Work-related stress, according to the UK's Health and Safety Executive is, "the adverse reactions people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them". These adverse reactions include both physiological and psychological effects on individuals, but organisations can also suffer the ill-effects of work-related stress.
According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the UK for example, loses over 40 million working days every year due to stress-related disorders.
In the United States, over half of the 550 million working days lost each year due to absenteeism are stress related. In Australia, as far back as 1994, the Federal Assistant Minister for Industrial Relations estimated the cost of occupational stress to be around A$30 million.
Although the actual numbers would be much smaller in Malta, there is no reason to suppose that similar proportional losses do not occur here. Such losses are unacceptable within any economy, but in a country such as Malta, where the economy is relatively small and therefore fairly fragile, it is nothing short of disastrous!
Companies are devoting a great deal of effort towards becoming more productive and efficient to increase their share of the global market, yet many remain blissfully unaware of the effects of work-related stress on their efforts.
Many organisations develop policies in which they declare that "the staff are the company's most precious asset", yet some of these so-called 'precious staff' are expected to work under unreasonable pressures for long periods, which leads to a deterioration in their level of performance through the effects of the resulting stress.
We therefore see a contradiction between the rhetoric to be found in some company policies and the daily reality experienced by staff. The costs of stress take many forms. These include absenteeism, higher medical costs and staff turnover, with the associated cost of recruiting and training new workers.
It has also been shown in recent years that stress takes a heavy toll in terms of reduced productivity and efficiency. So what are the causes of work-related stress? The following are some common examples:
The design of tasks: Heavy workload, few rest breaks, long working hours and shift work; hectic and routine tasks that have little inherent meaning to the worker, and tasks that do not enable workers to use their skills and which provide little sense of control. These types of problems occur because of poor 'job-design' that ignores the basic principle whereby 'work should be designed to suit the worker'.
Management style: Lack of involvement of workers in decision-making, poor communication, and a lack of family-friendly policies. These kinds of issues are under the direct control of management and so given the will, can easily be changed.
Good management is about harnessing the talents of people and creating a work environment where they feel their work is valued so that they give freely of their time and effort, knowing that they are not being exploited and that they are more than just a pair of hands to do the job!
Interpersonal relationships: Poor social networks and lack of support or help from colleagues and supervisors. Feelings of isolation are damaging to a person's sense of worth and wellbeing. Bullying is a common cause of such isolation, and it often occurs because of a lack of awareness on the part of supervisors and line managers who should detect such problems as soon as they begin to develop.
Work roles: conflicting or uncertain job expectations, and too much or too little responsibility. People need clarity in their roles so that they know what is expected of them and how their performance will be assessed. They also need a level of responsibility and autonomy that suits their skills and experience.
Career concerns: Job insecurity and lack of opportunity for progression, rapid changes for which workers are unprepared. These problems create worry and uncertainty, and they quickly erode morale, which in turn, affects motivation and productivity.
Environmental conditions: Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems. Poor work conditions can undermine an individual's perception of his or her self-worth. They can make people feel that "anything is good enough for them, and they are not worth investing in". Feeling that one is in constant danger at work can be an obvious cause of work-related stress.
Most of these causes of work-related stress are relatively easy to identify and eliminate. The first step is for employers to recognise the whole business of work-related stress as a problem - not only for the employees concerned, but also for the health of the business!
These issues will be explored in a conference to be held on March 3. For details, e-mail info@ihs.com.mt. Mr Hudson is director of training and consultancy at the Institute of Health and Safety.