To ignore stress however is extremely short-sighted for any organisation as it can seriously affect almost every aspect of the business. There are many good reasons why stress should be tackled but perhaps the two most compelling are:

All employers have 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.

Complying with corporate legal duties in this way will not only reduce the risk of prosecution but also reduce the risk of successful litigation, helping to keep financial risk under control.

Statistics show that workplace stress is one of the main causes of organisational underperformance in the UK today. Consider the following:

• Stress affects one in five of the working population
• It is now the single biggest cause of sickness absence in the UK
• Over 105 million days are lost to stress each year – costing UK employers £1.24 billion.
• 11% of absence is attributed to stress
• 52% say stress is increasing
• 60% claim stress is damaging staff retention
• 83% think stress is harming productivity

The few companies that have taken steps to manage
stress find there is a dramatic improvement in organisational efficiency which significantly improves
their ability to compete – essential of course in the
current economic climate.

Before we can decide what we need to do about work related stress it is essential that we have a clear understanding of exactly what the term actually means.

The Health & Safety Executive’s formal definition of work-related stress is: “The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work”

Pressure can of course be an extremely positive and motivating factor. It is often essential in a job and can help us achieve our goals and perform better. Pressure itself is not bad. In fact, many thrive on it. The operative word in the HSE’s definition is “excessive” which means that when those pressures exceed a person’s capacity or ability to cope, stress occurs.

Stress is not an illness – it is a state. However, if stress becomes too excessive and prolonged, mental or physical illness can follow. Study after study shows that prolonged severe stress has a negative impact on health. It is implicated in everything from high blood pressure and asthma to diabetes and migraine.

We have been working with organisations from both the public and private sectors and issued guidance on how to tackle stress at an organisational level based on current best practice. Our workshops are designed to assist you in adopting a proactive approach to work related stress.