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Management

Few employers addressing stress

Friday, 15 February 2008

While employers acknowledge that stress is affecting business performance, few are taking steps to address it.

Nearly half of US employers (48 per cent) say stress caused by working long hours is affecting business performance.

Only 5 per cent are addressing this concern, however, according to Watson Wyatt’s 2007/2008 Staying@Work report.

Similarly, more than one-quarter (29 per cent) of employers believe stress caused by widespread use of technology such as cell phones and personal digital assistants is greatly affecting business performance, but only 6 per cent are taking action to confront the issue.

“Many companies don't appear to appreciate how stress is affecting their business,” said Shelly Wolff, national practice director of health and productivity at Watson Wyatt.

She added that too much stress from heavy demands, poorly defined priorities and little on-the-job flexibility could add to health issues.

“By leaving stress unaddressed, employers invite an increase in unscheduled time off, absence rates and health care costs — all of which hurt a company’s bottom line,” Wolff said.

Employers say stress affects business results

Cause of employee stress	Employers that say stress affects business performance	Employers taking strong action
Long hours, doing more with less	48%	5%
Work/life balance	32%	16%
Technologies that expand availability	29%	6%
Manager's inability to recognise stress	24%	7%
Manager's inability to find solutions for stress	20%	14%
Extra time, hassles related to security	8%	2%
Safety fears	5%	27%

Source: Watson Wyatt/National Business Group on Health 2007/2008 Staying@Work report

One way stress is influencing business performance is through employee retention. Stress is the most frequently cited reason US workers give for why they would leave a company.

Forty percent of respondents say it is one of their top three reasons, according to Watson Wyatt’s 2007/2008 Global Strategic Rewards report.

Employers, however, fail to list stress among the top five most cited reasons they think workers leave their jobs. Instead, they cite insufficient pay, lack of career development and poor supervisor relationships.

“Pay alone is not enough to retain and engage today’s workers,” said Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards at Watson Wyatt.

She added that in order to remain competitive companies need to understand fully what causes employees to join or leave and what causes them to be productive if they stay.

“A total rewards approach that includes both monetary and non-monetary rewards is more meaningful for employees and more effective for employers,” Sejen concluded.

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