Management
Workplace stress caused by bad management Print E-mail
Written by Richard Northedge   
Friday, 23 February 2007
Stress at work is caused by bad management, not long hours, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, which claims the TUC has missed the point in organising a “Work your proper hours day” for union members. The institute’s employment relations manager, Ben Willmott, says: “Managing stress at work is to a large extent simply about good people management and this can be completely unconnected to the number of hours worked.”

CIPD is urging employers to tackle stress issues following the award of £134,000 damages to a worker at Intel Corporation (UK) who had a breakdown due to stress caused by her workload.

But despite workers being lobbied by unions to work specified hours, Willmott argues: “It can just as easily be argued that the UK has a short-hours working culture as a long-hours culture.”

Official figures show average weekly working time has fallen by one hour since 1998 to 31.9 hours. The proportion of staff working more than 45 hours has fallen from 24 to 19 per cent during that time. The proportion of companies offering flexitime has risen from 19 to 26 per cent, homeworking is up from 16 to 28 per cent and 73 per cent of companies now offer parental leave compared with 38 per cent in 1998.

Willmott says: “There are pockets of long-hours working but more frequently work-related stress is caused by poor line management. Line managers must set clear objectives for individuals in their team, communicate with clarity, consult and provide plenty of feedback about performance – including praise. They must also spend time coaching and developing members of their team.”

For more information, please visit the CIPD website: www.cipd.co.uk
 

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