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“Companies that take
action to reduce stress in the workplace are likely to generate enhanced value
through reduced costs, increased productivity, better customer service, lower
staff turnover and greater staff morale.”
- CIPD Annual Survey Report, 2006
What it could be costing you
now
“Stress is the main
cause of sickness absence in the public sector,”
- Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Feb 2006
So many working days
are lost to stress:
-
Stress remains the number one ranked reason for long-term absence for
non-manual employees
-
It is
estimated that work-related stress affected 442 000 people in 2007/08 with a
corresponding estimated
-
An
estimated 13.5 million working days were lost due in 2007/8 due to work-stress
related conditions
-
Surveys
estimate that, in 2008, 17.1% of British workers believed their jobs were
extremely or very stressful
-
Work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidences of ill
health
-
Each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 30.6 working
days lost
(source:, HSE website accessed Autumn 08)
The CIPD says,
“Companies that take action to reduce stress in the workplace are likely to
generate enhanced value…” For companies that don’t take action, the opposite
is true. Apart from the tangible costs of sick absence, so much more is being
lost in productivity and service.
And
if you fail to take action, you could be liable to pay compensation.
-
Intel
was found to have been
negligent in allowing an
employee to suffer debilitating work-related stress.
HR professional Tracy Daw was awarded £114,764 in May 2006.
-
Barry Willans was diagnosed as suffering from stress-induced
anxiety and depression caused by ‘an increased amount of pressure at work'.
His employers, Reckitt and Colman, were ordered to pay
him £55,000.
-
John Walker
made a successful claim against Northumberland
County Council, for which he was awarded a
settlement of £200,000 in 1994.
The court ruled
that his employers had known he had developed stress related problems but
failed to take action to improve the situation.
Take action
You can do something to
address the problem and make a visible difference now. The HSE has significant
evidence of organisations that have made dramatic improvements in stress
related absences:
-
absences of 10+ days in a 12-month
rolling period – 7.5% reduction
-
5 absences in a
12-month rolling period – 19% reduction
-
sickness absence down
from 10.75 days in 2001-02 to 7.2 days in 2004-05
As well as reducing
sickness absence costs to an organisation, tackling stress can have a positive
effect on:
-
Employee commitment
to work;
-
Staff performance and
productivity;
-
Staff turnover or
intention to leave;
-
Staff recruitment and
retention;
-
Customer
satisfaction; and
-
Organisational image
and reputation.
All of this helps you
keep ahead of your competitors.
Apart from missing all
these savings and benefits, your company will be exposed to the risk of legal
action if you can’t show that you’ve met your legal obligations.
“A proper risk
assessment for stress, combined with appropriate training in the skills
required to improve can help you avoid prosecution and litigation.”
- HSE
The solution
Training your own
managers or HR professionals in this specialist field can be a long and costly
process. Using our services,
gives you an immediate response with all the benefits of our
professional experience instantly available.
You won’t want to be
permanently dependent on us though, and we will
transfer the skills you want to your staff so that they will continue to
manage their stress after we’ve gone.
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