Apartment Association of Michigan

Written by Daniel Aday, CompOne Administrators Safety & Loss Prevention Specialist

Stress is a critical factor that tends to play a role in accidents and unsafe workplaces. While it might not be part of every single accident, it does tend to play a role in the serious ones. Stress may contribute to the incident or unsafe workplaces by either distracting the individual(s) involved, adding another layer of pressure to get a job done, or as an outside source that is causing one to not fully perform their job function.

Alternatively, stress may also be the sole reason an accident occurs. Not all accidents occur from a physical hazard. Some occur from a mental one. Breaking down how stress influences accidents, we further understand what causes stress, how stress actually equates with accidents and what we can do to be preventative and avoid becoming stressed, ourselves.

What Causes Stress? The biggest factor that’s found when looking at the leading causes of stress in the workplace is overwhelmingly workload. When we are tasked with too much, our stress levels increase, making up approximately half of the cause of stress in the workplace. More than a quarter is due to “people issues” – working with someone you do not get along with or something similar. About 20 percent of all stress in the workplace is from individuals attempting to balance work life and personal life.

Lastly, a very small percentage of stress that is found is from a lack of job security. It could be safe to say that just about all of us experience stress in some form during our work day. Take the time right now to think about the time you were last stressed and determine what had caused it. Whether it was something mentioned above or not, such as lack of sleep, you should know what is causing you stress!

It is easy to see that some people are under some form of stress. They may be agitated, irritable, or may appear very upset. However, for others who are stressed, there may be absolutely no indication. Regardless of the signs, we know that if someone is focusing on their stressors, they are less apt to be focusing on the hazards of the task. If there is less time to do a task, or if someone now has more workload, the very first thing that is usually “forgotten” about is the safety needed to do a task without injury.

Alternately, stress can absolutely be “stored” in areas of your body that later hurt. Symptoms such as headaches and back pain without a recognized physical hazard very well could be stress-induced injuries. Having done countless incident investigations myself, almost every single interview with the injured party I have been told something along the lines of “There just isn’t enough time to do the task” or “They expect too high of output from us.” If we find ourselves asking, “Is this too much work for one person?” there is a good chance that it is! And while all stress may not always lead to a serious physical hazard, the mental strain may absolutely be something that causes burnout or even cause your employees to move on to another company.

The big question here is: What are we able to do to prevent our employees from getting stressed? Well, believe it or not, that is an easy one! Simply talk to them and ask! Plenty of people, including you, may already be aware of the stresses and know how to fix them. If not, starting with a great night’s sleep will work wonders!

Other great ways to encourage a stress-free workplace are through promoting a positive environment. Display personal and family photos, promote workplace wellness, cut down on the caffeine, allow more time for breaks (which actually makes people more productive) and listen to each other’s needs. When we are able to assist others, and help them determine what cause their stress, we can better the working environment that we all work in. Understanding where the issue comes from, ultimately, is the first step in getting the problem resolved!

Written by Forrest Wall, CAE, Director of Regulatory & Legal Affairs, Home Builders Association of Michigan

Source of Income Bills Introduced
Two pieces of legislation – both introduced recently in the Michigan Senate – propose to add “source of income” protections in state law. First, Senate Bill 254 would amend the Landlord and Tenant Relationships Act to forbid a landlord from doing any of the following as it relates to source of income:

• Deny or terminate a tenancy
• Make any distinctions or restrictions in rental\price, terms, conditions, fees, or
  privileges relating to the rental unit
• Attempt to discourage the lease of any rental unit
• Assist, induce, or coerce another person to engage in a practice violating the
  proposed amendment
• Coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with rights granted under the act
• Represent to a prospective or current resident that a unit is not available for
  inspection or rental when in fact it is available
• Otherwise make unavailable or deny a unit based on source of income

The bill goes on to mandate that a landlord shall not publish or display any notice or ad indicating a preference or requirement based on source of income, and, that a person who “suffers a loss” as a result of violation of the law may bring a court action to recover actual damages or up to 4.5 times the monthly rent of the unit, whichever is greater, along with court costs and attorney fees.

The second bill, Senate Bill 255, proposes to amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. This legislation would add source of income protection to both the title and section 502 (relating to real estate transactions) of the act.

AAM strongly opposes these bills for a number of reasons, not the least of which is it would force all Michigan apartment providers to participate in the federal Section 8 housing voucher program. This program, while a fantastic way to help families in need, was designed and codified to be voluntary – not mandatory – as it requires compliance with numerous federal rules which some apartment providers find too restrictive. AAM will work aggressively to educate our lawmakers on the impact such legislation would have on the rental property industry.