Managing Workplace Stress
By Jeff Colligan
Flights to Australia anyone…?
Imagine the situation, an airline pilot is about to board a long distance flight and fly from the U.K. to Australia. The company he works for operates a 24/7 culture, he works unsociable hours, gets very little quality sleep, eats meals (mostly fast food) at all times of the day and night and generally feels isolated and not appreciated. On top of all that - he has the responsibility of flying a £375m jumbo jet and the safety of 500 passengers and 12 crew.
Not surprisingly, he regularly gets irritable with insignificant things, looses focus, gets snappy with his colleagues and generally feels lethargic and goes through the motions. (Lucky we have got autopilot.)
Now consider the pressure this pilot is under and how it could affect his judgement. For example, would he be able to make the ‘right’ decision if the plane hit turbulence? Is he in the right frame of mind to issue instructions to the crew? Would you, as a passenger feel safe given his working conditions? The consequences could be dire.
Although this situation is fictitious, it is all too familiar. People nowadays are suffering from a whole host of stress related illnesses. The effects of stress are not always life threatening but can seriously reduce your organisation’s productivity, cost you business in terms of absence and sickness rates, and also cost your organisation if the courts and the legal profession get involved.
…And now the numbers
When it comes to the statistics, there is a plethora from which to draw on, e.g. the CBI, the TUC, the HSE, academics, etc have all produced facts and figures. Anyway here are some, which you may find interesting.
The CBI tells us that 14 million days were lost in 2001 due to stress related illnesses. This costs some £370 million to employers. Research by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA) found that almost two-thirds of workers suffer from stress at work reducing their job satisfaction and damaging productivity.
Moreover, if we get into the legal arena, recent court cases have topped £250,000. The average settlement is approximately £50,000. In February 2003 the courts issued guidance on several stress cases, outlining why they had overturned appeals from several employees.
And the HSE have issued their first Improvement Notice to a NHS Trust, immediate improvements and threatened with fines and/or imprisonment of the directors.
So, to academics these facts and figures may be interesting, but to the business manager they have to be not only understood but also effectively managed in the workplace. Unfortunately, too many organisations are not sure exactly how workplace stress should be managed and consequently end up as just another statistic.
… It can happen to anyone
As someone who has worked with organisations and individuals in the stress arena for many years, I see managers taking work home regularly, working excessively long hours and not really delegating responsibility. What’s more – although they have done the management courses, they appear not to be able to break out of their old style behaviour patterns.
I see employees caught up in organisational change, trying to work harder, trying to do things yesterday, not managing their time effectively. Many people feel that they have no choice, possibly due to the ‘more for less’ mantra that has come about for a whole host of reasons, e.g. downsizing, best value, competitive challenges, etc.
Even some of our own well know personalities are not immune. Take Tony Blair (apparently a very fit man) who recently suffered a heart scare – this was put down to drinking too much coffee and not enough sleep. Others including Frank Bruno, (again very fit) Stan Collymoor, (footballer) Alan Milburn, (politician) have all suffered some sort of workplace stress.
The solution is for organisations to develop a Workplace Stress strategy as part of their overall best practice people management philosophy, i.e. part of Investors in People, Work Life Balance, Health and Safety, etc. Only in this way can we then move away from day to day fire fighting and move towards a prevention based strategic approach. This approach will achieve lasting results.
…A quick health check
As a quick health check, answer the following questions:
1. Do we have a stress policy?
2. Do we have any stress measures/indicators in place?
3. Do we know our legal obligations?
4. Do we understand the HSE’s guidelines?
5. Do we train management in how to deal with people who are feeling stressed?
6. Do we offer people support coaching/counselling?
If you answered mostly yes, well done, you are amongst a number of organisations that are managing stress effectively. If, however, you answered mostly no, then it may be that you are not aware of the implications, or don’t have the time to address the issues. Or maybe you are hoping it will all just go away!
…So, what should we be doing?
The subject of stress is not going to go away, it can be costly and the figures are getting worse. The HSE is embarking on a massive stress reduction campaign, Investors in People UK are encouraging organisations to adopt Work Life Balance principles and the legal profession are …well just waiting.
But for no other reason than you know it makes sense, start to manage one of the most significant issue facing U.K. industry today - Workplace Stress.
JPD offer a wide range of courses for Stress Management, for further information or advice on how to Manage Stress Effectively in your organisation, call our friendly advisors on 01565 724200.