Hypnosis for HR: improving employee satisfaction and development
The HR department, on the one hand it is a big administrative function, but on the other hand it is very human. How is the staff doing? Is there some basic satisfaction and do staff have the resources to develop so that the company can function even better?
That human satisfaction and development side, that's where hypnosis can play a role for the HR department.
Workload
In times of labor shortages, the workload within companies is often high, as people have to do work that is actually vacant. This can be very tiring for staff and all those cups of coffee often don't help in the afternoon either, as the caffeine consumed after an hour or 2 can cause sleep to become worse.
Breaks, of course, can help relieve work pressure somewhat, but what's best to do during that break? Just nothing? A little exercise or hypnosis? That's the question explored in 2018.
Hypnosis can bring about changes in the brain that improve motivation, relaxation, and mental focus. In the latter case, this means that after hypnosis, you can become more immersed in your work and are less likely to get distracted.
In addition, hypnosis can also improve performance. However, this depends on the suggestions a person receives while under hypnosis.
Physicians trained to use Ericksonian hypnosis in their treatment often use the techniques for themselves during the workday to combat fatigue as well.
In the hypnosis break, subjects were given suggestions with words such as fun, energy, pride, fun and power, in addition to a post-hypnotic suggestion to be in the here and now in top form.
The breaks with hypnosis took place between 12:30 and 3 p.m., just after lunch. This break, as well as breaks with doing nothing and exercise, reduced workload, but the reduction was greatest in the group with hypnosis. In the group that did nothing alone, the reduction was smallest.
In addition, the people who had taken the hypnotic break also felt afterward that they were able to work better than the people in the other groups, and the actual performance tests confirmed this. Furthermore, the willpower to get work done was also greatest after the hypnotic break compared to the other types of breaks[1].
Stress and job satisfaction
Work is also a source of stress for many people, and that stress in turn can affect the mental health of employees (actually of anyone with stress, but this is just for the HR folks 😉 ).
Hypnosis can do a great deal to alleviate stress and anxiety among employees[2]. This often results in staff taking fewer sick days, being more productive, and being more inclined to continue working for the company rather than seeking new opportunities. It is also important for the resilience of companies.
In addition to the standard help it can provide for stress, hypnotherapy is a good addition to reduce work-related stress.
To reduce work stress, it is important to help people with their:
- Lifestyle
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- Engagement at work
There are also psychosocial factors that contribute to stress at work, namely:
- High workload
- Too little work, leading to boredom
- Lack of meaningful work
- Lack of control at work
- Policies and processes that create alienation
- Style of leadership that is negative for participation and socializing
- Being turned on by others with stress
- Technological factors (printer always broken)
- Ergonomic factors (not being able to have good posture due to work)
With hypnosis, you can help people harness their internal resources. In addition, you can influence their way of thinking about work. For example, beliefs about how meaningful work is can be changed if you notice that they are not true. In addition, you can make people feel more in control. You can do this with suggestions.
There are also specific techniques that help reduce stress and anxiety.
Regression, for example, is a technique for evaluating recent moments of stress and investigating whether such a moment of stress has been there before. In fact, this can tell more about the origins of a limiting belief that is not helping your staff right now. With that technique, memories can be given a kind of update, removing illogical beliefs. This is very helpful in reducing stress.
In addition, people's imagination can also be stimulated to visualize certain symbols and to reframe problems. You then see the problems in a different way so that they no longer appear as problematic.
Your focus can also be shifted to the future, by imagining a particular future.
The ego can also be strengthened. Among other things, this is good for staff self-esteem and confidence, which in turn is good for eliminating stress[3].
Removing stress automatically also improves job satisfaction.
Problem Solving
Many companies are constantly solving problems, especially their clients' problems. Those solutions can be seen, for example, in their product or service development.
This requires creative ideas, and that is something that can really come to the fore in companies when people feel free to think and express their thoughts.
For example, you could start a brainstorming session with group hypnosis to get into the right mindset for problem-solving. Research shows that this also works for solving life problems within four weeks[4], so why shouldn’t it help with solving more business-related problems?
In addition, knowledge of conversational hypnosis can allow your staff to focus on solving certain problems and to give them a sense of commitment and enthusiasm for solving certain problems[5].
This can also help your staff get into a flow, allowing them to focus on certain tasks, such as certain problem-solving tasks[6].
So hypnosis can do a lot for an HR department to increase employee satisfaction and reduce absenteeism. If there are people within the HR department who sometimes coach staff to feel better, knowledge of hypnosis can be very valuable to them (and the company).
Want to learn more about how hypnosis works and what you can do with it? Then come to the free online master class.
Would you like to get started right away with hypnosis techniques to help people feel better? Then come to a seminar or sign up for one of the courses offered by the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands.
Training is conducted online from a professional studio and with plenty of one-on-one assistance to ensure that the material can be absorbed properly.