Five facts you can do something about!
- Suicide mortality rates per 100,000 of populations in the city of London, home to the historical Square Mile financial district, have consistently outnumbered any other London borough since 2009.
- The total number of cases of work related stress, depression or anxiety in 2015/2016 was 488,000 cases, a prevalence rate of 1510 per 100,000 workers.*
- The total number of working days lost due to stress and anxiety in 2015/2016 was 11.7 million days.*
- In 2015/2016 stress accounted for 37% of all working related ill health cases and 45% of all working days lost due to ill health.*
- On-Site chair massage reduces stress levels by as much as 85%
*(LFS) Estimates from the labour Force Survey
What is stress?
According to NHS stress causes a surge of hormones in our bodies that can be pretty good for us! These hormones help us deal with any threats or pressure we are facing.
Cortisol, known as the stress hormone also temporarily increases energy by triggering the release of glucose into our bloodstream. Everyone needs a certain amount of stress to function however long term stress can play havoc with our immune systems, causing all kinds of effects such as tiredness, anxiety, depression.
Pressure at work?
Research form the UK’s leading independent job site, CV library, found the true extent of workplace stress and pressure across the UK. As a nation we are faced with longer working hours and heavier workloads, resulting in poorer work life balance.
“For employers, high stress levels not only impact productivity, but can place organisations in compromising positions, as workers under a great amount of pressure are more likely to look for a better environment to work, it is more important than ever for managements teams to take on the responsibilities for keeping their staff happy and productive” (CV-Library)
With the amount of time increasing that we spend at work, and the variety of pressures that we face on the job. It is important that we create working environments that are supportive and caring.
New phenomena
It is evident that we are moving towards a new phenomenon in the workplace, and seeing a shift in companies putting the wellbeing of their employees first.
Each year, Oracle hosts a gathering of HR influencers to examine the trends that have shaped the HR profession over the past year and reflect on the state of work across Europe. One of the biggest trends for HR over the past year has been a move towards employee well-being, the increased productivity of healthy employees was well documented in the Book of Business. Virgin plus found that staff who participated in well-being are 49% more productive and take 31% fewer sick days. A number of companies are beginning to implement complementary wellness initiatives in recent years (Oracle, HR Trends 2017: www.oracle.com)
All this evidence makes it clear that with today economic demands, we must put employee wellbeing at the forefront of our business polices. Implementing wellbeing strategies will not only create a healthy and productive team, but will create an environment where your employees feel valued and less stressed.
