Workplace Stress
Stress in the workplace: a growing problem
Stress in the workplace is a growing problem for individuals and employers and government. HSE research finds that the prevalence of work-related stress has increased from 820 per 100,000 people employed in the previous 12 months in 1974 to 1,300 per 100,000 people employed in the previous 12 months in 2005. More than 30% of respondents to the CIPD 2008 Absence Management survey identified an increase in stress-related absence, with just 11% reporting a decrease.
Impact on society
The growing impact of work-related stress on public health is reflected by the increasing proportion of incapacity benefit claims that are the result of mental or behavioural problems, including stress. The proportion of Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants suffering from such conditions has increased from 28% in 1997 to nearly 40% today (Department for Work and Pensions 2006).
It is important to consider some of the reasons for the increase, because it is only by pinning down the causes of growing levels of stress and other mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, that solutions can be identified.
Intensification of work
One likely reason is changes in the nature of employment in the last decade and a half, which have led to an intensification of work. The economist Francis Green finds that work intensity increased significantly between 1992 and 2001 (Green 2001). Green identified a number of factors that have contributed to the intensification of work over this period, including competitive pressures increasingly being passed on to employees, and the decline of union representation and power. He also cites as a cause of work intensification the introduction of HR policies designed to encourage greater worker involvement and commitment, including incentives that link effort with pay.
The final factor reported by Green as contributing to increased work intensity is technological advances. The development of the Internet, emails, mobile phones, laptops and Blackberrys have increased the pace of work and also blurred the line between work and home for many employees, making it harder for them to switch off and recharge their batteries.
Increasing prevalence of stress
Other developments that over the last two decades may well have contributed to the increased prevalence of stress and other mental health problems in society as a whole include an increase in social isolation as a result of the breakdown of traditional communities and the growth in single occupancy households.
In addition, increased reliance on electronic communication technologies such as the Internet, emails, instant messaging and social networking websites such as Facebook and Bebo mean that people are no longer having as many of the face-toface conversations with family and friends that help put life and its problems into perspective.
Personal debt & job insecurity
Finally, the huge increase in personal debt over the last few years, concerns over higher living costs and, more recently, growing worries over job security against a backdrop of rising unemployment, are also likely to undermine positive mental health and increase stress levels.
All of these trends are likely to continue and increase, particularly as the economic environment becomes tougher, putting people under greater pressure than ever before, both at work and at home.
Against this background, the business case for employers to invest in the well-being of their employees by taking steps to identify and manage stress more effectively becomes cast iron.
