Over the past few years, advisers have reported rising levels of stress, affecting both clients and themselves.
While some contributing factors are outside of one's control, there are factors that can add to stress levels in the workplace, which can negatively impact work and wellbeing and can limit positive business outcomes.
Thankfully, there are ways employers and individuals can mitigate and prevent some of these factors, to create and healthy, happy workplace where staff can function to an optimum level.
But recognising these is the first step.
Recognition
According to Alex Freeman, vocational rehabilitation consultant and owner of Absence Management Solutions, happiness is contagious and if people are happy and relaxed in their workplace, those around them are likely to be as well.
“As well as risks to personal wellbeing, there are business risks of having stressed employees,” she says. These include “mistakes being made, increased absence, poor communication with clients or customers, or poor motivation.
"By having a culture that prevents, mitigates and (when called for) supports those who are feeling stressed, output is increased, staff and customer satisfaction improves, your reputation as a positive and caring, business goes up and staff turnover can be reduced (cutting the cost of recruitment and training.)”
Kay Needle is an early intervention and rehabilitation expert at Generali UK Employee Benefits. She believes although the industry or profession itself can "have a bearing on factors contributing to stress, there are some universal stressors".
These include:
- An employee’s personal perspective on themselves and their ability. This can be a contributing factor. Needle explains: “Feelings of inadequacy and perceived lack of skills / training particularly following recent promotion,” she says as example.
- The role of the manager is highly significant: a lack of engagement from line managers, particularly with dispersed teams where managers may be based remotely, can be problematic.
- Increased workloads during abnormal periods of reduced resourcing such as team sickness, recent leavers.
- Job security/performance management. Employers "would do well to be mindful of the impact of performance management, and how to set staff mind at ease". Sometimes, Needle says, there may be concerns around job security including during performance management.
But often it is a combination of personal factors (be those medical or family events) affecting ability to focus in the workplace and leading to poor feedback which, in turn, reduces confidence, causes concerns over job security, and impacts emotional wellbeing.
Freeman agrees with Needle that workplace stress may be caused by a combination of factors, often including medical or personal issues. She says: “Workplace stress can be due to many factors and vary person to person, and to an extent depend on other things that might be going on in their lives at any given time.”
She says these factors can “affect their resilience” which is important to note, because resilience in the workplace is a protective factor for independence, and against failure, error and breakdown.
Contributory factors that she sees commonly are: “Change, perception of workload, lack of training, relationships, perception of support (micromanagement or too much flexibility) or difficulties balancing other responsibilities with work.”
But the list is not exhaustive. She adds: “What might seem a stressor to one person could be something that someone else embraces".
Employer roles
In those cases, good employers need to be able to recognise those pressure points and help support staff.
According to Needle, an employer can identify, (and maybe help their employees and advisers identify) these factors.
She says: “Ensuring that people management responsibilities are factored into resourcing would be a strong starting point.
