Work-life balance

Nowadays it seems that we can’t make it through a single day without seeing or hearing the word stress. Why is this – hasn’t stress always been around? Are people really experiencing more stress? Why is it important?

For most people, work is the biggest cause of stress and people struggle to maintain a work-life balance. The Work-life balance 2000 baseline study found that 91% of employers agreed that people work best when they can balance their work and other aspects of their lives.

You may think that pressure is just a part of life today, but stress has negative results and is defined by the HSE as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them”. This can impact on productivity, raise staff turnover and increase absence from work.

Stress is an internal response to a situation we find hard to deal with. Although as individuals we can’t change many of the external triggers of stress, we can change the effect that stressful situations have on us through effective stress management. As an organisation, we can help you by providing training and coaching. Your employer can help too, by changing some of the external triggers of stress and we can help to get this process started.

Business Solutions

Workplace stress is one of the most serious problems facing UK employers. Stress can affect anyone in a company. Up to 5 million people in the UK feel “very” or “extremely” stressed by their work; and a total of 12.8 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2004/5 (HSE). Stress costs UK industry £3.7 billion each year.

As an employer, you have a duty to “assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities” (Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999) and “to take measures to control that risk” (Health and Safety at Work Act 1974).

Many companies have chosen not to take the subject of stress seriously. However, John Walker’s successful claim against Northumberland County Council for stress has led some employers to reassess their liability. He was awarded £200,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

Employers may be aware that their business is affected by

high staff absenteeism
low productivity
increased staff turnover

However they may not be aware that this could be a direct result of workplace stress – which in turn could be attributed to many factors from lack of effective communication with line managers to an inability of employees to sustain a work-life balance.

Stress at work is an issue which you as a manager can help resolve. Work related stress is a serious problem and tackling it effectively can result in significant benefits for organisations.

There are practical things that we can assist organisations to do to prevent and control work-related stress. Ironically, managers often don’t get around to reviewing the impact of stress due to their own pressure of work. We can help by using cost-effective methods based on standards developed by the HSE – small changes lead to significant improvements.

In order to remain competitive, avoid risk and be a company of choice, organisations must discover the causes of stress and mitigate them, we can help by carrying out audits, helping companies to formulate robust policies and procedures, providing training and coaching and ensuring employers create an appropriate culture and climate, where people are able to ask for help.