Stress at work: key statistics
Work-related stress can be a significant contributor to staff absenteeism and low morale in the workplace. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) define stress as a harmful reaction people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work. The HSE’s annual Labour Force Survey found that stress accounted for 35% of all work related ill health in 2014/5 with a total number of working days lost amounting to 9.9 million days.
More recent research from TUC concluded that stress has reach an all-time high in the workplace. Pressures of long working hours and poor job security means that employees working in the public sector are at risk of being overworked. Jobs that show higher levels of stress include health, teaching, business and media.
In the private sector, last month MetLife’s published research found that 40% of decision makers working in the City think their job is extremely stressful with 67% considering leaving their posts due to stress.
Why should employers care
Employers have a legal responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to ensure the health safety and welfare at work of their employees. This includes minimising the risk of stress-related illness or injury to employees. It also makes good business sense to invest in reducing work-related stress, which can affect staff morale, cause conflict, as well as contribute to staff absenteeism.
Building resilience
Emotional resilience is the ability to cope and adapt in the face of setbacks. In the workplace these setbacks can be caused by a period of stress and adversity. Employee resilience training programmes are designed to tackle stress and provide support for staff. It can help them cope better with stress in the long term. A resilience programme is something which can be easily taught in the workplace. For example, teaching meditation, breathing exercises and a range of easy to follow coping skills can relieve the impact of stress and tackle negative thinking.
Employee resilience training: the benefits
Employee resilience and wellbeing programmes also offer a number of benefits for employers:
- Decreased staff absence
- Improvement in productivity
- Boosting staff morale
- Reduction of tension and conflict among staff
- Financial benefits for the organisation
The Chelsea Psychology Clinic has extensive experience in the provision of training to the corporate sector. We deliver tailor made training to meet the needs of your staff and organisation. Contact us to find about more about training options available.
