Best practices

Managing stress in the workplace through eLearning

Workplace stress is not a very bad thing. Some stress is good for competitive performance. When we experience stress at optimum levels we feel motivated. We retain facts better and are able to deliver tasks on time. It’s the over-stressful environment that leads to anxiety and reduced knowledge retention. That kind of situation is not conducive to a creative work environment.

In this article, we’ll share a few tips in keeping workplace stress levels at a healthy level.

Create A Calming Work Environment

1. Colors

Creating a calming and soothing workplace environment is the first step towards minimizing harmful stress levels. Create a color theme that triggers relaxation moods and alertness at the same time. Think green. Green helps in calm frayed nerves. And orange. Orange boosts energy levels and creativity. Play with opposite colors on the color wheel. Paint walls with accent colors to create thinking and discussion spaces. Use muted and subtle colors to destress and calm employees. This helps prepare them better for a training.

Utilizing the same color strategies, create a powerful and engaging eLearning theme that invites and boosts knowledge retention.

2. Music

Another helpful strategy to optimize mood levels is to use music in the eLearning environment. When learners need to read large volumes of text, sometimes a subdued background music helps focus better. Just make sure the music you use helps and doesn’t hurt the eLearning process. Using music during an interactive quiz is also helpful in solving complex problems. A great idea in this context is to place the audio controls in the hands of the learner. This way they can play the music according to their mood and stress levels.

3. Simple Navigation

Creating a simplistic eLearning theme and navigation style is also a fantastic idea to control the learners’ stress levels. Avoid overcrowding screens, tech-heavy jargon. Create learning according to the intellectual capacities of the learners. Avoid using jarring graphics and embrace the use of white space on your screens. Also, avoid using blinking and scrolling animations.

Creating a sense of urgency in the learning process is also not beneficent to healthy stress levels. The goal is to keep the eLearning program simple and chaos-free.

4. Microlearning

Finally, rearrange learning materials to create “microlearning” experiences. Dumping a lot of information on the learners leads to cognitive overload and diminished attention spans. Bite-sized chunks of knowledge aid in better retention and healthy stress levels.

Use Humor

A good joke is your hidden secret to a successful eLearning program. A lot of thought needs to be given to the selection of a joke. You can, alternatively, use a funny video of a non-example of your learning objective. This not only lightens up a situation and breaks the ice, it also helps learners remember important facts covered in the section. A tasteful caricature or a comic strip has been used by skilled instructors for many years.

These strategies relieve stress, anxiety and any surfacing negative emotions. They create a healthy corporate learning environment. The key is to analyze the work context and culture, and steer clear of “off-limits” jokes.

Meet Expectations

Guide learners on what to expect from the eLearning course. Let them know what to expect from the course. Share with them the course outline. Display a course completion navigation bar that shows how far they have come on their eLearning journey. Provide tangible as well as abstract incentives to complete the training. For example, adult learners participate better when they know they will receive a certificate they can brag about!

Share with them exactly how they will improve in their performance arena and the possible promotions related to the training program. Spending time over something the trainees are convinced is completely worth their time will stabilize stress levels and improve learning levels.

Strategy Of Repetitions

Another good tip here is to use the strategy of repetitions. Repeating an action numerous times reduces harmful stress levels. In order to implement repetitions, integrate interactive eLearning exercises that encourage the learner to repeat their responses and receive recognition for improved performance. For example, you can use simulations that repeatedly show how to perform a procedure.

Optimistic eLearning

Instill a culture of optimistic eLearning. This reassures the learner that they are doing well in the eLearning course. They are also more confident about making mistakes during the guided practice sessions. Talk about current performance issues and how eLearning programs will solve those issues. Provide plenty of tips and feedback to help their learning in the desirable direction.

eLearning programs can easily manage stress levels in the corporate training environment. Use colors, humor, smooth and calming themes and navigation. Also, integrate repetitions and optimism. We hope these tips will foster a relaxing eLearning environment in your organization.


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