Weíre not stressed out by stress, say HR professionals

Latest research has found that HR professionals consider reducing stress in the workplace to be the least important HR issue. The survey, which was conducted amongst 129 attendees at HSA seminars in 2005, found that meeting UK health and safety legislation and promoting employee wellbeing came out as the top concerns within the profession, with stress at the bottom.

ìStress is estimated to cause over 13 million sick days each year, and costs employers a staggering 3.7 billion*. Despite this, it appears that the issue has still not moved up the HR agenda,î comments Suzanne Clarkson, Head of Corporate Marketing at HSA. ìWe are concerned that either companies are still unaware that stress is such a serious problem, or they do not know there are solutions available that could help.î

In an effort to highlight the key issues to companies and gain further feedback, HSA has produced a mailing focussing on the theme of stress. This will be sent to around 35,000 HR professionals during February and March, and includes a competition to win 100 free massages for the winning company. The information contained within the mailing can also be viewed and the competition entered by visiting www.workwell.uk.net*.

ìOur research also found that only 32% of those surveyed offered any form of employee assistance programme and only 42% provided face to face counselling as a way of managing stress,î continues Suzanne. ìWe hope this mailing will help inform companies about the importance of this issue. Implementing an effective healthcare solution such as HSAís WorkWell can not only help manage employee stress, but it also addresses the other key concerns for the industry, as highlighted in the survey, such as managing absence and promoting employee wellbeing.î

WorkWell forms part of a suite of healthcare solutions available to companies from leading healthcare provider HSA. WorkWell contains key benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme and face-to-face counselling sessions, which help employers meet their duty of care requirements with regards to stress. It also includes a range of everyday healthcare benefits, which can be used regularly and therefore valued by the employee.

For further information on the range of corporate healthcare products available from HSA, contact us on 0800 072 5850, email sales@hsa.co.uk or visit: