To continue reading HRD Connect content we ask that you register your details or login using your email if you are already a subscriber or member of the HRD Connect community. There is no charge to register.
Member benefits:
Unlimited access to all content, free for 12 months
Exclusive invites to roundtables, HRD Collective’s and webinars
Early access to our industry benchmarking reports
Connect with a global network of senior HR leaders.
Stay connected below, or sign in if you’re already a member.
Today is National Stress Day, but it’s something that sadly exists all year round, 24/7. Stress is something that everyone suffers be it silently, evidently or rationally, but like many things in life, there is no guide on how to handle stressful situations – especially at work.
Employees face umpteen pressures every single day, in fact during 2016 and 2017 throughout the UK 12.5 million days were lost due to work-related stress and depression which – evidently this is a national epidemic, and needs to be addressed.
What is causing us to be so incredibly stressed?
Stress is a personal thing, and there can be so many reasons why an individual is suffering from feeling stressed at work. Some of the common factors being; having an unrealistic workload but always feeling overwhelmed without support and finding it difficult to carry out the work expected due to lack of tools and sometimes upskilling employees is needed to let then carry out a role more efficiently.
In the last few years, general workload has been the number one reason for stress at work, seconded by lack of general support and thirdly, which is probably the most disheartening of all is bullying, threatening behaviour and sometimes even violence in the workplace.
Workload and lack of support from leaders
Many of the reasons listed for causing stress all lead to the workload in one way or another, these reasons are; long hours, lack of job security, no job satisfaction which leads to boredom and distractions which in turn leads to more work. According to Unison stress can be difficult to identify because employees do not always want to disclose how they are feeling. There can be other factors involved including the workplace itself (bad facilities, noise, lack of space etc) and of course, salary and low pay.
Being asked to do work that is overwhelming is common if you are good at your job you are asked to do more because you trusted to deliver. Working enviornments are personal, and the way you work is to, if employees cannot work in the way they feel is beneficial this can also have a detrimental impact. There are several ways to determine if employees are overly stressed, some of these being:
A change in regularbehaviour
If the standard of their work changes
An increase in sickness absence
Increase or evident drinking and smoking
Appearing withdrawn and lacking in confidence
Using your initiative – you work with these people day in day out, if something is different, you’ll most probably notice without needing to be told
As an employer, it’s important to understand the legal requirements around and their personal legal obligations towards stress in the workplace and overall improving general working conditions, the CIPD has some helpful information on this subject.
As an employer stress and ensuring the wellbeing of your workforce should be one most important fixtures on your agenda, mainly because the happier people reflects upon overall productivity. Professor Sir Cary Cooper wrote an article for The Guardianin 2011 detailing that managers need to be trained with interpersonal skills and need to be strong communicators to ensure happiness within workplaces.
Bullying in the workplace
Bullying and unreasonable behaviour unfortunately happens all the time, and seen as some people can spend up to 60% of their lives at work, workplaces are commonplace for bullying behaviour. According to The National Bullying Helpline 80% of managers are aware bullying takes place, however, 37% say they have received no form of training to combat it – surely this needed addressing immediately. Being in a managerial position is a multifaceted role, you are solely there to maintain the productivity of employees – which wellbeing falls entirely into.
In 2015, TUC reported from a poll carried out by YouGov that nearly a third of employees have experienced bullying at some point. Specific social groups have been targeted according to recent Acas research, these groups being; women in traditionally male-dominated roles; those with disabilities and long-term health issues, the LGBTQ community and also workers within healthcare.
Acas Chair, Sir Brendan Barber, said: “Anti-bullying workplace policies and managers with good people management skills are essential to deal with the growing problem of bullying.”
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World
5 May 2022
1m
HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...
Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. After the effort of finding the right person, are w...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments
26 May 2022
1m
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...
The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the day-to-day experience of employees, and many leaders...
Whitepaper|Talent Development
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
1m
Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...
This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce
5 May 2022
2m
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...
We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and creative strategies from 4-day working weeks to u...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain
3 March 2022
2m
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...
We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work and have been seeing the impact in global trends in...
Leadership Development
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?
5mDave Ulrich
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...
HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy world, including how to think critically and turn...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making
5 May 2022
2m
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...
Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wider teams. It’s paramount that we remove the self-in...
Digital HR
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report
5mLeah Belsky
Digital transformation investment grows but critic...
Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report provides an update on employee proficiency in a numb...
Employee Engagement
Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement
5mAlara Basul | Sponsored
Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successf...
Remote working has impacted the way we communicate as a workforce, but striking the right balance between creating an engaged workforce and a successf...
Leadership Learnings
WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace
5mAmy Kirkham
WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid wo...
Alison Noon-Jones, VP of People & Culture at Leidos UK & Europe, shares how crucial employee engagement and participation is when shaping the people s...
Leadership Development
Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership
6mTerence Mauri
Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your...
HRD thought leader and Hack Future Lab founder Terence Mauri sets out why the biggest risk to leadership is not turbulence itself, but leading with ye...
Harassment and bullying on any level is not acceptable, it has never been, however now we live in an era of such prevalent transparency what with social media and ever-advancing technology we should be exposing this behaviour in any way possible – not using it as a bullying facilitator.
Cyberbullying policies within workplaces are becoming a regular fixture, and if you as a business don’t have a policy – it could be hindering your workforce and the power they have as a victim of the abuse. These policies should act as the guidance of the use of social media within work and the disciplinary actions that will be taken if it is used to bully members of staff. The policy should have examples of what is deemed unacceptable – this should be created in consultation with employees or trade union representation. Considerations around how far these policies stretch also needs to be considered – what happens outside of work when employees go home, should it cover this also?
Preventing stress
However widescale the issue of stress is, there are always ways of reducing stress and feeling generally calmer about the way you work. Constructive ways to do this are:
Asking for help. Sometimes this is the hardest thing to do – but the more people informed about the stress you face, the higher chance of it being reduced.
Balancing time effectively. Sometimes you may need to work longer hours, if this is regaulr and impacting your personal life – ask to claim the time back, you deserve a good work/life balance.
Don’t be hard on yourself. Most of the time, you are your own worst enemy and normally the only person who expects you to be perfect is in fact, you.
Setting personal goals and rewards. If you set yourself little rewards and goals the task at hand doesn’t seem so incredibly daunting because there is something to look forward to.
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World
5 May 2022
1m
HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...
Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. After the effort of finding the right person, are w...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments
26 May 2022
1m
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...
The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the day-to-day experience of employees, and many leaders...
Whitepaper|Talent Development
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
1m
Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...
This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce
5 May 2022
2m
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...
We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and creative strategies from 4-day working weeks to u...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain
3 March 2022
2m
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...
We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work and have been seeing the impact in global trends in...
Leadership Development
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?
5mDave Ulrich
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...
HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy world, including how to think critically and turn...
Roundtable Report
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making
5 May 2022
2m
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...
Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wider teams. It’s paramount that we remove the self-in...
Digital HR
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report
5mLeah Belsky
Digital transformation investment grows but critic...
Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report provides an update on employee proficiency in a numb...
Employee Engagement
Workplace mental health: Flexibility and support make all the difference
3yZoe Blake
Workplace mental health: Flexibility and support m...
With mental health heavily impacting the UK economy, Zoe Blake, CEO at XenZone discusses how flexibility and support can help tackle this issue. View article
Today, wellbeing is more than just a physical issue. Mental health and work-related stress has a significant impact on engagement both in the UK and o...
Employee Engagement
Why mental health is an integral part of workplace health
6yOwain Thomas
Why mental health is an integral part of workplace...
The importance of mental health is beginning to be more completely understood in the workplace. Employers recognise it can lead to poor performance, i...
Business Transformation
Why BT is overhauling its major change processes to prioritise employee health
6yOwain Thomas
Why BT is overhauling its major change processes t...
Imagine reconfiguring how your business completes mergers, acquisitions and other major change programmes just to improve employee health. Owain Thoma...