Workplace stress is costing UK business £1.24bn a year,
hampering productivity and preventing employers retaining and
attracting staff, according to research by Computer Weekly's sister
publication Personnel Today and the Health & Safety
Executive.
The study revealed the extent of the stress overload that has led
to an estimated 1,554,256 working days being lost every year. And
it is getting worse, with more than half of UK organisations
reporting an increase in cases of stress.
Eighty three per cent of human resources professionals said stress
was holding back the UK's efforts to improve productivity and 60%
believed it was adding to staff retention problems.
The survey, Stress in the UK Workplace, was based on responses from
700 senior HR practitioners. Its findings suggested that
stress-related illness accounts for 11% of sick leave.
Many respondents said stress was caused by bad management, which
leads to unreasonable demands; lack of support and training; poor
relationships at work; and poorly defined roles.
A separate survey of employees, based on questions developed by
Personnel Today, found that 35% of staff felt unsupported by
managers.
The BMRB National Employee Benchmarks Survey questioned 2,000
employees. It found that more than 50% felt pressured to work long
hours; 42% worried about their job outside working hours; 40% felt
they could not report concerns about pressure; and 19% dreaded
going to work.
Twenty five per cent of respondents said worrying about work
affected their sleep and 33% felt overwhelmed by their workload.