Work related stress

Industry encouraged to address stress and addiction in the work place to satisfy social responsibility and maximise ROI

A recent report estimates that nearly 10% of the UKís gross national product (GNP) is lost each year due to work-related stress1 and figures show that almost 13 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2003/42 . Counselling experience shows that stress and trauma can trigger underlying mental health issues that may impact upon an employeesí well-being and performance at work. What are employers doing to address this brain and profit drain?

Two leading organisations, Life Works, the mental health and addiction treatment group, and SHL, the world leader in objective assessment, are to host a conference, Treating the Impaired Professional, to assist employers with the identification and management of work-related stress and professional derailment.

Professional derailment refers to the under-performance of senior professionals in industry as a result of mental health issues triggered by work-related stress, such as depression, compulsive behaviour and addiction.

Treating the Impaired Professional takes place on 15.09.05 and features a line-up of leading experts on mental health counselling and treatment, drug and alcohol policy, objective assessment and employment and disability law.

Steven Lanzet, Life Worksí clinical director, comments, Less than 10% of companies have a policy to tackle stress1, yet the pressures and demands of 21st century industry are intense. Alcohol and drug addiction has emerged as a significant problem for 10-15% of those in upper management and at the executive level of organisations3.

He continues, Addictive disorders are among the most prevalent, costly and least intervened problems in the workplace today4. The aim of the conference is to encourage industry to sit down and think about the policies they have in place to help their top level employees who may be facing high levels of pressure and stress and could be on the road to derailment.

Companies invest a huge amount of money in recruiting and training senior professionals. However, without effective procedures to identify and treat those who may be facing derailment, employers are unlikely to obtain a satisfactory return on investment. Steven comments, The good news is that burnt-out professionals respond well to intervention and treatment. The key is identifying an individual facing derailment early on.

SHLís experience highlights how a combination of personality characteristics may suggest potential difficulty and derailment. Eugene Burke, a leading occupational psychologist at SHL comments, The use of personality assessments in industry is already well established, but these usually focus on the íbright-sideí aspects of an individualís personality - those things that can be used to predict success in a role. However, this same data could provide useful insights into what could be termed the ídark-sideí - things that may work against the success and cause problems for the individual and the organisation. These derailment factors could, if not managed, prevent individuals from fulfilling their potential.

He concludes, Employers need to consider developing personalised coping strategies with their employees that limit the impact of dark-side aspects of personality and maximise the benefits of bright-side aspects. In the long-term, this will be beneficial for all involved.

Contact Beth Bacchus at Life Works on 01483 757 572 for specific conference enquiries.

www.shl.com