Aviva recently issued a survey as part of the new Aviva Workplace Health Index which found that there is a disparity between employers and employees in terms of the overall work sentiment – with 64% of employers positive compared to 53% negativity among employees.

74% of employees who responded (463 employees) stated that the workplace has become increasingly stressful, with 72% feeling that a pressurised environment has now become the norm.

44% of employers (out of 350 business managers/owners) say they feel quite stressed, however they have become more creative and proactive in addressing personal workplace wellness issues.

Both employers and employees strongly agreed that employee health and wellbeing has a direct effect on productivity, however Professor Ciaran O’Boyle of RCSI noted that it was surprising that over half the employers sampled (51%) have no supports in place for helping employees with stress in the workplace.

Another major result from the survey found that employees are working longer hours than they are paid for,  and more than half of respondents said that they work through their lunchbreaks.

Presenteeism is also emerging as a key health issue in the workplace – where people are turning up for work but, due to illness, are not fully functioning. Presenteeism is believed to cut a worker’s productivity by one-third or more and appears to be a more costly problem than absenteeism, according to the Harvard Business Review.