Managing stress in the workplace

Sometimes organisations feel that the management of stress in the workplace is a HR issue, however it really is something that everyone in the workplace has a responsibility for.  Whilst employee wellbeing has traditionally been a HR initiative, line managers are becoming increasingly accountable. So it would appear that more attention is needed to support and help managers with the right knowledge and training to deal with stress in the workplace

With the ongoing increase in workload, organisational change and challenges on sufficient resources, employees are working longer hours and this can lead to an ever increasingly exhausted, inefficient and disengaged workforce. At a time when businesses need more from their staff, they are in fact getting less. Excessive pressure on staff can quickly escalate, causing stress and even triggering anxiety and depression. It is important that employers are aware of this and start to consider employee wellness activity as a necessary business investment.

Employers need to proactively consider how they can relieve these pressures and make resilience a well-known, positive, organisational approach. After all, many employees aren’t aware that people at work can help them through periods of stress. In a survey carried out by CIPD last year, almost half of employees (44 per cent) surveyed said that their organisation did not promote health and wellbeing in the workplace.