What is stress?
Why tackle stress?
Stress management policy
How to identify stress
Tools to manage stress
The law around long-term absence
Case studies
Sponsor’s comment by Legal & General: Stress perks in health plan
Stress is one of the main causes of sickness absence. According to the Health and Safety Executive’s Self reported work-related illness survey 2006/7, 13.8 million working days were lost to self-reported work-related stress, depression and anxiety.
The productivity of those employees continuing to work while suffering from stress is also an issue that employers need to consider. If the condition is allowed to fester it can lead to bouts of absence.
It is therefore imperative that employers know how to manage workplace stress by putting in place policies and programmes designed to help identify hot spots in their organisations and to also offer those who are suffering from the condition, early access to support, for example through an employee assistance programme. Where staff have gone off sick, then benefits such as income protection come into their own with providers often working to rehabilitate sick employees back into the workplace through counselling and other support.
Hopefully, this guide will help you to limit the impact of stress on the workplace, both in terms of employee health and productivity.
Amanda Wilkinson
Editor, Employee Benefits magazine