Business News

South West workers best at dealing with stressed out colleagues

Workers in the South West are best at coping with tearful colleagues, with 60 per cent having seen someone cry through stress in their workplace and over half of the region feeling able to cope with the situation and the stress that work puts them under generally.

In comparison only 27 per cent of people in Northern Ireland feel able to offer support to distressed colleagues, only 30 per cent in Scotland and 31 per cent in both Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

Workers in the South West also take the least days off sick due to stress,19 per cent, the lowest figure alongside the East of England, 19 per cent, Yorkshire, 15 per cent and the South East, 14 per cent. However people in the South West take an average six days a year off sick with stress compared with London and the East of England which take the lowest average, four.

However bullying in the workplace is still a problem, in the South West, with 83 per cent of people saying they have been bullied in their careers and 32 per cent so stressed they dream of quitting for a life abroad.

These are the key findings of Samaritans’ survey for Stress Down Day, taking place on Friday February 1st; a national campaign to encourage people to take better care of their health at work and reduce currently damaging stress levels, www.stressdownday.org.

Samaritans Joe Fernssaid: “Job related stress has a serious and unrecognised impact on the health of the nation and the economy, affecting concentration and efficiency. Thirteen million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2005 at a staggering cost of £3.7bn to UK plc.

“Positive workplaces are a big factor in keeping everyone emotionally healthy. There is not enough openness and that is what Stress Down Day is all about; encouraging employers and employees to speak out and discuss problems before they escalate,” said Ms Ferns.

Over half of people in the region think their jobs are going to get more stressful, 37 per cent feel work rules their lives and nearly three quarters feel unable to approach anyone beyond their manager for support.

However 58 per cent say they can talk openly with their managers, 49 per cent say they get good support from their employers and only 8 per cent have no one to talk to about work stress compared with 24 per cent of people in Northern Ireland.

Professor Cary Cooper of Lancaster University, an internationally recognised expert in the field of workplace stress, said: “These results really disturb me. Shouldn’t we be managing people by reward and praise rather than by fault finding and bullying?

“We know that dealing with difficult people issues can be lonely and frustrating. The message from Samaritans is that you are not alone. Employees need more support from work colleagues and line managers and everyone needs coping skills to help them deal with everyday pressures,” said Professor Cooper.

Samaritans is experienced in workplace issues and provides a 24 hour confidential support service by phone and email. The charity also runs WorkLife, a training course to tackle stress in the workplace and provide practical skills for managers and team members. Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information.

 

 

ff,

Coventry, Croydon,