Female employees 'more stressed than men'

Female employees are more stressed at work than their male counterparts because of pressure caused by the credit crunch, a new survey has found.

Research by Bupa UK Health Insurance revealed that nearly half of the women questioned said they felt stressed in their daily lives compared to four out of ten men.

Similarly, many women are also concerned about finances and the health and wellbeing of both themselves and their families, with one in five saying they lose sleep over it.

Dr Paula Franklin, deputy medical director for Bupa UK Health Insurance, said: Women are certainly bearing the brunt of Britain's stress both at home and in the workplace, and the situation is being worsened by the impact of the credit crunch.

It has also been claimed by Lyn Witheridge, chief executive of The Andrea Adams Trust, that the credit crunch could lead to more employees being bullied at work because staff are under greater levels of strain.

According to ClickAJob Marketing Manager Anders Jensen, employers need to take action and quickly.

Most of the time, stress shows up as staff taking time off because they genuinely don't feel well, he says.

But it's not staff downtime employers need to worry about - it's equilibrium in the workplace and people under-performing because they're literally worried sick.

Managers can do a lot to ease tensions in the office - encourage openness, share problems, lay on expert advice when it's needed, he says.

It's a lot easier to look after staff by showing a little care, than to lose productivity or even say good-bye to them permanently.