Are you stressed?
In 2008/09,
approximately 415,000 people in the UK reported work-related stress
at a level they believed was making them ill, resulting in high
absence levels, which cost on average, £666 per employee per year
(CIPD 2008).
Work-related stress is defined by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) as "the adverse reaction people have to excessive
pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work". It is
recognised that a certain level of pressure in the workplace can be
beneficial and motivational; however, if this pressure becomes
excessive, it can result in lower productivity, an increase in
errors and even absence.
CIPD have identified many different causes of work-related
stress which include excessive workload, inadequate training, lack
of autonomy, and poor working relationships. Investors in People
were commissioned to develop a tool to help organisations
effectively manage these pressures, and launched the Health and
Wellbeing Good Practice Award in March 2010.
One of the key elements of the Health and Wellbeing Good
Practice Award is stress management. Stress can hinder productivity
and performance of not only the individual, but also their teams,
and in some cases, the wider organisation. Once adopted, the health
and wellbeing good practice helps to prevent stress from negatively
impacting on the performance of your organisation by creating a
supportive culture and embedding supportive management
practices.
Visit Health
& Wellbeing Interactive to take a free diagnostic to see
how you are currently performing with health and wellbeing in your
organisation, as well as gaining access to useful tips and hints on
how to manage stress and its causes.
For more information on the causes and indicators of stress,
view the GoodPractice.net guide - A
Useful Approach to Stress Management.