Irish companies must deal with the problem of stress in the workplace or else face huge costs in the years ahead. Susan Calnan reports.
Stress is a familiar word, synonymous with the world we live in. In particular, stress in the workplace is a growing problem, which is not only taking its toll on an increasingly world-weary workforce, but is also costing companies significant sums of money every year.
In a study published by the Small Firms Association (SFA) earlier this year, it was reported that small businesses in Ireland lose, on average, €172 million a year through absenteeism - and stress is the leading cause.
The increased incidence of stress is not just an Irish phenomenon. An International Labour Organisation (ILO) Survey from 2000 shows that in the EU, 4 per cent of the gross national product (GNP) goes towards the treatment of mentally ill employees. Furthermore, the World Federation for Mental Health has predicted that, by 2020, the primary cause of absenteeism in the workplace will be stress.
Risk consulting specialist David Hamilton warns that as the US-led "blames and claims" culture takes root in Europe, companies need to be more alert to the problem of stress. He says tackling workplace stress can have benefits for both the employer and the employee.
"Stress-related absenteeism can indicate an employer's exposure to a whole host of risks associated with employee health, well-being and morale," says Hamilton.
"It is one of the key business risks, alongside losing key staff to competitors and supply-chain failures. On that basis, it makes good business sense to get to the root of the problem before stress leads to absenteeism, impacting productivity, client relationships or other employees."
Hamilton adds that unless Irish companies are prepared to admit that stress in the workplace is a serious problem, they could face huge costs in the years ahead. In 1999, for example, a stress claim in Ireland was settled for a six-figure sum, after a former employee was alleged to have suffered two nervous breakdowns, due to an excessive workload.
In another case, a shop assistant gave evidence that she had been bullied and intimidated into leaving her job while pregnant. Her case for constructive dismissal was settled in the Circuit Court in Dublin recently.
Stress consultant Karen Belshaw agrees the cumulative effects of stress can have disastrous consequences, for the employee and the employer. Since she began working as a consultant in 1998, Belshaw says companies have "slowly but surely" started taking the issue of workplace stress seriously.
"When I first started approaching companies in the late 1990s, a lot of the HR managers would say to me that there was no stress in their company or that they didn't like to use the word 'stress'," she recalls. "Now, Irish companies are beginning to sit up and take notice of the stress issue and there's a much greater demand for stress management programmes within the workplace."
Belshaw, who originally worked as a psychologist, runs corporate workshops, which range from one-hour presentations on stress to half-day or full-day workshops. Her aim is to show employees and management how best to deal with stress and to identify the warning signs of stress overload.
"Work-related stress can be defined as the result of demands of the work environment that exceed the employee's ability to cope or to have control over those demands," she says. "When those demands are relentless and the employee feels that they are constantly stressed, this often results in chronic stress build-up, a condition that can have serious physical and psychological consequences for an individual."
Although stress, Belshaw explains, is a natural alarm-state where the body produces adrenaline and cortisol as part of our innate "fight or flight" response mechanism, continuous stress can wreak havoc with a person's health.
On a long-term basis, it compromises our immune system and can result in a whole host of health problems, including upper respiratory tract infections, digestive problems, back problems, headaches and emotional difficulties.
"The bottom line is that you need to interrupt the old pattern of stress and to replace it with everyday coping strategies that the employee can use in a work situation," she says. "These include teaching the client deep breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques, introducing positive daily affirmations and visualisation techniques, as well as getting the client to look at their diet and general lifestyle."
Ultimately, Belshaw says, she encourages employees to "look at the bigger picture" and to define the boundaries between work and their personal life. Because of the pressures of work, these boundaries often become blurred. Employees and their employers need to be more vigilant about dividing their week into work, social and personal time.
Although Irish companies are gradually waking up to the importance of proper "time-out" for the employee, a number of companies have adopted a more proactive approach by introducing some quality 'personal time' within the work environment.
One novel approach has been the introduction of on-site alternative therapies in the workplace, designed to break the routine of daily work-life and to provide employees with a little stress relief.
Alternative therapist Margaret Connolly has been providing on-site massage and reflexology treatments to companies, including McDonald's head office and Eircom call centres, since 2000 and has received a lot of positive feedback.
"It can generate a real buzz within a company and staff are not only more relaxed after a treatment, but there is also a greater feeling of goodwill towards management," says Connolly.
"It's also a great way of introducing people to alternative therapies, which they may not otherwise have had the time or the inclination to try out but from which they can see immediate benefits."
Although she admits some companies are still slow to take to the idea of on-site therapies, Connolly insists that, sooner or later, employers are going to have to introduce some form of stress management programme.
"There is a perception that workplace stress is something that is only experienced by the busy work executive but it's often the person who is sitting in front of a computer all day long or who is working to constant targets in a busy call centre who is experiencing the greatest amount of stress," she adds.
"Also, there is a much greater degree of isolation within the workplace today. Even in larger companies, where there are a lot of people working under one roof, the amount of daily physical contact that employees have with each other is often quite minimal. If you want to talk to your colleague at the other end of the office, for example, you send them an email and, for many employees, lunch break entails a quick sandwich at your desk. This lack of physical contact and sense of isolation can in itself be another cause of stress in the workplace."
Although David Hamilton agrees initiatives such as on-site therapies are beneficial, he believes companies need to address the root of the problem before they can successfully manage stress.
Hamilton identifies three "key stressors" that employees regularly experience in the workplace: increasing demands and pressures that companies put on their employees; the growing pace of change in the workplace; and the lack of control that employees feel they have over their work.
"There needs to be commitment at a senior level in the organisation to dealing with stress and management needs to lead by example," insists Hamilton. "If increased demands, for example, are one of the key stressors, then there must be a visible commitment to look at workloads and an acceptance that employees do have the right to say no to additional work.
"The companies that have established a policy and strategy for managing the risk of stress in the workplace and that have a deeper understanding of its cause and effect will be the real winners. A willingness to address problems early on will result in much more than reduced insurance premiums and a contented workforce."