Workplace stress is the number one cause of staff absenteeism, it has been claimed.
According to new research by recruitment firm Reed, over three quarters of HR professionals have noted an increase in the number of employees taking time off due to stress-related illnesses in the past five years.
Half of respondents believe unmanageable workloads are the primary stress cause, while only 15% attribute it to the employee’s personal circumstances.
A further 12% felt the increase was a result of organisational change, and 9% blamed pressure from managers.
Despite the increase in stress levels however, 54% of respondents said their organisation had a policy in place to re-introduce employees to work after being signed off with a stress-related illness.
As many as 43% of organisations also offer some form of counselling for staff affected.
Jason Willis, operations manager at Reed Human Resources said: “The link between employee absenteeism and rising stress levels is a worrying trend and seems to be affecting the majority of UK workplaces.
“It is reassuring that many companies are taking steps to monitor their employees well being and introducing solutions to combat and deal with stress. However, with 73% of employees wanting their companies to look after their well being more closely, it seems that many organisations still have a long way to go before they can claim to be tackling this important issue.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
