be asked if they have psychological-training credits, says Matheny, because medical schools devote little time to studying stress. Observe the consultant carefully: Does he seem to have a calm personality? Is the interview strained, or is the consultant as poised as you would like yourself or an employee to be? Don't be afraid to ask probing personal questions about the consultant's family and home life, because unless the consultant is personally stable he can't provide a good role model for others. If the consultant becomes angry, defensive, or uses jargon or double-talk to wriggle out of answering, find somebody else. "It may seem brash to ask such questions," Matheny says, "but you're going to pay a lot for this consultant, so you have a right to make the best decision you can."

If you like what you see during the interview, get a list of references and check up not only on the consultant's performance, but on the degree to which his other client companies match yours in size and type of problems. Call the consultant's school: He should have a degree in psychology from a reputable institution. It is not out of line to speak to one or two of his former professors. A consultant's strongest critics are his fellows; another expert may be able to recognize points in the consultant you hadn't even thought about.

Because you deserve to take a peek at the goods before you buy, ask for a quick preview of what will be taught to you and your employees. What you see will tell you if the consultant simply plans to lecture from prepared material, or if he will demonstrate dynamic new methods and ideas that can be put to immediate practical use. Annette Colie, who hires stress consultants for Georgia Power Co., says that what you are trying to buy is an experience that will change employees' reactions to life.

"We want solid information and then inspiration and instruction to give people an opportunity to make a change," Colie says. "That means techniques, exercises, real coping mechanisms that people can use every day. After a stress-management course, for example, I'd expect an employee to be less nervous if he or she is giving a speech on behalf of the company or attending an important meeting. I'd expect the employee to get along better with fellow workers. And when I make my decision on whom to hire to teach these skills to employees, I would have the consultant actually do a little bit of the class for me. Show me the exercises. Show me how to do the deep breathing. Show me."

Consultants' fees vary widely, depending on education, experience, and methods. An average big-city consultant's fee ranges from $600 to $900 a day for teaching a class of 12 to 21 employees; $2,000 to $2,500 is not unusual. Some consultants will teach classes as short as four hours. In that case, you will probably be charged by the hour or by the employee, at prices ranging from $100 to $300 per employee or $60 to $150 per hour. Some consultants think it is important to hold classes on weekends, or on two weekdays at a resort or hotel, to get people far away from their desks -- and the sources of their stress. Your company is expected to pay for hotel rooms, travel, meals, and other expenses. Even if the classes are held on your premises during the work-week, don't forget the cost of allowing employees at least four hours off work to attend the class.

How can you judge what you got for your time and money? Ruth Klopper, an independent consultant in Atlanta, says follow-up is important. "Either the consultant or the company, or both, should come to the employees and see if they're better off because they took the seminar," she advises. "They may say they liked the experience, but that's meaningless. What's important is, did it work?"

You can feel reasonably confident that the consultant did his job when you begin noticing that sick days and accidents are less frequent, or that managers are more relaxed and able to attack business problems with more vigor and less emotional strain. And you should feel an improvement in your own attitude and sense of physical well-being. You took the course, too, didn't you?