Don't admit to being stressed if you want to get ahead

New study reveals that stress is still a taboo subject in today's workplace Despite the huge costs and high risks associated with work-related stress, many working environments are still chiefly characterised by high pressure and heavy workloads. What's more, a susceptibility to stress is very much considered to be a weakness that employees cannot afford to highlight without fear of repercussions.

These are some of the key findings from a new research study - Hot under the collar: how stress is impacting on the 21st century business environment - recently completed by the specialist HR consultancy Cubiks. The specific
findings are summarised below:

* Complaining of stress will damage your career prospects - 76% of survey respondents thought that their career prospects would be damaged if they complained of stress, and managers confirmed that they are right to think this. 79% of managers said they would be less likely to
employ a candidate if they suspected that they were prone to stress and 87% would be less likely to promote an existing employee if they had doubts over their ability to handle stress

* Stress levels are rising and will get higher - One in four said that their average stress levels at work were either high or very high and almost half expect these levels to increase in the next 12 months

* The economic downturn is influencing stress levels - Only 9% considered poor compensation and benefits to be a major concern, which indicates that those who have not been affected by redundancy or restructuring are grateful to be in employment. Job insecurity was stated as being a cause of stress for almost half of all respondents.

* It's not just emotive tasks such as dismissing staff or announcing redundancies that cause stress for managers - A large proportion of managers said that core people management tasks such as handling performance appraisals or conducting the recruitment interview were a
significant source of stress for them. This suggests that managers are not receiving the training needed to perform in their role

* Few organisations provide facilities for stressed employees - Only one third (34%) of respondents said that stress was recognised as an issue in their workplace and just 31% of respondents said that personal counselling services were available to them. Fewer still (27%) said that
their organisation has any formal process for handling grievances or concerns relating to stress.

Commenting on the report, Barry Spence, CEO of Cubiks, said:
It has been well established for some time now that high employee stress levels can have a major negative impact on both individual and organisational performance. Given that this is the case, I'm surprised that so many employers seem to be taking such a cavalier attitude to the way stress is perceived and handled in their workplace.

Some pressure can, of course, play an important motivational role and actually serve to enhance productivity. However, when it isn't managed carefully it can quickly spiral out of control leading to increased
absenteeism, higher rates of staff turnover, early retirements and, in the worst cases, expensive litigation. Stress can affect all of us so employees shouldn't be made to feel as if they should suffer in silence.

I can only conclude from these findings that employers either don't yet fully appreciate the risks associated with stress or are taking a calculated gamble that stress won't affect them. Whatever the case, the
situation needs to be remedied. Today, management needs to know where stress exists in an organisation and how it is manifesting itself. They should be open to what a stress audit might find as this could turn out to be
surprisingly positive.

Although 49% of respondents did think that their line-manager would be concerned or sympathetic if they complained of stress, a quarter (24%) believed that their line managers would become irritated or annoyed if they
raised stress as an issue. Almost half said that their relationship with their superiors was a considerable or major cause of concern for them and one in four (23%) complained that they were suffering from harassment or
bullying.

Mr Spence continues:
There is a lot of evidence in this survey to suggest that people across industry are being asked to take on responsibility for managing restructuring projects, but are not being equipped to handle this aspect of their role. Perhaps they are not being given the training to make this
important step-up, or maybe they are having difficulty in pin-pointing what they need to do and how they should adapt to manage change. Whatever the case, it is worrying to see so many people becoming anxious over the more basic tasks such as interviewing or managing development needs. These are core managerial skills, and without them both they and their teams will suffer.

Matt Dean, employment lawyer and Head of Employment Law Training (ELT) at international law firm Simmons & Simmons, comments:
Providing counselling for employees is an important tool in managing stress. Employers have a duty to provide a safe working environment. The Court of Appeal last year indicated that employers offering a confidential counselling service with appropriate referrals are unlikely to be in breach of duty.

Even with counselling, employers cannot afford to ignore warning signs that an employee is suffering stress.
Training for managers in how to recognise warning signs and how to manage this issue is key to limit legal liability and improve morale.