HR initiatives are creating greater awareness of bullying in the workplace, according to findings from a survey by Personnel Today’s sister company IRS Employment Review

HR initiatives are creating greater awareness of bullying in the workplace, according to findings from a survey by Personnel Today’s sister publication IRS Employment Review.

Results from the study of 92 organisations show that anti-bullying policies are becoming more commonplace among companies and public sector bodies.

Just seven of the organisations surveyed were found to have no written policy on bullying, and three of these intended to put one in place in the near future. Of the 85 employers with written policies in place, 74 had introduced them over the past five years.

Thirty-seven respondents had standalone ‘bullying’ or ‘dignity at work’ policies, while 42 dealt with bullying in their harassment guidelines, and six firms covered the issue within their equal opportunities policy.

In total, 69 respondents said that one or more bullying incidents had been reported over the past two years, while 535 incidents were reported over the past 12 months.

Thirty-nine organisations said that bullying had had little or no impact on working relationships, turnover, absence, staff morale or commitment.

But 43 said that at least one of the aforementioned aspects of working life had been afected by bullying.

And 26 organisations said bullying had had a major impact on staff absence, while 20 said it had had a significant effect on staff turnover The most common forms of bullying were undermining behaviour (such as work overload or persistent criticism) and verbal abuse.

Personnel Today highlights that Parent prejudice continues to dominate workplaces up and down the country, according to research launched to mark this Thursday’s ‘Bring Your Children to Work Day’.

A survey by consultancy Accenture of more than 1,300 employees who returned to work after having a child, reveals that one in five feel it has had a negative impact on their career.

Women are still hit the hardest, having three times as many negative experiences as men, the research shows.

While many employers extol the virtues of flexible working, many parents do not feel comfortable coming in late, leaving early or attending school events. Even taking time off when their child is unwell is something that 59% of respondents feel uncomfortable doing.

Parents are united on calling for more support from both government (60%) and employers (58%) to ease the burden of balancing work and family life.

While government plans to extend maternity and paternity leave are welcomed, parents cited a number of factors that would be needed to make this work.

Nearly 60% say there needs to be a commitment from the employer, and more than 40% say there is a need for measures to help returners come back to work and that women ought to be paid the same as men.

Clive Lewis, Founder and Managing Director of Globis People solutions has received an invitation to address The Trinity Leadership Forum. The Trinity Forum is a Global leadership academy that works to cultivate networks of leaders whose integrity and vision will help renew culture and promote human freedom and flourishing. Clive will speak on the topic of emerging leaders and will address how leaders can help resolve conflict by listening to how others perceive them and being aware of their own vulnerabilities, miscommunications and conflict styles. Clive believes that leaders derive their mandate less from their titles than from the relationships they develop with employees.

Only 36 per cent of firms have specialised diversity or equal opportunities function

UK organisations are still not putting enough energy, resources or money into diversity, according to new CIPD research.

Only 30 per cent of organisations have a special budget for diversity and only 36 per cent have a specialised diversity or equal opportunities function, says the report, Diversity in Business: How Much Progress Have Employers Made?

“This raises questions about how much energy organisations are putting into it,” Dianah Worman, CIPD adviser, diversity, told PM. “Only a small number invest resources in terms of a budget.”

Although 93 per cent of organisations have a diversity policy, the research suggests that it is only when organisations recognise and communicate the value that diversity can add to business that they prioritise it and get senior management support to help progress it.

“You’ve got to have top-team commitment to get it to take off,” said Worman. More than half of the professionals involved in diversity management (53 per cent) are not contracted to work on diversity, but do it anyway.

Companies are also beginning to realise the business case for diversity, with 64 per cent saying the ability to “recruit and retain top talent” was a key driver.

“But work still needs to be done,” Worman said. “The emphasis needs to be on more education and understanding.”

The survey, of 285 professionals, also reveals that disability is the most popular issue covered in diversity policies, yet 40 per cent still fail to include it, leaving firms open to potential legal claims.

Different management styles to blame for most of unsuccessful assignments abroad.

Cultural differences are the most common reason that expatriate managers and executives fail in their assignments.

Forty per cent of senior staff sent to work abroad fail, according to a survey by consultancy Personnel Decisions International (PDI). And 85 per cent of these failures are down to variations in management styles worldwide, such as being open or secretive. In Japan and Saudi Arabia for example, maintaining group harmony is the most valued management quality. Yet French and Mexican leaders are likely to speak their mind even when their views are unpopular. In China, the business culture encourages individual problem-solving and brainstorming is frowned upon. While UK managers and executives are more extrovert and prefer working in groups.

“Problems arise when an individual’s own attributes don’t match those of the culture where he or she is sent,” said Bob Lewis, vice-president of research for PDI. “A leader who favours individuality will rub co-workers the wrong way in a country where group needs traditionally take precedence. Likewise, an even-keeled leader in a culture where emotional expression is the norm, will likely be seen as cold and unfeeling.”

The survey, which questioned 12,000 business leaders worldwide, estimated that the average cost of a failed assignment is up to four times the expatriate’s salary.

One-quarter have taken time off due to anxiety and half are never stress-free Ninety-five percent of staff in the public sector find their work stressful, new research claims.

Nearly 65 per cent of public-sector staff rated their anxiety levels as five or higher on a scale of one to ten and 25 per cent had taken time off due to stress, according to a survey by online learning provider SkillSoft. More than 50 per cent of the 1,500 workers questioned admitted they were never stress-free and 68 per cent said this sometimes caused restless nights. Monday was rated the most stressful day of the week.

“According to the Health and Safety Executive, stress is now the biggest cause of working days lost through injury or ill-health with an estimated 12.8 million days each year” said Kay Baldwin-Evans, vice-president of research at SkillSoft. “The TUC estimates that work-related stress costs the economy up to £7 billion per annum.” She urged employers to confront the issue. “By understanding what makes public-sector employees stressed at work, organisations are much better placed to manage it,” she said.

Demonstration will highlight anger at plans to close factory in Coventry Workers from Peugeot’s Ryton plant in Coventry will demonstrate in London against the factory’s proposed closure. Staff have been protesting since the French car manufacturer last month announced plans to lay off 2,300 workers and transfer production of its latest model to Slovakia. The plant will shut in two stages, winding down from two shifts to one in July, with final closure next summer. The Transport and General Workers Union (T&G), which represents the staff, recently urged a boycott of Peugeot cars. It is now planning to hold a demonstration at a dealership in Brent Cross, north London, on Saturday 24 June. Jim O’Boyle, T&G convenor for Ryton, will lead the protest. “We look forward to spreading our message to the rest of the UK that Peugeot workers are not just going to lay down and accept the sacking of workers,” he said. “Unless the company sits down and properly engages with the unions to discuss an alternative, this campaign will go on.”

Clive Lewis, Founder and Managing Director of Globis People Solutions has been invited to address postgraduate students who are studying on the new PR course at the University of Gloucestershire. World-class learning organisations are quickly realising that if employee issues are handled badly, it can have a negative effect on internal and external relations. Clive will address an audience in the autumn of 2006, on how PR teams can help raise the profile of conflict resolution in organisations and impact areas such as a company’s share price. Clive is a regular visiting lecturer at the University, usually speaking on the topic of Human Resource Management and Development.

Research by C.E.D.R shows the damage UK business inflicts on itself through poor conflict management

Comparable amounts:

• Gross Domestic Product – If the cost of conflict to British business were a country it would have the world’s 57th biggest economy (out of 180 countries)
• Entertainment – three times the amount that California makes each year from the TV, Movies and Entertainment business
• Government spending – over half the total budget for the National Health Service last year

Results of a study into the true amount business wastes on conflict each year were recently announced at the CBI. From an unhappy customer to a disgruntled director, business can have the challenge of conflict come from any direction – a challenge that is not always adequately faced-up to. According to the research by CEDR and CMS Cameron McKenna, it is how you approach conflict that makes the difference and the UK is failing to manage its conflicts adequately.

Key conclusions from the research were:

• British business conflict costs £33 billion a year
• 80 percent of disputes have a significant impact on the smooth running of business
• In a case that is a million pounds in value a company will consume an average of over 3 years of managers time trying to sort it out
• Over a third of managers would rather parachute jump for the first time (35%) than address a problem with their team at work, and just under a third would rather shave their head for charity (27%). Some even said they would rather eat ‘bush tucker’ bugs for a week (8%)
• Many managers do not feel comfortable addressing conflict. Half (49%) would rather attend an event at which they knew no one than tell a client a home truth and over two thirds (69%) would rather send back a bottle of wine in a restaurant than confront a boss’s underperformance directly

Few managers, only 37%, feel trained to cope with business conflict. The lack of confidence in managers feeling prepared to deal with disputes is worrying given that the significant consequences of conflict include the following business headaches:

• Damage to company reputation
• Exposure in the public domain
• Effects on company morale
• Effects on personal reputation
• Damaged business relationships
• Lost customers
• Increased staff turnover
• Failure to meet targets

There were nine possible adverse consequences of business disputes, and the research surveyed the extent to which each may have been significant in the over 300 separate business disputes referred to above.

The nine possible consequences we identified were:

• Effects on company reputation
• Exposure in the public domain
• Effects on company morale
• Effects on personal reputation
• Damaged business relationships
• Lost customers
• Increased staff turnover
• Failure to meet targets
• Missed opportunities

Damaged business relationships and public exposure were the two most commonly cited adverse consequences of business disputes, but since different disputes have different characteristics it is not therefore surprising that no single consequence dominated.

Managers prioritisation of conflict
In the research, Managers were asked to rate against each other the following tasks that either involved conflict or were unpleasant:

• Giving a speech in public
• First parachute jump
• Sing in public
• Tell a colleague about poor hygiene
• Tell a neighbour to cut down a hedge
• Give blood
• Swim the channel
• Eat ‘bush tucker’ for a week
• Sack a popular employee
• Tell a boss to work harder
• Tell a client they are out of line
• Send back wine in a restaurant
• Shave own head for charity
• Go to an event where you know no one
• Tell own team they are not performing

Doctors blame employers for the high number of workers who are taking time off sick, new research claims.

One third of GPs surveyed by Norwich Union Healthcare had noticed a rise in the number of workers being signed off sick from work. Almost all blamed the increase on companies for neglecting their workers’ health and wellbeing, according to a survey by Norwich Union Healthcare. Many HR professionals agreed: 46 per cent said their organisation did not invest enough resources in pre-empting sickness and only 38 per cent said it identified employee wellbeing as an HR priority. They saw the major health problems affecting staff as stress (76 per cent), back trouble (63 per cent) and depression (57 per cent).

“Greater co-operation is needed between GPs and employers to find a solution to rising illness caused at work,” said Tim Baker, director at Norwich Union Healthcare. “Businesses must look to organisations, such as Royal Mail and Rolls Royce, which have promoted a healthy workplace and proactively managed adverse health effects, achieving a reduction in absence and ill health.”

The Health in the Workplace survey questioned 250 GPs and 200 HR professionals in the UK.

Lords ruling could trigger new claims

A House of Lords ruling has made employers liable for workplace harassment even if they were not in any way negligent. Wednesday’s landmark ruling could open the floodgates to new kinds of harassment claims.

The decision is based on anti-stalking legislation which was used by an NHS employee to hold his employer responsible for a superior’s treatment of him.

The law in question is 1997′s Protection from Harassment Act. The Act does not define harassment, which has enabled courts to permit it to mean tabloid newspaper campaigns and the behaviour of animal rights activists.

The claim of William Majrowski was originally summarily struck out by the Central London County Court by Judge Collins. “He held that the 1997 Act was not designed to create another level of liability in employment law. Employees are already adequately protected by the common law,” said this week’s judgment. The Court of Appeal overturned that decision.

The House of Lords decided that the Act covers the behaviour of employees at work even when the employer has not caused or failed to prevent the offending behaviour. Those employers now have vicarious liability for the acts of employees.

Previously employees had to prove that the employer was negligent in not stopping bullying taking place and that it had caused them psychological damage. The new ruling means that companies can be sued even if the company can not be expected to have known about the bullying.

“The decision has serious implications for employers as it gives employees who are bullied or harassed at work a further basis on which to claim compensation from their employers,” said Louise Donaldson, a senior associate specialising in employment law at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM.

“Moreover, some of the existing limitations and defences will not be available. For example, an employer has a defence under existing discrimination legislation if it can show that it took all reasonably practicable steps to prevent discriminatory harassment occurring – this defence was recently made out where an employer had implemented an effective harassment policy. This would not help an employer facing a claim that it was vicariously liable for an employee’s harassment under the Act,” said Donaldson.

Majrowski worked for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London and claimed that his superior, Sandra Freeman, was rude and abusive to him in front of colleagues. Majrowski, who is gay, claimed that the abuse was fuelled by homophobia.

The new ruling will open employers to new cases. “It will be necessary to show that an offence under the Act has been committed – this involves showing a course of conduct, defined as conduct on at least two occasions, by an employee amounting to harassment, so a single act will not be sufficient,” said Donaldson. “It is also necessary to show a sufficient connection between the harassment and the employment if the employer is to be vicariously liable. However this is widely construed and any bullying or harassment taking place at work will almost certainly be covered.”

Bullying laws may lead to higher insurance costs and could even force businesses to close, according to The Sunday Times.

Organisations representing small businesses have hit out at the House of Lords ruling that employers could be held liable for bullying at work. They say it is an inappropriate solution that could also drive up their premiums for employers’ liability insurance.

The Lords ruled last week that firms could be held “vicariously” liable for workplace bullying by their staff under anti-harassment laws and forced to pay compensation. The decision came after a test case brought by an NHS office worker who claimed he was bullied by his manager for being gay.

The landmark decision gives employees a new route for bringing claims if they feel they have been bullied or discriminated against by colleagues. Lawyers say it could lead to a flood of new cases.

Workers will have up to six years to take their case to court and employers may be forced to pay compensation even if they had policies in place to prevent bullying and could not have foreseen the incident.

Stephen Alambritis, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said the ruling would fall heavily on tiny firms, many of which did not have the sophisticated management systems used in larger companies.

He said: “It will be very difficult for small and medium-sized firms. The ruling is saying that employers will have to find and root out bullying and make sure they are constantly monitoring the situation.

“But a little business may not have the management systems to prove to a judge that it not only had an anti-bullying policy but that managers regularly monitored it. It’s very worrying because it opens the door to imposing a huge liability on employers so that they are totally responsible for all the actions of their workers.”

He said that the ruling could lead to higher insurance premiums, something that would hit small firms hardest. “Anything that leads to more claims against firms means employers’ liability insurance will go up.”

Alambritis said that those most affected by the ruling would be small and medium- sized businesses that had two or three branches but were not large enough to have a personnel department. “In a business of that size there is no authority for other staff to take care of things, and everything lands on the employer’s desk.”

Pauline Birdsall is the owner of Key, Air and Sea Ltd, a freight-forwarding company based in Hayes, Middlesex, which has six employees. She agreed that it was important to tackle the issue of bullying in the workplace, but insisted that legislation was not the right way to go about it.

She said: “Employees do need to be protected from these situations but, as the owner of a small business, if somebody suddenly has the right to sue you for something that may be beyond your control or even beyond your knowledge, it could mean the closure of your company.

“Most small firms are very conscious of these issues — we spend a lot more time per person keeping an eye on the workforce because the environment we work in is generally very close, so I think there could be a better solution to this problem than legislation. It does seem a bit heavy-handed.”

Nick Goulding, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, said the ruling meant that small firms were being saddled with a system that was designed for big companies.

He said: “Big operations are really bad at managing because they can’t know employees individually so they need to have detailed rules and write things down. Small firms are much better at management for the simple reason that they are much closer to the problem. If there are four of you in a business, you don’t need a policy to control bullying because the four of you will know when someone is bullying someone.”

He pointed out that bureaucrats and lawyers tended to think of employers as large organisations, but that in reality most private-sector workers were employed in small firms.

He added: “It is, of course, the proper duty of any business to ensure that relations between employees are at a proper professional level, but if the legal system drives people towards bureaucratic solutions that may have no relevance to the way in which a business works, then that is a dead weight on the economy. For small businesses this is an inappropriate solution — it’s another complication and another jeopardy.”

Alambritis advised firms to minimise the risk of bullying taking place in the workplace without their knowledge by making sure that they communicated effectively with their staff at all times.

He said: “Small businesses should talk to their staff regularly and make sure they have their trust. They should have a written anti-bullying policy that is drawn to the attention of all staff, and make sure that any incident is followed through with a paper trail.”

Women make up 23% of Britain’s 3.9 million directors, according to a survey by Experian. That’s an increase of one quarter of a percentage point on 2005 figures, with male directors still outnumbering female directors by three to one. In Britain’s utilities companies, the average is nine male directors to every female one. Women are most likely to be on the board of education, health and social work and hospitality and leisure organizations.

The Independent reports that Helen Green, the 36-year-old Deutsche Bank employee who worked in the firm’s secretariat division in London between October 1997 and October 2001, has been awarded an estimated £800,000 in damages today, over the bullying she said she had to endure in what she described as a ‘department from Hell’.

Justice Owen, speaking from the UK High Court in London, said that Ms Green was ‘subjected to a relentless campaign of mean and spiteful behaviour within the ordinary meaning of that word’. She was awarded around £30,000 for pain and suffering, £20,000 for being disadvantaged in the workplace, £110,000 for past loss of earnings, and £640,000 for future earnings loss (including pension). Deutsche will also be responsible for Ms Green’s costs, and has been ordered to pay an interim £300,000.

Ms Green said that she was victimized by four women in her department, and suffered a nervous breakdown because of alleged ‘offensive, abusive, intimidating, denigrating, bullying, patronising, infantile…..behaviour’. She claimed that on one occasion one of the women inferred that she stank, and that she was subjected to laughing in her face and raspberry blowing.

Deutsche denied that Ms Green was bullied, and relied in court on her pre-existing vulnerability to mental illness as a defence.

Employers have been urged to change their attitudes to female staff or risk burning them out.

The warning came as a report called on organisations to recognise the pressures women are under, juggling multiple roles at work and at home, and to foster a more supportive working environment.

The study, from the Economic and Social Research Council, indicated that the UK’s long-hours culture is damaging women’s health, as they are more likely to snack on unhealthy food, drink caffeine, smoke and take less exercise when working excessive hours. But working longer hours had virtually no negative impact on men, according to the study of 422 employees.

Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said flexible working was key to improving the situation. “The UK’s long-hours culture is not only damaging the health and wellbeing of individuals; it is also damaging the economy,” she said. “Fresh thinking is needed now to stop the UK burning out.”

Separate research reveals that 70% of working mothers still take day-to-day responsibility for raising children, and only one-quarter share the responsibility with their partners.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of charity Working Families, said employers often made the assumption that working mothers would lower their career expectations. “They have to make flexible working available for all senior-level people, or risk throwing away good skills,” she said.

Glenda Stone, chief executive of the Aurora women’s networking organisation, said: “There’s a dichotomy between rhetoric and reality when it comes to diversity. Lots of companies are just paying lip service to it.”

But she said there were “many progressive businesses out there that are re-thinking the world of work”.

The DTI has today published the first findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey.

It provides an up to date account of the state of employment relations in Britain, together with information on changes that have occurred in workplaces since the last survey was conducted.

The survey covers methods of recruitment, workplace consultation, pay and benefits, workplace conflicts (such as disciplinary and grievance procedures), equal opportunities, work-life balance and other fascinating areas. The summary is at page 35.

Globis People Solutions (GPS) has been selected to provide mediation skills training across four local authorities in the West Midlands. Recent legislation changes relating to Local Authority Customer Relations departments now mean that there is a requirement to engage in mediation when customer disputes arise. Clive Lewis, founder and managing director of GPS will lead the training and consulting across the authorities advising on incorporating mediation principles within the customer relations process. GPS has a growing reputation for working with local authorities and this work further cements GPS as a premier provider of conflict resolution training and management provision.

Bullying in HR departments is a continuing problem and HR professionals don’t know how to deal with it.

An impassioned discussion on the CIPD’s website has highlighted the difficulty HR staff face in knowing who to go to when they are being bullied.

Experts agree that the profession is not immune. Those working in HR are often more susceptible to bullying than employees in other professions, according to chartered psychologist Noreen Tehrani.

“HR professionals continue to promote the view that they are tough and can cope with everything,” she told PM. “But HR is not the toughest profession and people have to realise that it is not a sign of weakness to admit it.”

At anti-bullying charity the Andrea Adams Trust, there is no indication that the issue is abating. “It’s an all too familiar problem,” said Lyn Witheridge, founder and chief executive of the trust. “HR people are the guardians of anti-bullying policies, but when they are the victims, who do they go to?”

Both Tehrani and Witheridge acknowledged that, although some victims felt the need to leave their job, something could still be done.

“If you don’t feel anyone will listen to you while you’re in the job, make sure your reasons for leaving are recorded in an exit interview,” said Witheridge.

Imogen Haslam, former CIPD professional adviser, said it would be a mistake to presume HR had no bullies in the ranks, but emphasised that they were not the worst perpetrators. “CIPD research shows HR is low down on the list of those responsible for bullying,” she said.

YOUR SAY
How big a problem is bullying within HR?

Esther O’Halloran, head of HR, Space.NK:
“Within HR it is difficult because how you deal with it depends on the culture of the organisation and how big the team is. I would hope HR is the last department to experience bullying.”

Alan Warner, director of people and property, Hertfordshire County Council:
“I don’t think the issue is endemic in HR. I speak with a number of people in HR and I’ve not heard it discussed, and if I had I would be very worried.”

What do you think? Email us at info [at] globis.co.uk

A female prison officer has won a six-figure payout for being forced to carry out body searches on male inmates.

Carol Saunders claimed sex discrimination against the Home Office, claiming that as male officers did not search female prisoners, she was being discriminated against.

Saunders said the searches at Long Lartin Prison in Worcestershire made her feel sick.

She won her original case in October 2004 and the Prison Service has now settled out of court after losing an appeal.

The exact compensation figure has not been disclosed but it runs into six figures.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Following the tribunal judgment that found in favour of Carol Saunders, the Prison Service has agreed an amount to be awarded out of court based on the guidance from the tribunal regarding an appropriate level of compensation.”

A separate claim for victimisation at the high-security jail was thrown out by the tribunal in 2004.

Increasing numbers of civil service staff are overturning dismissals because government HR departments are failing to follow statutory dismissal procedures, an official report has revealed.

The annual report by the Civil Service Appeal Board (CSAB) showed that more than one-fifth of all disciplinary cases involving appeals during 2005-06 were deemed ‘unfair’ – a rise of 15% on the previous year.

Of 253 appeals considered by the CSAB last year, 55 found in favour of the appellant – including 10 cases where the board demanded that the employee be reinstated immediately.

The statutory procedures were introduced by the government in October 2004, requiring employers to follow a three-step process when disciplining or dismissing staff. Failure to follow these steps automatically renders a dismissal unfair.

CSAB chairman John Davies, a former HR director at Barclays Bank, said in the report: “It is clear that departments and agencies do not always appreciate the importance of respecting the standard statutory procedures and it has, perhaps, not been fully appreciated that if there is a breach the board has no choice other than to find the dismissal automatically unfair.”

The strongly worded report will increase the pressure on under-fire Whitehall HR departments. Recent capability reviews, introduced by cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, highlighted poor people management and inadequate HR provision at the heart of government failings.

Davies also criticises the time taken by some departments to complete disciplinary procedures – in several instances, more than a year. He called these delays “at variance with the principles of natural justice”.

He also accused some managers of using appeals to “justify and uphold” original decisions, rather than objectively look at the facts of the case.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “We have received the report and will consider these issues.”

Most appeals heard (by department)

• HM Revenue and Customs 50
• HM Prison Service 46
• Jobcentre Plus 37
• Department for Work and Pensions 21
• Immigration and Nationality Directorate 13

Source: CSAB annual report 2005/06

An overwhelming 97% of senior HR professionals believe stress is the biggest threat to the future health of the UK workforce, exclusive research has revealed. Virtually all of the 600 senior HR executives surveyed by Personnel Today and health benefits provider HSA think that failure to manage stress effectively is the number one threat to the future health of their employees.

Working longer hours and not taking enough holiday – both seen as key causes of stress – were other major contributory factors to poor wellbeing, the Who’s Looking After Our Health? study found. More than one-third (36%) of employers predicted that the health of UK workers would decline in the next five to 10 years.

Sickness absence costs the UK about £12bn a year, according to Health and Safety Executive figures. Stress accounts for almost a third of that – an estimated £3.7bn a year.

Ben Willmott, employee relations adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said employers needed to identify the root causes of stress. He called on the government to address the dire skills shortage in occupational health (OH) to tackle the problem. “There is a massive lack of OH professionals in the UK. There simply aren’t enough to go around,” he said.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Health said that the government’s health, work and wellbeing strategy, launched last year, was making an important contribution to reducing occupational ill health.

Tackling the threat of stress at work
Employer plans for tackling stress How likely is your organisation to invest more in the following healthcare provisions over the next 5-10 years?

• Healthier working practices 92%
• Employee assistance programmes 75%
• Health screening 72%
• Physiotherapy and musculoskeletal treatments 55%
• Private healthcare 53%