PJEndicott

Stress and the Impact on Organisations

The Health and Safety Executive reports that:

• a total of 13.8 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2007/8.

• work-related stress in the UK costs about £3.7 billion per year.

The Costs of Stress to your Organisation may show up as:

• an increase in sickness absence

• reduced work performance

• poor time-keeping

• an increase in customer complaints

• poor relationships between colleagues

• high staff turnover

• additional pressure on managers and colleagues who are required to shoulder additional responsibilities.

Employers who don’t tackle stress can leave themselves open to stress-related compensation claims from employees who have suffered ill-health from work-related stress.

The Impact of Stress on Individuals

The impact of stress for individuals can be serious as stress can lead to a number of problems relating to their physical and mental health including depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, digestive disorders and diabetes.

The Health and Safety Executive reports that:

• About 1 in 5 people say that they find their work either very or extremely stressful.

• Over half a million people report experiencing work-related stress at a level they believe has actually made them ill.

People also experience pressure from things happening outside work, such as family responsibilities and personal or financial issues. These pressures can impact on a person’s ability to perform at work. In the same way, work pressure can also spill over into a person’s home life, making it difficult to cope with their responsibilities and relationships outside of work. The boundary between home and work is clearly not black and white when it comes to stress, and the pressure of having to juggle work and home responsibilities can also lead to stress.