If your life is out of kilter, you're stressed to the max and struggling to cope with the pressure at work, you're not alone. Many companies are trying to help employees reduce the stress and be productive while they continue to set higher expectations, have more work and fewer people and overall, business becomes more intense.

Some are doing it by encouraging people to take brief naps at their desks. Some companies actually have private quiet rooms where employees can take longer naps, says The Herman Group. The newest trend is recess. Remember when you were in grade school and the bell rang to tell you it's time to go out and play? Same idea. At an appointed time, everyone leaves their desks to take a walk outside. Recess might include a quick game of volleyball.

Offices are also becoming more like home environments. Food and drink are readily available. Small conference rooms with designer chairs and tables are equipped with computer plug-ins. Furniture includes couches and throw pillows to create user-friendly workplaces and encourage impromptu conversations. One downtown office has a "town center" where people meet and sip freshly brewed coffee and satellite coffee bars with bistro-like bar stools and refrigerators stocked with free goodies, says Morris Newman in a Los Angeles Times article, "Think There's No Place Like Home? Try The Office."

© by Andrea Kay