The issue of stress in the workplace is not a new one, but it is important as UK employees spend more than a third of their time at work feeling stressed.
The research by performance psychology firm Star Consultancy (reported by ‘Chronic stress dominates a third of UK wording life, says research,’ People Management, 8 January 2015) discovered that the average employee feels stressed, anxious or worried on 84 days out of the average 240 days in a working year (which equates to 35 per cent of the time).
More than two-thirds of the respondents stated that this level of stress reduced motivation, productivity and self-confidence. The research also found that 62 per cent of the respondents cited it as the main reason why they do not perform well at work.
Nearly a third (28 per cent) stated that they feel ‘stressed, anxious or worried’ at work at least twice a week, with a fifth reporting that they had these feelings at least once a week. It was also revealed that 14 per cent of employees felt stressed or anxious at work every day.
In addition, 29 per cent of staff members knew at least two people who have been or who are taking anti-depressants.
The clear majority (66 per cent) indicated that increased workloads as the primary cause for this pressure, with deadlines highlighted by 53 per cent of those questioned. There were also external factors that were mentioned: ‘other people/relationships’ (34 per cent), ‘lack of control/responsibility’ (30 per cent) and the lack of confidence (22 per cent).
However, tellingly, only 6 per cent of employees had told their manager about their stress and anxiety issues, whilst 11 per cent ‘suffered in silence.’ More than a quarter of the workers would ‘try to analyse the problem myself,’ whilst 30 per cent of those affected by stress would talk to a colleague or a friend for support.
There was the admittance by 7 per cent of respondents that they had taken up to five days away from work because of stress, anxiety or depression.
Chantel Burn, Star Consultancy founder and an expert in employee state of mind and performance, commented: ‘We seem to be living in stressed-out Britain, which is a massive call to action to address the root causes of a growing problem.
‘While difficult and demanding situations are inevitable in the workplace, regular or chronic stress is not and it’s damaging employees’ health and mental wellbeing, as well as the company bottom-line through poorer judgement and increased sick leave.’
She continued by stating that a person’s own mental attitude and mindset is a major contributor to stress or success rather than just external factors, although the respondents to the research placed it at the bottom of the contributory factors for stress. This ‘mental blind spot’ revealed a ‘glaring contradiction’ in the way that people root causes of good and poor performance.
She added: ‘There is a wealth of scientific evidence proving that it is our thinking and mindset – and only this – that causes our feelings of stress and anxiety.’
In other research conducted by YouGov on behalf of the British Heart Foundation (reported in ‘’Work pressures’ drive rise in smoking, drinking and poor diet,’ People Management, 13 February 2015), it was found that a third of workers thought that they had put on weight because of their job and almost half stated that their work had driven them to have unhealthy diets.
Forty-three per cent of respondents said that their job had prevented them from exercising as much as they would have liked, 22 per cent said that their job had led to them drinking more alcohol and 9 per cent had smoked more as a result of their job.
The causation can be seen in that 60 per cent of respondents worked unpaid overtime on a regular basis, with nearly a fifth working more than five hours overtime per week.
This situation had resulted in the respondents’ stress levels increasing over the last five years as a result of their job. Other symptoms were that 29 per cent feared that the demand of work could lead to high blood pressure and 21 per cent that it could bring on a heart attack or heart condition.
The article stated: ‘The business case for promoting healthy behaviours at work is long established. Productivity lost as a result of employee heart and circulatory conditions is estimated to cost businesses £8 billion a year (European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics. Brussels: European Heart Foundation, 2008).
While the vast majority of companies (82 per cent) with employee wellness programmes enjoy reduced sickness absence and a 15 per cent rise in output (PWC – Building the Case for Wellness, 2008).’
Lisa Young, project manager for BHF’s Health at Work programme, commented: ‘This survey is a stark reminder of just what happens when we don’t take our health at work seriously enough.
‘From working with over 9,500 organisations we know that the payoffs of making health at work a top business priority are too great to ignore.
‘Small steps can make a big difference…we’re working with organisations across the UK to encourage employees to take 10 minutes every day to make positive changes which could have a life-long benefit to their health.’
When we are reminded that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6: 19), it refers to our whole being as each part (mind, body and spirit) is affected by the others. We are to ensure that we have a right attitude (2 Timothy 1: 7) so that not one of these component parts is adversely affected, so we should seek advice if appropriate in order that every part of our lives is running well to the glory of God.
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