People Management Focus: Stress at Work

22% of workers from the EU 27 are affected by stress, the second most frequently reported work-related health problem. Studies suggest that stress is a factor in between 50% and 60% of all lost working days, which represents a huge cost in terms of both human distress and impaired economic performance. 79% of European managers are concerned by work-related stress, but less than a third of companies have set procedures to deal with it.
Findings published by AXA late last year found that almost 25 million Brits were suffering from financial anxiety, and 1.4 million were taking time off as a result. Money worries continue to be the biggest cause of stress and depression in the UK with stress-related illness costing £3.7 billion a year in lost productivity and healthcare costs. Christina Strupinska, HR director, Story Worldwide, said, “People are at the centre of our business; we care about their wellbeing and do all we can to help our colleagues have a good life-work balance. Often stresses outside the workplace affect people’s performance at work, as anxiety about their finances is significant.” The results of this data, paired results from a recent UK study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), shows that being aware of the needs of your employee base can make a huge difference on productivity. According the PwC study ‘Managing Tomorrow’s People’, flexible working arrangements were rated the most important benefit by 47% of those surveyed, above performance related bonuses, which came second (19%). Flexible working was given fairly equal priority by men and women, with 41% and 54% respectively ranking this benefit as the most valuable. Moreover, a better work-life balance was seen as more achievable in the long term by 42% respondents than vastly increased responsibility and salary (39%). QUOTE by Perry Hwang!: This shows the huge shift that is happening as new generations take hold in the workplace. The era of the traditional 9-5 job for the male breadwinner is slowly coming to an end.
“Two years of recession have changed people’s attitude towards work. With companies mindful of taking on new employees, existing staff have been expected to do more with less. Our [PWC] survey indicates that employees may be feeling the pressure, with large numbers hoping for a better work- life balance in the future, and half saying they would rather work for themselves… Companies that can adapt to the UK’s growing flexible working culture will be best placed to sustain morale and retain top talent when the job market becomes more buoyant.”