Employers Urged to Reduce Pressure on Staff to Avoid Stress Epidemic
Experts have claimed that employers in
Nattasha Freeman, the President of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), says it is vital for employers to assist their staff to cope with the increased workload in these troubled economic times.
Freeman fears that the workplace is becoming increasingly demanding on its workers, and the pressure of losing their jobs not helping matters. There is also a growing mismatch between the increased cost of living and reduced salaries, which has increased the stress level among the workers.
In a recent survey carried out by You Gov for IOSH, it was seen that 44% of workers experience greater pressure in the workplace as a result of the recession, with about 66% of them citing job insecurity as their biggest worry. A different survey had previously revealed that about 13% of the workers are extremely stressed at work.
Freeman also said that work-related stress could be terrible for the workers who may be forced out of work for extended periods. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address this situation by urging companies to do more to avoid stress in the workplace.
In the last year, as many as 13.5 million working days were lost due to work-related stress or depression in the UK. It has been observed that people most prone to work related stress are those working in defence services, health and education sectors or those doing social work. Moreover, about 442,000 people are believed to be suffering from ill health due to work related stress.
Explore posts in the same categories: Best Health, Information Hub, It's Your Business