Work-related stress: a hidden cost on your balance sheet

These statistics make stark reading. In Europe, the cost of lost productivity due to mental health disorders, including sick leave absenteeism, is €136 billion (over £113 billion). In the UK, over two thirds of organisations are unaware of the effectiveness of counselling in treating work-related stress or depression; and just under a quarter (24 per cent) had noticed an increase in stress-related absenteeism due to the economic downturn.

Not many businesses will record lost productivity in great financial detail. Even those that do fail to take account of other losses – invisible costs such as:

• a change in team spirit and co-operation;
• increased tension or resentment;
• a reduction in creativity;
• reduced enthusiasm when trying to win new business; and
• the effect that any or all of these, and other hidden costs, can have on a business’s overall corporate image.

Sometimes, relatively small changes to working practices or training and coaching are all that is needed to have a significant impact on these hidden costs. Workplace counselling, for individuals or teams, also produces huge benefits. But it is often difficult for a company’s decision-makers to see what changes are needed to improve performance, and who could benefit from training or counselling.

Even if a chief executive or line-manager can identify needs and options, recommending them can be uncomfortable. Sometimes, junior staff know what is needed – but, if there is no forum for raising suggestions, or if the corporate culture is not conducive to doing so, their unspoken ideas become lost opportunities. Working with an outsider, a specialist in managing workplace stress, makes change possible. And it makes change happen.

The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) has published a helpful guide to understanding the impact on business of workplace stress.

Every business operates differently; stresses in one workplace are likely to be very different from stresses in another. Success is measured differently, too. We work closely with our clients to develop strategies specific to their business and their people, providing each one with a detailed analysis of the causes of stress in their workplace, achievable recommendations for change, and support as they introduce those changes. If you would like strategic advice on how to reduce stress in your workplace – or if you have employees who are struggling with stress at work – do get in touch.

25/01/2012 | Posted in Training, Team building, Success, Stress, Strategic advice, Productivity, Presenteeism, Performance, Counselling, Coaching, Analysis, Absenteeism,

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