Reducing Stress in the Workplace
Employers can do much to reduce stress levels in the workplace.
A new study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found that time off work due to stress has risen in the past year, and that this is a particular problem in the public sector.
Public sector workers took on average 9.6 days off sick over the period, compared to less than 7 days for their private sector counterparts. The study included more than 500 employers. The institute said that the recession was to blame for increasing stress levels, with 1 in 3 employers reporting that time off through stress had increased. On average if someone is off sick with work-related stress, they are absent for 26.8 days (THOR)*. This is a startling contrast to the typical two to three days taken off for physical illnesses. The impact of this on a business can be huge – at best it may involve having to pay for temporary staff and sick leave, and in the worst cases it may involve having to employ and train new staff.
Dr Jill Miller, an adviser at the CIPD notes “Compared with the private sector, more public sector employees are in challenging public facing roles such as social work, policing, teaching and nursing where they often have to deal with people in difficult and emotionally charged situations.”
The most commonly reported causes of stress include extra workload, worries about company reorganisations and domestic problems, with employers reporting that in many cases these factors had led to higher levels of anxiety and depression among staff.
There is a great deal employers can do to reduce stress within the workplace, spot problems early, and put in place effective support mechanisms which together can reduce days off due to stress, improve staff morale, and maintain high levels of productivity.
The HSE produce a comprehensive guide for employers, which can provide a good starting point. Simple steps that an employer can take include:
- Identify possible causes of stress, such as organisational restructuring or increasing workloads – this gives early warning of potential problems.
- Decide who might be harmed and how – certain departments might be at higher risk if, for instance, they take the brunt of changes or are involved in particularly high-stress roles.
- Evaluate the risk – identify areas where immediate action is required, as well as areas where medium and long-term action may be required, not only to address existing problems but to prevent problems arising in future.
- Put control measures in place – work with employees to identify the most helpful positive measure you can take as an organisation to combat stress (supporting staff effectively with stress more often involves simple, low-cost changes than grand gestures such as installing a gym. One example is setting up a relaxing ‘time-out room’ to give staff a quiet place to work or have a five minute break).
- Record your findings – detailed records will allow you to assess the effectiveness of the measures you have put in place, and decide what else might need to be done.
One of the simplest steps, all too easily forgotten in the midst of day-to-day pressures, is to praise employees. Managers are sometimes too quick to pick up on poor work and too slow to praise strong work. The impact of praise can be profound and immediate – the person feels appreciated and knows that their hard work and effort has been recognised.
Providing workplace counselling may also have an important role to play, especially where stress levels are high or the organisation or business is undergoing significant changes. Workplace counselling provides access to expert support in a timely manner and in many cases may help to keep valued employees in the workplace and performing at a high level when they might otherwise have ended up taking time off work due to lack of appropriate support.
Please visit Employee Counselling for more on online counselling in the workplace and the benefits it can bring.
*THOR (The Health Occupation Reporting Network) surveillance data from General Practitioners.
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