A close friend of mine, a Senior Manager within a multinational, told me (with a healthy level of despair), that they are now expected to have their blackberry phones on '24/7' and that answering emails at 11pm is now accepted as normal routine.
In addition to this, to save space, 'hot desking' has also become the norm - all adding to the ever changing face of the corporate office space.
"How are the staff coping with it all?" I asked him, "trying their best" he answered. Unhealthy levels of stress are becoming very much ingrained within the fabric of business. You, to a certain extent, are programmed to deal with change, so why are we not coping?
A study of 104 senior decision makers from financial institutions and investment banks found 95 percent say they are expected to be always available for work with weekends seen as a continuation of the normal working week. They work on average 23 weekends a year, with 50 percent of executives saying weekends have been disturbed by work at least 25 times in the past year.
Complaining about stress makes no difference - just one in seven (14 percent) of those questioned say bosses have taken action when they have complained about pressure at work. The increased obligation to be available is a threat and in truth, is subject to all businesses sectors. The need to continuously outperform your competitors weighs heavily on the shoulders of your workers.
The issues that arise are three fold. There are the obligations to meet standards under HSE requirements, there is the implicit inclusion of stress management as part of a CSR agenda and the responsibility as a business owner to return a health profit/dividend to shareholders.
The Business Council for Sustainable Development defines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as: "The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large".
Directors
· Monitor factors that might suggest there is a problem with stress-related illness in the business, for example, high rates of absenteeism, staff turnover, poor performance, conflict between staff.
· Ensure there is a health and safety policy that addresses the issue of stress in the workplace, including, if appropriate, a stress management strategy.
· Ensure effective risk assessments have been carried out, are monitored regularly and any recommendations are being implemented and adequately funded.
· Plan for stress-related risks when embarking on significant organisational change. Human Resources and Health and Safety managers HR and Health and Safety Managers have an important role in assisting employers to proactively address work related stress, and in doing so reduce the likelihood of employees suffering from work related stress.
Line managers
From a line manager's perspective, legal responsibility rests primarily with the 'employer' who is responsible not only for action or lack of action at board level but also for all those employed by him. Line managers have an important role in assisting employers to proactively address work related stress, and in doing so reduce the likelihood of employees suffering from work related stress.
Cognitive Performance Approach (CPA) UK businesses, lose billions of pounds a year to work placed stress and unfortunately, the challenge is only going to become greater. It can affect many different areas of your business ultimately, wasting time and money that you cannot afford to lose.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) produced the latest government figures showing that 1 in 7 working age people in full time work have a common mental health condition such as stress (hse.gov.uk, 2016), increasing to 1 in 3 in highly stressful job roles. There are the obvious costs to businesses - increased absenteeism, a higher staff turnover however it is the 'hidden' costs such as reduced productivity that can go unaccounted for.
We find that a vast amount of businesses across the UK don't realise just how much they could save by implementing a basic, workable stress reduction strategy into their business that will make changes for the long term.
DRM Group offers an expert solution to your problems. Our unique, specialist lead training and mentoring programme allows you to finally understand exactly why stress is effecting you and your staff and importantly, how to make the lasting change you deserve for you and your business. This product has been created from our clinical studies over a 4 year period. We use the very best of what is available today including neuroscience, psychology, the solution focused approach and our extensive business knowledge, to create a model that is revolutionary in its method.
Three areas of development
1. Expert lead training packages
2. Mentoring scheme
3. Employee Assistance Programme Creating the response
1. Proactive 2. Reactive Expert lead training packages This service is proactive Delivered to you by fully trained experts in their fields, this two day training package is jam packed including 15 separate workbooks giving the attendees actual skills that will allow them to effect real change within their department including theoretical knowledge and practical role play.
Mentoring scheme
This service is both proactive and reactive A vital part of effecting permanent change within your workforce. This one to one mentoring and supervision allows the key members of your company to come together with our trained experts to embed and implement the desired changes necessary for continued growth. Employee Assistance Programme This service is reactive. It is if the need arises that a member of your staff needs individual care outside of the workplace due to long term sickness/absenteeism.
All our therapists are handpicked across the whole of the United Kingdom. Our therapists range from psychiatrists and psychologists through to psychotherapists, hypnotherapists and counsellors. Whatever is required, the individual will be signposted by a qualified mental health practitioner to the correct service thus enabling a faster recovery time, saving you time and money.
How does it work?
Through gathering empirical evidence, we have created the blueprint for permanent change. This is through our understanding of Psychology including the disciplines of evolutionary, behavioural, psychodynamic, person centred and positive. Neuroscience - research taken from over 20 top neuroscientists in the fields of neuroplasticity, behaviour, repetition and change. That will help you recognise the facts of stress and how it affects you today.This, teamed up with the solution focused approach including scaling, solution focused questioning, outcome driven methodology and action taking helping you to implement the changes you need to make in the most simple, sequential and effective ways.
DRM Group's cutting edge research We understand that an individual's stress and their ability to cope has a hugely detrimental effect to themselves and importantly in business, to the rest of the team, department and company. The pressures are palpable in many workplaces today and have almost been 'taken as read' within the business community. When the stress bucket continues to fill… eventually, it's going to overflow. Thankfully it doesn't have to be either a natural or necessary part of business today.
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