Nearly two-thirds of those taking part in a study by the Industrial Society said their organisation had undergone change programmes in the past year and 55 per cent stated that their organisations had recently introduced new technology.
Correspondingly, 86 per cent felt that stress was a problem in their organisation, with more than a third of those believing it is becoming more significant. Increased absence is the main symptom of stress in an employee.
Nearly 70 per cent cited the difficulty of balancing work and home demands as a major contributing factor to stress. Up to half felt that unrealistic deadlines and constant time pressures were a factor and over 40 per cent said poor communications raised stress levels.
Good employee communication (68 per cent) was thought to be the most effective measure to reduce stress, with realistic deadlines (53 per cent), empowering staff (32 per cent) and a 'no blame culture' (45 per cent) among other key remedies.
'Employees need to feel they can talk about stress without fear of recrimination,' said Pat McGuinness, occupational health expert. 'In this way companies get a more accurate picture of negative processes, practices and bad job design which compromise employee performance. Successfully identifying and removing causes of negative stress brings real benefits.'
Flexible working arrangements and promoting a family friendly culture featured as positive measures to ease workplace pressures.
Source
The Facilities Business
