Managing Pressure to Achieve Excellence

Motivational Speaker for International Conferences / Seminars. Top Team Briefings. Stress Management Training. Nationwide Employee Counselling team. High Performance Executive Coaching. Post Trauma Support & Management. Workplace Bullying.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

ITN - A quarter 'too scared' to take lunch break

ITN - A quarter 'too scared' to take lunch break

Stress and bullying are endemic in the workplace. It is time for UK plc to stop playing lip service to these serious issues and look at how they can best reduce workplace stress and eliminate workplace bullying

Edinburgh Evening News - Opinion - It's a real battle to take on the bullies

Edinburgh Evening News - Opinion - It's a real battle to take on the bullies
Workplace bullying is being exposed! November 7th is ban Bulling at Work day. Indormation available from Andrea Adams Trust who are spearheading the day

Friday, September 16, 2005

Third of directors fall victim to bullying

Telegraph | Money | Third of directors fall victim to bullying
Workplace Bullying is alive and well in the boardroom so says this interesting article. Ban Bullying at Work is set for 7th November 2005. Spearheaded by the Andrea Adams Trust, it is hoped that media coverage will raise awarenes on the serious effects that bullying has on employees and comanies alike

Monday, September 12, 2005

Are You Being Bullied

Synopsis
According to the results of a study presented at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society in April 2005, more than one in eight people admit to being bullied at work, and ganging up against the boss - often a middle manager - is on the increase. But what are ‘bullying behaviours’, and how can you tell if you yourself are being bullied? Leading stress management guru Carole Spiers provides the answers.

Are you being bullied?
According to the results of a study presented at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society in April 2005, more than one in eight people admit to being bullied at work, and ganging up against the boss - often a middle manager - is on the increase. But what are ‘bullying behaviours’, and how can you tell if you yourself are being bullied?

According to the trade union AMICUS in their publication ’Bullying at work: How to tackle it’, the type of workplaces where bullying is more prevalent are those where one or more of the following factors exist:
• An extremely competitive environment
• Fear of redundancy or downsizing
• Fear for one’s position of employment
• A culture of promoting oneself by putting colleagues down
• Envy among colleagues
• An authoritarian style of management and supervision
• Frequent organisational change and uncertainty
• Little or no participation in issues affecting the workplace
• Lack of training
• De-skilling
• No respect for others and/or appreciation of their views
• Poor working relationships in general
• No clear published and accepted codes of conduct
• Excessive workloads and demands on people
• Impossible targets or deadlines
• No procedures or policies for resolving problems

Being bullied is an isolating experience. It tends not to be openly discussed in case this increases the risk of further ill-treatment, and because the ‘target’ often feels ashamed to discuss it with colleagues in case their professional credibility is called into question. Even the mildest form of intimidation may be very disturbing, and, as this intensifies over time, the effect on the victim can be severe.

Early warning signs of being bullied include:
• ‘This relationship is different to anything I’ve experienced before’
• ‘I’m persistently got at for no good reason’
• ‘My work is forever being criticised, even though I know my standards haven’t slipped’
• ‘I’m beginning to question my own ability’
• ‘I wonder if all these mistakes are really my own fault’
• ‘My supervisor is overbearing and constantly rude’
• ‘My boss is constantly ridiculing me in front of my team’
• ‘I don’t want to go into work anymore. It’s making me ill’

It’s not unusual to hear complaints from individuals that their professional competence has been called into question by their colleagues or managers. These attacks might be overt actions such as a public ‘dressing down’ for work errors, or covert behaviour such as circulating rumours or gossip that appear to question an individual’s ability. One difficult area is where this includes ‘non-action’ - for example not giving acknowledgement and/or approval for a good piece of work, or not asking for an opinion from the person who is clearly best qualified to provide that input. These areas are also very difficult for the targets of bullying to raise, as they question their own validity.

Examples of bullying behaviour
Bullies will typically:
• Make life at work constantly difficult for their targets
• Make unreasonable demands: constantly criticising
• Insist that their way of carrying out tasks is the only way
• Shout at victims, publicly, in order to get things done
• Give instructions and then subsequently change them for no apparent reason
• Allocate tasks which they know the person is incapable of achieving
• Refuse to delegate when appropriate
• Humiliate their targets in front of others
• Block promotion, refuse to give fair appraisals or refuse to endorse pay increases or bonus awards
• Exclude the victim from meetings or other legitimate business activities
• Constantly make attacks on the professionalism or personal qualities of their targets

Personal attacks
In addition to attacking a person’s work role, bullying behaviour may also include actions and statements that are intended to undermine them personally, for example where someone has an interest that is easy to ridicule; or by making comments related to physical characteristics such as their height, weight, clothes or hairstyle – all of which are clearly inappropriate in a work environment and can undermine the person’s standing at work.

Isolation
Social isolation and its effects should not be underestimated. It is reminiscent of the playground and can be just as miserable and humiliating for adults as it is for children (if not more so as it can jeopardise their livelihood). Enforced social isolation of an individual within a group also requires enormous courage for any one group member to break ranks with their ‘bullying’ colleagues and risk the consequent ridicule and rejection. Once these situations happen, for whatever reason, they are typically very hard to stop.

Overwork
Overwork, in a bullying sense, involves the imposition of highly unrealistic deadlines where people are effectively deliberately ‘set up’ to fail. This may also appear as ‘micro management’, where every dot and comma, bolt, nut and screw is checked so often that incompetence or inability is deliberately implied.

Bullying by subordinates
Bullying by subordinates can take many forms such as not delivering messages, hiding notes, changing documents, excluding people from social groups, or not delivering papers for meetings on time – all of which are designed to make the bullied manager seem incompetent.

Destabilisation
People who are deliberately ‘destabilised’ feel that they have lost control over their work environment and, as a result, have ceased to be able to carry out their duties in a relaxed manner without being threatened. Instead they live from day to day as they fight to regain a position of normality, often unsuccessfully.

Workplace behaviour such as obvious inconsistencies in the allocation of rewards, unequal enforcement of working standards, withholding privileges, changing objectives without warning, or breaking agreements, also invariably leads to extreme discomfort for the individual(s) concerned.

So to summarise, bullying behaviour includes overt action such as yelling and shouting; covert action such as rumour and gossip; non-action such as deliberately failing to include individuals in discussions; or a more general inaction that adversely impacts on the victim’s situation (or security) at work – all of which can be extremely distressing for the individual(s) involved, and counterproductive for their employer.

About The Author

Carole Spiers combines three roles of broadcaster, journalist and corporate manager in the challenging field of stress management and employee wellbeing.

With 20 years as a top industry guru on stress management and wellbeing, Carole’s energy and dynamism extends to providing professional comment to media including television (BBC, ITV, Sky, NBC, CNN), print (Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, trade and professional journals) and countless radio interviews.

A successful entrepreneur herself, Carole is the founder and MD of the Carole Spiers Group – a dynamic, niche consultancy, and the UK’s No. 1 provider of Stress Management and Employee Wellbeing from the shop floor to the Boardroom

A former Chairperson of the International Stress Management AssociationUK, Carole was instrumental in establishing National Stress Awareness Day™. Carole acts as an Expert Witness on Stress Risk Assessment before the Courts, and is the author of Tolley’s ‘Managing Stress in the Workplace’.

Further information

Contact us to receive our FREE Special report ‘The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Stress’ please email sb@carolespiersgroup.com

For more information on CSG’S services, including in-house and public training, stress policy, stress audit, risk assessment, attendance management, rehabilitation support, post trauma support, mediation, impartial investigations, expert witness, nationwide employee counselling team, coaching and mentoring services, please contact us:

Carole Spiers Group
International Stress Management & Employee Wellbeing Consultancy
Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore, Middlesex. HA7 3QR
Tel: +44(0) 20 8954 1593 Fax: +44(0) 20 8907 9290
Email: info@carolespiersgroup.com www.carolespiersgroup.com

All You Need To Know About Work Related Stress

November 2004’s publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s new Management Standards for work-related stress has focused the minds of many organisations on this increasingly serious workplace hazard. But what are the differences between pressure and stress? What are the telltale signs and symptoms? What’s the current legal position? And what role should managers be playing in helping to combat work-related stress? Leading stress management guru Carole Spiers provides the answers.

All you need to know about work-related stress
November 2004’s publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s new Management Standards for work-related stress has focused the minds of many organisations on this increasingly serious workplace hazard. But what are the differences between pressure and stress? What are the telltale signs and symptoms? What’s the current legal position? And what role should managers be playing in helping to combat work-related stress?

Pressure or stress?
Many people are confused about what stress is, and in particular the difference between pressure and stress:
• Pressure is the stimulation and challenge we need to achieve job satisfaction and self-esteem.
• Stress is a reaction to continued excessive pressure or responsibility when we feel inadequate and unable to cope.

Ever since prehistoric times, the ‘stress response’ has been a mechanism that our bodies have used to help us cope with danger. As soon as we’re aware that something is threatening us, our brain sends messages to our nervous system to either get ready to stand and fight, or run away. Unfortunately, whereas in Stone Age times we would usually have time to recover from the life or death encounters that triggered the response, in the modern world we’re confronted with a continuous stream of ‘stressors’ that our bodies perceive as threats, and react to accordingly.

Today, these could include financial pressures, fear of redundancy, overwork, deadline pressures or an important business presentation. The constant, ongoing pressure resulting from these stressors is different to the more immediate dangers that our stress response was designed to cope with. And it’s at the point at which our bodies cannot recover from these pressures that we can begin to experience stress.

The scale of the problem
According to the latest figures from the HSE:
• about half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill
• up to 5 million people in the UK feel ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressed by their work
• work-related stress costs society about £3.7 billion every year (1995/6 prices)

Telltale signs and symptoms
Depending on the individual, stress can manifest itself in many different ways. The table provides a summary some of the most common physical, psychological and behavioural reactions.

Typical Stress Reactions
Physical Psychological Behavioural
Palpitations, awareness of heart beating, chest pains Mood swings Susceptibility to accidents
Diarrhoea, constipation, flatulence Panic attacks Changes in eating habits
Indigestion Morbid thoughts Increased smoking
Loss of libido Low self-esteem Restlessness, hyperactivity, foot tapping
Muscle tension Irritability Over-dependence on drugs and/or alcohol
Menstrual problems Feeling of helplessness Changes in sleep patterns
Tiredness Impatience Out of character behaviour
Breathlessness Anxiety Voluntary withdrawal from supportive relationships
Sweating Crying Disregard for personal appearance
Tightness in the chest Cynicism Loss of confidence

Skin and scalp irritation, eczema and psoriasis Withdrawal into daydreams Sullen attitude
Increased susceptibility to allergies Intrusive thoughts or images Clenched fists
Frequent colds, flu or other infections Nightmares Obsessive mannerisms
Rapid weight gain or loss Suicidal feelings Increased absence from work
Backache, neck pain Paranoid thinking Aggressiveness
Migraines and tension headaches Guilt Poor time management

The current legal position
As well as acting as an unnecessary drain on the economy, workplace stress is also the subject of increasing government legislation:
• Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974) lays out the broad principles of an employer’s ‘duty of care’ to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, the health (including mental health), safety and welfare of all employees whilst at work, and to create safe and healthy working systems. This general duty of care includes pre-emptive action to prevent and control work-related stress.
• Many employers do not realise that since the publication of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (1999), all organisations with five or more employees have also had a legal duty to conduct regular risk assessments of workplace hazards, including psychosocial hazards such as stress. These assessments should then be used to identify and either avoid or reduce such hazards.
• On 3 November 2004, the HSE published its new Management Standards for work-related stress - designed to help ensure that organisations address key aspects of workplace stress (or ‘risk factors’) including demands, control, support, relationships, role and change.
• While the Standards themselves do not impose a legal duty on organisations, breach of the applicable regulations could lead to criminal prosecution, or claims for compensation through the civil courts.

So what can managers do?
The Management Standards are all about highlighting potential areas of stress, and encouraging employers to take action to reduce these – with the goal of matching the performance of the top 20% of organisations that are already doing this. If you think your organisation may be experiencing problems due to workplace stress, it will therefore need to take a proactive approach to tackling it:
• Many organisations face deadline pressures or sudden changes in work demands, and employees need the necessary training and experience to meet the ever-increasing demands made on them. Examples include training in resilience, time management, communication skills, and - for managers in particular - stress awareness enabling them to recognise the early warning signs of stress in themselves and others.
• Where employees have been forced to take time away from work as a result of stress, their rehabilitation back to work needs to be carefully managed.
• For those employees who require specialist support, Employee Assistance Programmes and counselling services are a vital component in employee wellbeing.
• Training in communication (and particularly active listening) skills is essential to help ensure that managers are aware of their team members’ problems and in a position to offer early interventions to resolve these.

Ultimately, reducing workplace stress is largely a matter of common sense and good management practice, and simply requires employers and employees to work together for the common good. Both share a joint responsibility for reducing stress – which, when this is successful, can help employees to enjoy their work more, and businesses to thrive as a result.

About The Author
Carole Spiers combines three roles of broadcaster, journalist and corporate manager in the challenging field of stress management and employee wellbeing.

With 20 years as a top industry guru on stress management and wellbeing, Carole’s energy and dynamism extends to providing professional comment to media including television (BBC, ITV, Sky, NBC, CNN), print (Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, trade and professional journals) and countless radio interviews.

A successful entrepreneur herself, Carole is the founder and MD of the Carole Spiers Group – a dynamic, niche consultancy, and the UK’s No. 1 provider of Stress Management and Employee Wellbeing from the shop floor to the Boardroom

A former Chairperson of the International Stress Management AssociationUK, Carole was instrumental in establishing National Stress Awareness Day™. Carole acts as an Expert Witness on Stress Risk Assessment before the Courts, and is the author of Tolley’s ‘Managing Stress in the Workplace’.

Further information

Contact us to receive our FREE Special report ‘The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Stress’ please email sb@carolespiersgroup.com

For more information on CSG’S services, including in-house and public training, stress policy, stress audit, risk assessment, attendance management, rehabilitation support, post trauma support, mediation, impartial investigations, expert witness, nationwide employee counselling team, coaching and mentoring services, please contact us:

Carole Spiers Group
International Stress Management & Employee Wellbeing Consultancy
Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore, Middlesex. HA7 3QR
Tel: +44(0) 20 8954 1593 Fax: +44(0) 20 8907 9290
Email: info@carolespiersgroup.com www.carolespiersgroup.com

All You Need To Know About Work Related Stress

Synopsis
November 2004’s publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s new Management Standards for work-related stress has focused the minds of many organisations on this increasingly serious workplace hazard. But what are the differences between pressure and stress? What are the telltale signs and symptoms? What’s the current legal position? And what role should managers be playing in helping to combat work-related stress? Leading stress management guru Carole Spiers provides the answers.

All you need to know about work-related stress
November 2004’s publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s new Management Standards for work-related stress has focused the minds of many organisations on this increasingly serious workplace hazard. But what are the differences between pressure and stress? What are the telltale signs and symptoms? What’s the current legal position? And what role should managers be playing in helping to combat work-related stress?

Pressure or stress?
Many people are confused about what stress is, and in particular the difference between pressure and stress:
• Pressure is the stimulation and challenge we need to achieve job satisfaction and self-esteem.
• Stress is a reaction to continued excessive pressure or responsibility when we feel inadequate and unable to cope.

Ever since prehistoric times, the ‘stress response’ has been a mechanism that our bodies have used to help us cope with danger. As soon as we’re aware that something is threatening us, our brain sends messages to our nervous system to either get ready to stand and fight, or run away. Unfortunately, whereas in Stone Age times we would usually have time to recover from the life or death encounters that triggered the response, in the modern world we’re confronted with a continuous stream of ‘stressors’ that our bodies perceive as threats, and react to accordingly.

Today, these could include financial pressures, fear of redundancy, overwork, deadline pressures or an important business presentation. The constant, ongoing pressure resulting from these stressors is different to the more immediate dangers that our stress response was designed to cope with. And it’s at the point at which our bodies cannot recover from these pressures that we can begin to experience stress.

The scale of the problem
According to the latest figures from the HSE:
• about half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill
• up to 5 million people in the UK feel ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressed by their work
• work-related stress costs society about £3.7 billion every year (1995/6 prices)

Telltale signs and symptoms
Depending on the individual, stress can manifest itself in many different ways. The table provides a summary some of the most common physical, psychological and behavioural reactions.

Typical Stress Reactions
Physical Psychological Behavioural
Palpitations, awareness of heart beating, chest pains Mood swings Susceptibility to accidents
Diarrhoea, constipation, flatulence Panic attacks Changes in eating habits
Indigestion Morbid thoughts Increased smoking
Loss of libido Low self-esteem Restlessness, hyperactivity, foot tapping
Muscle tension Irritability Over-dependence on drugs and/or alcohol
Menstrual problems Feeling of helplessness Changes in sleep patterns
Tiredness Impatience Out of character behaviour
Breathlessness Anxiety Voluntary withdrawal from supportive relationships
Sweating Crying Disregard for personal appearance
Tightness in the chest Cynicism Loss of confidence

Skin and scalp irritation, eczema and psoriasis Withdrawal into daydreams Sullen attitude
Increased susceptibility to allergies Intrusive thoughts or images Clenched fists
Frequent colds, flu or other infections Nightmares Obsessive mannerisms
Rapid weight gain or loss Suicidal feelings Increased absence from work
Backache, neck pain Paranoid thinking Aggressiveness
Migraines and tension headaches Guilt Poor time management

The current legal position
As well as acting as an unnecessary drain on the economy, workplace stress is also the subject of increasing government legislation:
• Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974) lays out the broad principles of an employer’s ‘duty of care’ to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, the health (including mental health), safety and welfare of all employees whilst at work, and to create safe and healthy working systems. This general duty of care includes pre-emptive action to prevent and control work-related stress.
• Many employers do not realise that since the publication of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (1999), all organisations with five or more employees have also had a legal duty to conduct regular risk assessments of workplace hazards, including psychosocial hazards such as stress. These assessments should then be used to identify and either avoid or reduce such hazards.
• On 3 November 2004, the HSE published its new Management Standards for work-related stress - designed to help ensure that organisations address key aspects of workplace stress (or ‘risk factors’) including demands, control, support, relationships, role and change.
• While the Standards themselves do not impose a legal duty on organisations, breach of the applicable regulations could lead to criminal prosecution, or claims for compensation through the civil courts.

So what can managers do?
The Management Standards are all about highlighting potential areas of stress, and encouraging employers to take action to reduce these – with the goal of matching the performance of the top 20% of organisations that are already doing this. If you think your organisation may be experiencing problems due to workplace stress, it will therefore need to take a proactive approach to tackling it:
• Many organisations face deadline pressures or sudden changes in work demands, and employees need the necessary training and experience to meet the ever-increasing demands made on them. Examples include training in resilience, time management, communication skills, and - for managers in particular - stress awareness enabling them to recognise the early warning signs of stress in themselves and others.
• Where employees have been forced to take time away from work as a result of stress, their rehabilitation back to work needs to be carefully managed.
• For those employees who require specialist support, Employee Assistance Programmes and counselling services are a vital component in employee wellbeing.
• Training in communication (and particularly active listening) skills is essential to help ensure that managers are aware of their team members’ problems and in a position to offer early interventions to resolve these.

Ultimately, reducing workplace stress is largely a matter of common sense and good management practice, and simply requires employers and employees to work together for the common good. Both share a joint responsibility for reducing stress – which, when this is successful, can help employees to enjoy their work more, and businesses to thrive as a result.

About The Author
Carole Spiers combines three roles of broadcaster, journalist and corporate manager in the challenging field of stress management and employee wellbeing.

With 20 years as a top industry guru on stress management and wellbeing, Carole’s energy and dynamism extends to providing professional comment to media including television (BBC, ITV, Sky, NBC, CNN), print (Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, trade and professional journals) and countless radio interviews.

A successful entrepreneur herself, Carole is the founder and MD of the Carole Spiers Group – a dynamic, niche consultancy, and the UK’s No. 1 provider of Stress Management and Employee Wellbeing from the shop floor to the Boardroom

A former Chairperson of the International Stress Management AssociationUK, Carole was instrumental in establishing National Stress Awareness Day™. Carole acts as an Expert Witness on Stress Risk Assessment before the Courts, and is the author of Tolley’s ‘Managing Stress in the Workplace’.

Further information

Contact us to receive our FREE Special report ‘The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Stress’ please email sb@carolespiersgroup.com

For more information on CSG’S services, including in-house and public training, stress policy, stress audit, risk assessment, attendance management, rehabilitation support, post trauma support, mediation, impartial investigations, expert witness, nationwide employee counselling team, coaching and mentoring services, please contact us:

Carole Spiers Group
International Stress Management & Employee Wellbeing Consultancy
Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore, Middlesex. HA7 3QR
Tel: +44(0) 20 8954 1593 Fax: +44(0) 20 8907 9290
Email: info@carolespiersgroup.com www.carolespiersgroup.com

Absence Management

Synopsis

With sickness absence reportedly costing employers an average of £522 per employee per year (or an average of 10 lost working days), there are good reasons to look closely at the root causes of absenteeism and, where possible, provide early intervention to support employees in regaining their health. But what are the differences between short-term and long-term absence, and how can you manage absence effectively? Leading stress management guru Carole Spiers provides the answers.

Absent without leave - managing absence in the workplace
According to the Institute of Psychiatry (April 2005), for the first time, stress, anxiety and depression have overtaken physical ailments as the most common cause of long-term absence from work. With sickness absence reportedly costing employers an average of £522 per employee per year (or an average of 10 lost working days), there are good reasons to look closely at the root causes of absenteeism and, where possible, provide early intervention to support employees in regaining their health.

Short-term absence
Short-term absence is usually defined as a period of absence of less than ten consecutive working days, and will usually be as a result of the employee suffering from a minor medical condition.

Persistent short-term sickness is one of the most common problems employers have to face. Arranging temporary cover when an employee is off sick may not always be viable, and is often both disruptive and costly. Many employers therefore adopt the approach of persuading existing employees to cover for absentees on an ad hoc basis.

While this may work in the short term, when applied over longer periods it puts pressure on existing staff, as they struggle to do their own work in addition to that of an absent colleague. The effect of this on staff morale can be damaging and counterproductive. Staff frequently feel resentful if required to do two jobs - often within the same timescale and for no extra remuneration. The situation may be further compounded when the absentee employee returns to work and is met with resentment from those who have had to cover for them during their absence.

Long-term absence
Long-term absence is defined as any period of absence in excess of ten consecutive working days. Such absence - particularly where it is stress-related - presents a different problem for employers. In the short-term they may feel able to cover an absence internally, whereas in the longer term it may be necessary to recruit temporary staff who will normally require induction training and may not necessarily fit in well with existing teams. Temporary staff will also increase the salaries and wages bill, as well as involving the payment of costly agency fees.

After a long-term absence, a phased return to work will most certainly be recommended, with possible training needed to support the employee ‘back into work’. Where rehabilitation is not an option, the costs of premature retirement due to ill-health will also need to be taken into account. Stress therefore has a quantifiable impact not only on health, safety and individual well being, but on the operational and financial performance of the organisation as a whole.

Attendance patterns
The link between stress and absence is so well proven that statistics on non-attendance are often used as an indicator of stress ‘hot spots’ within an organisation. These figures may also be used to measure the effectiveness of stress management interventions.

In the analysis of attendance patterns, any extended periods of sick leave will immediately be apparent. Obviously, a stress-related illness or injury cannot be ‘undone’, but positive steps can still be taken by actively managing the return to work of the employee, and to minimise the risk of any identified stress reoccurring.

Of even more importance is the monitoring of short-term absences that may be the first sign of excessive pressure. Typically, absences that tend to fall into a pattern (e.g. if an employee is off sick every Monday), or are linked to particular operational requirements (such as reporting periods) are the most likely to be stress-related. It’s therefore important to look initially at the pattern of absence, rather than the reasons given for it.

Stress is typically under-reported as a reason for absence - especially in the early stages - with alternatives such as colds, back pain, migraine or general fatigue being given instead. This under-reporting can occur for a number of reasons. For example, it may be that the individual has not recognised that they might be suffering from stress, or they may be reluctant to admit, either to others or themselves, that this is the real problem. There is often a stigma attached to stress, related to a perceived inadequacy or inability to cope. This exacerbates the problem by creating an artificial barrier to its identification and management.

Absence management
A successful absence management policy will ideally create a culture enabling any individual to admit to stress-related ill-health, without feeling that their future employment or career prospects may be damaged. Clearly, the earlier that specific sources of stress are identified, the sooner appropriate action can be taken to reduce the poor attendance that often ensues.

In order to establish a level of control over sickness absence, and to implement an effective policy, it’s advisable to analyse employee data including the following:
• The number of days lost per year.
• The number of employees taking leave of absence.
• The average length of absence per employee.
• The employees and department(s) with the worst - and best - record of absence.
• Are there any identifiable absence patterns?
• Is absence influenced, for example, by age, gender, the number of years in the job or seasonal variations?
• How many employees take their maximum paid sickness entitlement in a year?
• Who takes the greater proportion of sick leave or other absence during the year –workers, staff or management?

The reasons for the various types and frequency of absence should then be assessed, including the following:
• Is a particular job too stressful or too boring?
• Is the work dangerous or does it require too much physical effort?
• Is the working environment unsuitable?
• Is management weak or over-aggressive?
• Is morale poor?
• Is there a culture of taking days off at particular times?
• Do working practices lack organisational support?
• Is there a general lack of incentive and motivation?

When all this information has been collated and analysed, it can then be used to devise policies and procedures in consultation with staff representatives that should, when properly implemented, substantially reduce the incidence of absence.

About The Author
Carole Spiers combines three roles of broadcaster, journalist and corporate manager in the challenging field of stress management and employee wellbeing.

With 20 years as a top industry guru on stress management and wellbeing, Carole’s energy and dynamism extends to providing professional comment to media including television (BBC, ITV, Sky, NBC, CNN), print (Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, trade and professional journals) and countless radio interviews.

A successful entrepreneur herself, Carole is the founder and MD of the Carole Spiers Group – a dynamic, niche consultancy, and the UK’s No. 1 provider of Stress Management and Employee Wellbeing from the shop floor to the Boardroom

A former Chairperson of the International Stress Management AssociationUK, Carole was instrumental in establishing National Stress Awareness Day™. Carole acts as an Expert Witness on Stress Risk Assessment before the Courts, and is the author of Tolley’s ‘Managing Stress in the Workplace’.

Free Special Report

Contact us to receive our FREE Special report ‘The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Stress’, please email sb@carolespiersgroup.com

For more information on CSG’S services, including in-house and public training, stress policy, stress audit, risk assessment, attendance management, rehabilitation support, post trauma support, mediation, impartial investigations, expert witness, nationwide employee counselling team, coaching and mentoring services, please contact us:

Carole Spiers Group
International Stress Management & Employee Wellbeing Consultancy
Gordon House, 83-85 Gordon Ave, Stanmore, Middlesex. HA7 3QR
Tel: +44(0)20 8954 1593 Fax: +44 (0)20 8907 9290
Email: info@carolespiersgroup.com www.carolespiersgroup.com

Monday, September 05, 2005

50 connect.co.uk - A portal for the over 50's

50 connect.co.uk - A portal for the over 50's
Are your employees fir for work? Do they work out to reduce their stress? Read on!