Managers are adding to employee stress levels by failing to offer adequate support to workers under pressure, new research has found.
A survey of more than 2,000 workers by Investors in People (IiP), a body that helps companies boost productivity through good people management, found that employees are more stressed out than they were a year ago.
The study, conducted by YouGov, found that more than a third of employees in the UK feel that workplace stress levels have risen over the past year, and just 29% said their employers were taking steps to help them deal with this.
By failing to tackle this issue, managers were putting their organisations at risk of a prolonged productivity dip, IiP said.
“Increased stress in the workplace is associated with reduced productivity,” said Simon Jones, chief executive of IiP.
“Our research suggests that management has so far not addressed the current increase in workplace stress. The longer the problem is ignored, the more it could impact on productivity at a time when the UK economy needs a boost.”
In fact, managers were warned that by failing to address employee stress and offer support, they are likely to be making it worse.
Almost half of those who were suffering from work stress thought a lack of confidence in management had compounded the issue, while just 5% thought they were receiving more support than they were before the downturn hit.
Jones added: “We would urge managers to respond proactively to the recession, to gain the confidence of their employees by providing support for them during this period of uncertainty.”
Older employees, who had lived and worked through several previous recessions, were found to be better equipped at dealing with workplace stress. At 32%, the incidence of increased stress among those aged 55 and over was significantly lower than it was among those aged 35-44, at 41%.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2009