These last two years stress has risen drastically, probably the most challenging two years we have all faced. In the last two years mental health services have been utilised more than ever. As most people were working from home the last two years or if not working home then sadly made redundant due to covid this played a huge part in the rise of stress, people were finding themselves needing support more than ever, since lockdown was eased people have found themselves somewhat relieved to be through the worst of it.
As most schools were shut down and classes made online, children were working from home as well as parents, this is one thing that caused the rise in stress as parents were looking after their children 24/7 with limited access to alternative activities, other than daily exercise in the local park (except for PE with Joe Wicks).
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related stress as: ‘The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work’. People can become stressed when they feel they don’t have the resources they need (whether physical, financial, or emotional) to cope with these demands.
It’s well recognised that excessive or sustained work pressure can lead to stress. Occupational stress poses a risk to businesses and can result in higher sickness absence, lower staff engagement and reduced productivity. According to the HSE, 17.9 million working days were lost to stress, anxiety or depression in 2019/20.
If people feel under too much stress and for too long, mental and physical illness may develop. Acas' advice says ‘Stress can affect people mentally in the form of anxiety and depression, and physically in the form of heart disease, back pain and alcohol and drug dependency
822,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety (new or long-standing) in 2020/21. Within the Healthcare Sector, since May 2019, the number of full-time equivalent days lost for mental health reasons has increased by 31.4%, from 102,491 in 2019 to 134,669 in 2021. Anxiety, stress, or depression remains the most common reason for staff sickness across the Healthcare Sector.
(Source: rcni.com/nursing-standard)
Again, looking at a vital part of the workforce – Nurses, from April 2020 to March 2021 the Approx. number of nursing days lost due to anxiety, stress, depression/other psychiatric illness was 142,416 days. This equals 3,987,648 nursing appointments impacted (based on Ave. of 28 per day)
This is an estimated cost of £19,195,201.96 per year (based on the Ave. UK salary of £31k pa.) This only estimates the cost of days being absent, it does not include the additional costs incurred to maintain capacity.
(Source: NHS Sickness Absence rates (digital.nhs.uk/data)
The workplace is one of the main places that causes a rise in stress, employers or employees may feel the impending pressure from their return to the workplace post pandemic, or from being directly around colleagues or even line managers. Having an unrealistic work schedule or a hectic workload with limited time for breaks, or moments of thought can cause stress.
According to the CIPD Stress at work report https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/health-well-being-work there were some key findings relating to how employees stress was managed during covid:
There was less management focus in the second period of lockdown of employee health and wellbeing compared with the first year of the pandemic. The evidence points to a small but disappointing slip in attention to employees’ mental and physical health. Seven in ten (70%) of HR respondents agree that employee wellbeing is on senior leaders’ agendas (down from 75% last year) and 60% believe that line managers have bought into the importance of wellbeing (down from 67% last year). COVID-19 continues to have a huge impact on employee health. Only 3% of organisations haven’t suffered any COVID 19-related absence, and just under half (46%) have employees who have experienced – or are experiencing – long COVID. Long COVID is now a major cause of long-term absence.
More organisations are taking steps to tackle presenteeism. Working when ill (presenteeism) remains prevalent – and is even higher for those working from home (81% versus 65% among those in a workplace). In response, 52% of HR respondents are taking steps to address this trend and investigate potential causes.
New or better support for people working from home. Just under ¾ of organisations (72%) are providing new or better support for people working from home. For example, nearly half (47%) are encouraging more responsible use of digital technologies, acknowledging that regular movement breaks and time away from screens are essential for health and wellbeing. For full summary of findings please see: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/health-wellbeing-work-report-2022_tcm18-108440.pdf
According to ACAS, there are 3 workplace issues that present the greatest challenge to positive mental health in the workplace, and these are:
· Organisational change, both in terms of how this is managed and how it is communicated to employees.
· Downsizing and work intensification and the impact this is having on stress levels and work-life balance.
· Line management capability to engage with staff when it comes to interpersonal interactions, particularly around performance management systems.
Worryingly, less than half (43%) of all employees envisaged that they would talk to their manager in the event of being stressed and/or anxious at work. A similar percentage (42%) would talk to their colleagues, while more than 1-in-5 (22%) said that they would not talk to anyone at work.
Only 8% of employees say their organisation is ‘very good’ at preventing employees from feeling stressed and/or anxious about work, despite some of the causes being organisational. The large majority (72%) think that it is a manager’s role to recognise and address stress and anxiety in the workplace; 60% said the same of an individual themselves; 31% think it is a role for their colleagues; and 28% said HR.
The measures that employees who feel stressed take in helping them cope with organisational stressors seem very personal and slightly prosaic, with the highest proportion (41%) taking time out, such as having a cup of tea or going for a walk, closely followed by talking to someone, for instance a colleague (38%).
And while 15% go on sick leave, 28% take annual leave, and the same percentage ‘don’t do anything’ to cope with these feelings. This response may well reflect the severity of their stress and anxiety, rather than their personal coping strategies, along with the increased levels of presenteeism.
So what can an employee do for self-preservation and stress management?
Taking care of your wellbeing is the number one way to reduce your stress levels. Think about:
· Being kind to yourself – try to reduce the amount of negative talk in your mind, give yourself little rewards for your achievements even if small.
· Take time for yourself – this may be difficult as a single parent or if you have no support network but even taking a little longer in the shower can be good for you, or listening to audio books if you do not have the time to read.
· Spend time in nature – it is proven that spending time near water and green spaces has amazing health benefits
· Try to maintain a healthy diet – it is easy to reach for crisps and snacks when feeling stressed especially if time is not on your side. When shopping aim for healthier options that do not need preparation such as grapes, bananas, and nuts.
· Remember it is ok to not be ok, don’t berate yourself for not feeling great look for support where you can.
There are some brilliant work place resources that can be sourced from here: https://everymindatwork.com/stress-awareness-month-2022/?msclkid=ea294a0aba3811ec8e26c8a386dbf425
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