Is your management team making you sick?

It seems that everyone is talking about STRESS, but what is it and what causes it in the workplace?

There are two, well documented, types of stress. The first is positive stress - which results from a well managed, well run, ëpeopleí focussed workplace and can be harnessed to enhance both performance and general well-being. The second is negative stress ñ which results in stress related illnesses or sickness and causes injury to health ñ this is caused by a badly managed workplace in which inadequately developed managers ëbullyí employees in order to hide their own inadequacy or lack of actual competency as managers.

Poor management, in terms of competency, is the number one factor linked to work-place stress. Unreasonable demands placed on staff, line managers failing to adopt good people management practices and their inability to develop clearly defined roles are the cause of 1 in5 people being ëveryí or ëextremelyí stressed by their jobs. That is more than 5 million people in the UK per year and is costing society over 3.7 billion annually as detailed by the UK Health and Safety (HSE) in 1996 .

How much more is it costing us now?

Work related stress has become an even more serious problem for UK companies in 2004. Tackling it effectively will result in significant benefits to organisations. However, few companies are actually doing anything about it. Sure enough, people are more aware of what stress is, but they still continue with their heads in the sand, striving for better profits or performance and pushing or bullying their employees, using poor management techniques, towards unrealistic goals or objectives.

There are many things businesses can do to tackle this effectively and the law actually requires businesses to take action - It is the basic law that employers should provide a safe place to work, safe plant and equipment, a safe system of work and reasonably competent fellow employees ñ Failure to do so may be used in court to prove ënegligenceí ñ by the employer!

The HSE says that employers should: Ensure good management in terms of competence, consistency and two way communications with staff, Ensure management have the right attitudes to stress and seek to understand not just what causes it but how to reduce it.

10 ways to reduce work related stress

1. Carry out a business and management ëHealth Checkí ñ evaluate exactly where your organisation is currently in relation to:
a. Stress ñ Check for tale-tale signs with employees like; sickness, absenteeism, irritability, anger, overtiredness, lazy or lethargic, grumpy, unusually unsociable, poor time keeping, people feeling they are constantly criticized, bullied, intimidated, undermined, not valued, not important, or generally feeling stressed-out, etc.
b. Management Development - does your company offer training either in house or externally ñ not just role specific but, and more importantly, regarding actual ëpeople managementí skills.
c. Environment ñ The surroundings, where you work, the layout of the office, warehouse, factory, etc. and how this helps or hinders performance.
d. Behaviours ñ The specific actions and behaviours managers carry out on a daily basis irrespective of their capability or lack of it.
e. Capability ñ The groups, sets of skills or knowledge managers and employees use in order to carry out their work on a day to day basis.
f. Beliefs ñ The various beliefs managers think as true and use as a basis for their daily actions or inactions.
g. Identity ñ Individual managers and the organisations overall core values and mission in life

2. Decide which aspects from the ëhealth checkí above are out of alignment with particular business aims and or its preferred direction. Identifying specifically which areas are directly resulting in the development of Stress or work related illness.

3. Identify which Key Capabilities or Competencies your management team could benefit from or should have in order for them to perform more effectively within your particular organisation.

4. Measure or review where the existing Management Team are in relation to those particular Key Capabilities or Competencies.

5. Create an individual or Personal development plan for each Manager (and subsequently for each employee) within your organisation.

6. Ensure that a full range of ëmodularí or ëmenuí style development workshops are available either in house or externally, against each of those competencies, in order to develop the managerís particular capability in that area.

7. Roll-out a Development Programme aimed at improving not just the health of your organisation but the capability of your management team to ensure its ongoing success.

8. For further information contact:
Staged Coaching on 01264 360 569 or email info@stagedcoaching.co.uk