Stress and Wellness – Priceless?

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development have published research which shows that if you are not actively managing employee wellbeing, it is likely to cost you £554 per employee per year in sickness absence alone.  But what is the cost of stressed out employees who do turn up day in and day out?  And what is the cost if you run your own business?

Pressure on performance

With most people working longer hours than they ever have before, chasing tougher targets and meeting tighter deadlines, the continued stress levels affect not only the wellbeing of the individual, but can significantly impact teamwork, performance, productivity, customer service levels and, of course, the bottom line.  It also means that managers are spending much more time managing performance than they are managing the business.

Is ignorance bliss?

Ignoring the problem does not make it go away.  If anything, it makes it worse.  One way or another, your business will pay the price.  And stress does not isolate neatly around the individual – it can put pressure on others who have to pick up the pieces.

Prevention or cure?

Although 97% of employers believe in the link between wellbeing and organisational performance, only 8% have a wellbeing strategy.  That may be because it isn’t a priority until it results in your star performer in hospital following a heart-attack as happened with one of my clients.  Or it may be because you just don’t know where to start.   Or perhaps you are the one who’s stressed and you are in denial? Either way, the earlier you start to deal with it, the easier it will be.  Prevention is a more cost effective option, although its never too late to start.  Good employees are hard to come by and, when you consider the cost of hiring and training, as well as the downtime while you get someone new up to speed, it makes sense to take good care of those you have.  You will be rewarded with high performance and employee loyalty – something you can’t buy.  And if you are managing your own business, you will enjoy more clarity, more energy, the ability to solve problems more effectively and greater flow in both productivity and finances.

What are the culprits?

Factors such as leadership style, effectiveness of communications, the degree to which employees feel empowered and motivated, and the always-connected impact of technology are the biggest culprits.   People need clarity, skillset, mindset, and energy to become stress-resilient.   For those who are self-employed, it is becoming more and more difficult to operate in a market which is still challenged and where competition is fierce.  It is important to remember too that stress may be impacted by factors unrelated to work such as health, financial worries or relationship/family problems.  But that doesn’t mean that the business doesn’t bear the consequences.  It is almost impossible to compartmentalise to the degree that one does not affect the other.  In the same vein, too much stress at work can impact home life and health.

And the answer?

Whether you want to help an individual in crisis or take a more systemic approach, a health and wellness assessment is a huge step in restoring wellness, stress-resilience, performance and engagement.

Call 0845 130 0854 to find out how this could work for you and your business or email me, Tricia Woolfrey on tricia@pw-consulting.co.uk.