Increasing Stress at Workplace a Continuing Threat to Businesses
According to Jonathan Austin, Founder and CEO of Best Companies, employers who do not pay attention to the well being of their employees have to suffer the consequences at a later stage. On the other hand, employers who do make provisions for well being of the employees are ones who understand the importance of their employees for their businesses.
The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list reflects this and favour employers who consider the well-being of their employees a priority and where employee welfare is a part of company policy and values and not merely a peripheral concern.
The report also mentions that well being is one of the eight factors that determine the engagement level of employees with their company, which in turn is an important measure for the Best Companies lists. If you’re responsible for health and safety in your organisation, click on CPP Training, to learn about the importance of promoting a positive health and safety culture in your workplace environment.
The data revealed by the report shows that one third of the employees put in more than ten hours overtime in a week while over 50% of the employees state that they have worked overtime at some point or the other in the recent weeks. Further, a third of the workforce putting in more than 10 hours overtime every week ends up suffering from stress related problems. The findings of the report suggest that half the workers complained of exhaustion at the end of the day on most of their working days and this goes up to 80% for staff putting in overtime.
Findings of the report are mirrored in several separate surveys conducted by organizations like RSA Insurance, which enumerate that the financial consequences of such stress at the work place. The calculations of RSA Insurance suggested that the increasing stress levels at workplaces are costing the UK businesses as much as £673 million per year, which might even rise with the increase in stress levels, if nothing is done in this regard.
