Workplace
Stressors and Statistics
By: Natalie R.
Manor, CEO
As you make your organizational
and staffing plans for 2010, it would be good to add
“wellness” to the mix, which includes the elimination
of as many stressors in your workplace as possible.
Provided for you below are some statistics on workplace
stress that should be part of your thinking and planning
for success in 2010.
Workplace stress is not
a small irritating item on the agenda for discussion.
Stress has become epidemic in both our personal and
professional lives.
Workplace stress is at
an all-time high. Human resource managers, senior leaders,
and organizational performance experts are all worried
about the stress levels people are experiencing. In
addition, the need for quality stress management is
clearly in demand for the individual and the organization.
Business leaders are looking
at how they can best “care” for their people and help
with stress management. Here are some statistics that
clearly illustrate just how stress is affecting performance
of the employee population in rates not ever experienced
before.
As reported by the NIOSH
– National Institute of Occupation Health and Safety:
-
50%+ of workers reported their job
was “very” or “extremely” stressful;
-
40% view their jobs as the number
one stressor in their lives;
-
Three-fourths of employees believe
that workers have more on-the-job stress than a
generation ago;
-
29% of workers felt “quite a bit”
or “extremely” stressed at work;
-
26% of workers said they were "often”
or “very often” burned out or stressed by their
work"; and
-
Job stress is more strongly associated
with health complaints, along with financial and
family problems.
So what is stress? Stress
sets off an alarm in the brain, which responds by preparing
the body for defensive action. The nervous system is
aroused and hormones are released to sharpen the senses,
quicken the pulse, deepen respiration, and tense the
muscles. This response (sometimes called the “fight
or flight” response) is important because it helps us
defend against threatening situations. The response
is preprogrammed biologically. Everyone responds in
much the same way, regardless of whether the stressful
situation is at work or home.
Short-lived or infrequent
episodes of stress pose little risk. But, when stressful
situations go unresolved, the body is kept in a constant
state of activation. This increases the rate of wear
and tear to biological systems. Ultimately, fatigue
or damage results, and the ability of the body to repair
and defend itself can become seriously compromised.
As a result, the risk of injury or disease escalates.
What is an organization
or leader to do?
One of the first steps
in stress management is to recognize that the symptoms
are real. Higher absenteeism within your workforce
is not necessarily associated with employee’s attitudes.
It could be that the workforce truly is not working
within their strengths and capacity
With all the mergers, downsizing,
and increase in the “speed” (demands) of doing business,
people have to come first. People are what run our businesses…period.
If we do not have a healthy, motivated and supported
workforce, we cannot even plan our business strategies
with confidence especially after the last two years
of global economic news.
As a leader, if you are
stressed then your people are too. Take a walk around
your organization in the next couple of weeks and ask
people how they are. LISTEN to what they have to say.
Your people are the BEST barometer of what steps need
to be taken in order to develop a highly successful
stress management program…and a happy and healthy workforce.
© 2001-2009 Natalie Manor & Associates.
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and success, register for her free bi-weekly articles
at:
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