As the owner or manager of a business, it’s your responsibility to keep production levels up, but applying too much pressure to your employees can have the opposite effect. Elevated levels of stress and muscle tension create several negative effects on the body, which in turn affects employees’ productivity. Below are a few ways you should consider implementing stress and pain relief events in the office to boost your business’s numbers.

How Stress & Muscle Tension Hinder Productivity

1. Chronic Pain

Stress causes people to stay tensed up and on edge physically. This keeps your muscles tight, causing body aches and neck pain. When the stress isn’t relieved, muscles are more prone to injury. Tension will also cause headaches, both from the stress itself and from the neck pain radiating outward. All of this interferes with your employees’ ability to concentrate and make them feel physically unwell. They’ll take longer to complete tasks and will likely make more mistakes in the process, further complicating it. While they can pursue pain relief solutions, they won’t improve until they’ve reduced or managed their stress.

2. Weakened Immune System

Stress stimulates the immune system, causing it to work overtime, which may make antibodies less capable of fighting actual illnesses. A weakened immune system means that your employees will be sick more often and take more time off, affecting production. Stress also causes inflammation, which is known to precede multiple diseases and illnesses. Stress and inflammation are both linked to disorders like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disorders, and mental illnesses, which can cause employees to need time off in the long run.

3. Sleeping Disruptions

Stress can interfere with your employees’ ability to get a restful night’s sleep, causing them to develop a condition called stress-induced insomnia. When you’re stressed, your brain releases chemicals that are associated with increased attention, making it difficult for your body to reach a deep state of sleep. Lack of sleep then further stimulates the release of those chemicals, exacerbating the condition and creating a vicious cycle. Sleep deprivation will interfere with your production levels because employees will suffer from malaise and distraction. It also causes body aches and deficits in cognitive, memory, and performance function, and increases the long-term risk of diseases like cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.

O’Fallon Pain Relief Associates in O’Fallon, MO, specializes in pain relief and stress management solutions that you and your employees can take advantage of. They offer several corporate solutions, including office massage events where your employees receive 5-10 minute massages to help with stress and back and neck pain. With a licensed chiropractor on staff, they offer comprehensive pain relief services, including chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, and medications. Learn more about their corporate pain relief services online, and call (636) 978-3000 to discuss a corporate event.