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Doctors in the UK are reporting a dramatic rise in
天波轮 发表于 2012/7/15 15:29:00 |
Doctors in the UK are reporting a dramatic rise in anxiety and dejection, which means a record number of the workforce being signed off work, some for exyended periods. And England is just an instance of a trend that is repeated across the developed world. Victoria Fletcher, Health Editor of the Daily Mirror revealed that a survey of over 250 health professionals found that stress is the most likely cause of ill health.
Whilst 76% of businesses agree, doctors are blaming the increase on companies for not taking the mental health of their employees seriously. That's because employee health and well being is only fourth on the list of priorities of most companies. It's behind attracting staff, keeping them motivated and complying with legislation. There seems to be a fine line between keeping an workforce motivated and applying just too much pressure. This delicate balance was recognized by Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, when he said, "Pressure is part and parcel of all work and helps to keep us motivated. But excessive pressure can lead to anxiety which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill."
Once this 'motivation/pressure' threshold has been reached staff begin to show symptoms of tension. This causes performance levels to decrease and as a result more pressure is applied. It can then become a vicious circle, spiralling down until something gives. And give it does. One in three doctors has noticed an increase in people asking to be signed off for more than seven days because of anxiety related problems. The CBI revealed that the average public sector worker takes 8.5 days off sick every year ay a cost of ?13 billion a year. That's a staggering ?531 per employee and it's the employer that's picking up the tab. The problem is that the survey revealed that 85% of employers believe that "busy GP's are too ready to sign off patients as sick" and that "doctors sign off people far too quickly".
To combat the cost of ?531 per person year it's not surprising the many companies are investing in their own solutions. Although expensive, some now have therapists on their payroll, whose purpose is to reduce tension and reduce absenteeism. Many have opted to provide employees with anxiety reduction CD's. Just Google tension, talking cure, talking treatment or online talking therapy and your find sites like talkingcures.org offering tension reducing mp3 downloads that employees can listen to should they they feel the need. There is also a new approach to help employers work with their employees to reduce the risks from work-related worry, available from the Health and Safety Executive. This self-help approach to improve employee's health has approval from the top level of government, Jane Kennedy, Minister for Work, said, "This is a very practical instance of what can be done to demonstrate how easy it can be to reduce the causes of workplace worry."
Getting the motivation/pressure balance right has a profound effect on the bottom line profits of the business. So, apart from promoting staff health and well-being, as an business it makes good financial sense to provide your staff some form of help to redress the balance. And as a staff member, isn't it time to take control of your working environment and reduce stress levels so that you can be motivated and enjoy work once more?
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