John Humphrey, head of Marsh Employment Risk Services told delegates to a Butterworth Tolley Health and Safety at Work Conference that stress in the workplace is now more prevalent and that it would be 'asbestos with a vengeance'.
'Employers can no longer afford to consider themselves immune from stress [litigation], or underestimate the effects it has on their business,' he added.
He said companies should conduct a 'stress audit' to look at the way their organisation approaches stress. Changes to the way companies record absences and respond to the analysis of employee sick days may be needed, he added.
Survey responses consistently show that stress levels are high. A survey of business managers found 83 per cent hit their computers, 19 per cent destroyed their keyboards and 17 per cent attacked their computer mouses.
The Confederation of British Industry found that 41 per cent of sickness is stress related, costing £5bn a year.
For employers, high stress levels can lead to a loss of productivity, but can also result in lengthy court battles if the company is believed to have put its employees under unnecessary pressure.
In September a social worker at Northumberland County Council received a £175,000 out-of-court settlement after suffering two nervous breakdowns as a result of an 'ever-increasing workload' according to his doctor.
A Europe-wide survey to find the most stressed nation revealed that Greece has the most stressed workforce — 50 per cent. The UK was midway at 27 per cent, while the Irish were chilling out at the bottom with only 12 per cent claiming to be stressed.
Source
The Facilities Business
