“Companies that take action to reduce stress in the workplace are likely to generate enhanced value through reduced costs, increased productivity, better customer service, lower staff turnover and greater staff morale.”
- CIPD Annual Survey Report, 2006

Stress is the most common reason given by employees for leaving the workplace. According to Watson Wyatt's Strategic rewards European study, 35% of employee respondents claim high stress levels are often behind a decision to quit, followed by base pay (34%) and then promotion opportunities (27%). In contrast, employers believe the top three reasons for staff leaving are career development opportunities, followed by promotion opportunities and then base pay.  (Publisher ‘Employee Benefits 07/01/2008)
SBHD:

“Stress is the main cause of sickness absence in the public sector,”

- Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Feb 2006

· Stress remains the number one ranked reason for long-term absence for non-manual employees, with loss of working time (8 days per employee per year)

·  Work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidences of ill health

· Each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 30.9 working days lost

· Stress-related absence continued to increase in 2005, with 46% reporting an increase, compared to a 39% increase the previous year

The CIPD says, “Companies that take action to reduce stress in the workplace are likely to generate enhanced value…” For companies that don’t take action, the opposite is true. Apart from the tangible costs of sick absence, so much more is being lost in productivity and service. 

You can do something to address the problem and make a visible difference now. The HSE has significant evidence of organisations that have made dramatic improvements in stress related absences:

·   absences of 10+ days in a 12-month rolling period – 7.5% reduction

·   5 absences in a 12-month rolling period – 19% reduction

·   sickness absence down from 10.75 days (2001-02) to 7.2 days in 2004-05

 As well as reducing sickness absence costs to an organisation, tackling stress can have a positive effect on:

·   Employee commitment to work;

·   Staff performance and productivity;

·   Staff turnover or intention to leave;

·   Staff recruitment and retention;

·   Customer satisfaction; and

·   Organisational image and reputation.

“Just under half of employers provide access to counselling services, almost a third of employers provide ‘stop smoking’ support for employees, and a little over a quarter of organisations provide subsidised gym membership as a benefit.”      - HSE

Apart from missing all these savings and benefits, your company will be exposed to the risk of legal action if you can’t show that you’ve met your legal obligations.

Providing stress management assistance to employees ensures a reduced risk of legal action against the Employer which inturn results in lower cost insurance premiums

“A proper risk assessment for stress, combined with appropriate training in the skills required to improve can help you avoid prosecution and litigation.”     - HSE 

A wide variety of training courses can be provided for staff at all levels, working with both small businesses and larger organisations. One to one and group training available.

These are offered as one-off events to address specific areas of concern, or in combination to form a complete bespoke stress management programme.

Typical subjects would be ...

·    stress awareness, to make good managers better

·    introduction to NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), for improved interpersonal skills

·    introduction to coping strategies -Stress management, time management, positive self talk 

·    motivation (e.g. for sales staff)

·    help for smokers who wish to quit

·    overcoming work related anxieties (e.g. presentations, cold calling)

These courses incorporate a variety of techniques, including coaching, hypnotherapy, emotional freedom techniques (EFT), visualisation, and NLP to reduce and prevent stress.

Each equips delegates with practical and effective skills for the workplace.

Contact Us